Product Description

Michael Palin has kept a diary since newly married in the late 1960s, when he was beginning to make a name for himself as a TV scriptwriter (for the Two Ronnies, David Frost etc). Monty Python was just around the corner. This first volume of his diaries reveals how Python emerged and triumphed, how he, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, the two Terrys - Jones and Gilliam - and Eric Idle, came together and changed the face of British comedy. But this is but only part of Palin's story. Here is his growing family, his home in a north London Victorian terrace; here, too, is his solo work - as an actor, in Three Men in a Boat, his writing endeavours (often in partnership with Terry Jones) that produces Ripping Yarns and even a pantomime. Meanwhile Monty Python refuses to go away: the hugely successful movies that follow the TV (his account of the making of both The Holy Grail and The Life of Brian movies are pager-turners), the at times extraordinary goings on of the many powerful personalities who coalesced to form the Python team, and much more - all this makes perceptive, funny and riveting reading.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9848 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 776 pages

Katie Owen, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
"His warmth and capacity for joy are very appealing"

Review
"His warmth and capacity for joy are very appealing" (Katie Owen SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

"a curiously fascinating pleasure" (Nicola Barr GUARDIAN )

About the Author
Michael Palin established his reputation with Monty Python's Flying Circus and Ripping Yarns. His work also includes several films with Monty Python, as well as The Missionary, A Private Function, an award-winning performance as the hapless Ken in A Fish Called Wanda and, more recently, American Friends and Fierce Creatures. His television credits include two films for the BBC's Great Railway Journeys, the plays East of Ipswich and Number 27, and Alan Bleasdale's GBH. The books he wrote to accompany his TV travels have all been bestsellers.

Customer Reviews

Palin Diaries
I feel I should start by saying I love Michael Palin's works, from film, TV to travel literature. That is why I feel slightly disappointed by his diaries. They were interesting for an insight into Python's workings and how Pailn worked during the seventies, but they did begin to drag awfully. There are only so many Python meetings, or film recordings one can read about before getting a little bored by them. Saying that, there are some fascinating anecdotes, as well as touching moments with his family. I especially liked when they climb up inside the Statue of Liberty and look forward to reaching her underwear! If you love Palin, or Python, then this book is worth a go, otherwise I'd say you could give it a miss and not worry too much.

Unputdownable!
Michael Palin is a wonderful storyteller and his diaries charting his everyday life from the very beginning of the Python phenomenon through to global superstardom are fascinating. Gloriously funny, witty and, at times, very moving, I can't wait for the next volume!

Interesting, to a point.
This is great in some respects- interesting inside information regarding Monty Python and the entertainment industry in general and a pleasant walk with the Mr Nice Guy of Monty Python. However it is also far too long and often you get the impression we are only getting half the story. Is Palin just trying to ensure his nice guy image is maintained at the cost of journalistic truth? Who knows?