Product Description

In the autumn of 1988 Michael Palin set out from the Reform Club to circumnavigate the world, following the route taken by Phileas Fogg 115 years earlier. He had to make the journey in 80 days - accompanied by a BBC film crew - using only forms of transport that would have been available to Fogg. Their voyage took them from the opulence of the Orient Express to the stench of a Venetian refuse-collecting boat; from the lurching progress of an Egyptian camel called Michael to the heights of a hot-air balloon over Aspen,Colorado. Palin was attacked by a parrot in Hong Kong, given a close shave by an apparently blind Indian barber and accepted into the Brotherhood of Mariners by King Neptune himself - all recorded by the BBC film crew and resulting in a six-part television series on BBC1. This book is the story of, and the story behind, the making of that television series.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #212042 in Books
• Published on: 1989-10-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The first of Palin's highly acclaimed travel trilogy, Around the World in 80 Days finds the former Monty Python comic swapping his dead parrot for his rucksack, and setting off in the footsteps of Jules Verne's intrepid traveller, Phileas Fogg. In 1872 Fogg set off from The Reform Club in London on an 80-day journey around the globe which took him through southern Europe, the Middle East, China and the USA.

Palin's journey is no less hectic and incident-packed than his illustrious predecessor, as he pursues Fogg in an increasingly frenetic attempt to get back to the Reform Club within the allotted 80 days. Along the way we are treated to Palin's trademark traveller's tales and bizarre journeys, from the idyllic but at times traumatic medieval boat journey across the Indian Ocean, to dog-sledding and ballooning across the USA. Some of the finest sections come with Palin's often hilarious accounts of cultural confusion encountered throughout India and the Far East. Around the World in 80 Days is full of what has made Palin such a popular and enjoyable travel writer: wry, humorous, but ultimately humane observations on the world's foibles, and the pleasure and pains of travelling. --Jerry Brotton

Customer Reviews

Fabulous !!!
Fabulous - the ideal travel guide for us armchair tourists !! Within the comfort of your own living - room/bedroom or commuting to and from work, you can safely navigate yourself literally around the world !! Mr Palin is the best travelling partner for your journey - guiding you around the complications of world travel & humour abounds,with his humourous annecdotes !! A true "must" for the bookshelf of any traveller/Palin fan !! I'm just off now to book myself a ticket on the next Dhou that leaves port -- fancy a journey Mr P ?

Very entertaining
Michael Palin shares his experience of going around the world in 80 days, like the fictional character Philias Fogg, but he explains everything in an easier way. You can understand ever word, as he takes you through his exciting journey you know exactly how he feels & as an ex python there are some funny parts as well.

Entertaining and light
The book could be described more accurately as a "transit tale" than a "travel tale." Palin describes the stress and boredom of trying to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, so he has little time to comment on the world around him. But his lighthearted humour and intelligence have produced an enjoyable tale. But do not expect to laugh uproariously. Also, I recommend that you not read this book while travelling on your own adventure as I did. As I found myself escaping into Palin's descriptions of Saudi Arabia and India, I found myself disoriented as I raised my eyes to look at the exotic country through which I happened to be travelling. Better to escape with Palin while sitting at home on the couch than while living your own adventure.