Into Iraq: Michael Palin

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Gegen Ende findet er noch einmal deutliche Worte, denn die Reise entlang des Tigris zeigt deutlich, wie sich der Lauf des Flusses und damit auch die Lebensumstände für seine Bewohner durch unser Zutun verändert haben. He talks about a variety of things, like the checkpoints, the droughts, the recovery, architecture and legacy, Palin also gives nice small snippets of Iraqi history as to understand the context of Iraq, which makes the book nicer to read. A lovely book, that brought back terrific memories of earlier Michael Palin journeys in my childhood.

But there are patches of light amid the dark: boisterous New Year celebrations in Akre, the friendliness of generals and colonels at 'Checkpoint Cheerful', and public poetry readings in Baghdad.Normalerweise nimmt mich Michael Palin bei seinen Reisen von der ersten Seite an mit, aber diesmal war es anders. Die Abenteuer aus 1001 und einer Nacht faszinieren nicht nur den kleinen Michael und auch der erwachsene Mann denkt noch oft an die Sehnsucht nach diesem magischen Land zurück, das er zwischen den Zeilen entdeckt hat. Reading this book and watching the accompanying TV series has stirred lovely memories of watching 80 Days Around The World, Full Circle, and other Palin TV series that I loved as a child. Please note: On occasion, due to the complexity and personal nature of some book signing requests, Michael may not dedicate and sign exactly as requested.

His books include accounts of his journeys, novels (Hemingway's Chair and The Truth) and several volumes of diaries. Palin manages to reveal the beauty of this ancient land as well as the devastating scars of conflict on the land and it’s people. For someone who is literally Iraqi and knows most of the stuff in this book – it was nothing new except for a few things I'll probably ask my dad about. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).It seems like a huge logistical challenge; Palin relies a lot on his team and local guides, mentions his age and energy levels a few times, but maintains an enthusiasm for travel, meeting new people, and having new experiences. De serie was het vervolg op de veelgeprezen 2018 reportage, Michael Palin in Noord-Korea, die 4,5 miljoen kijkers bereikte en werd genomineerd voor twee BAFTA’s. I wonder if the next attempt will be more successful, with any combination of the bullet, ballot box, ‘big oil’ boardroom, or pulpit … I don’t think I will live to see the day, or ever be able to safely follow Palin’s footsteps. My diaries and tape recordings helped me experience again the day by day details of our thousand mile journey from Turkey through Iraq. Bookplates are official labels which are signed by the author and then fixed to the title page of the book.

Palin, an ever reliable travel companion, shares the wonder and frustrations as beautifully as he always does. It’s plain to see that although there are elements of his journey that still capture his interest, the main takeaway this time is of a country whose prosperity has been squandered and its recent history scarred. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "The Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition" and "Spam". It's Michael Palin doing what he does best- beautifully describing a place, sprinkling in history and getting to know the locals. His journeys have taken him across the world, the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and most recently, Eastern Europe.His words in books, supplemented with vivid and informative photographs and pieces to camera in TV programmes always engage me and fostered a desire to explore beyond my limited travel horizons. The book is beautifully illustrated and written in Palin’s easy to read diary format which he has honed over decades of doing such series for television although now they are for ITN and Channel 5 here in the UK rather than the earlier, and higher budget, trips for the BBC.

This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. The second in a new series of Palin travelogues to unexpected or dangerous places, interrupted by Covid .After WW1 and the break-up of the Ottoman Empire there was a relatively short, ultimately unsuccessful, attempt by the British Empire (the biggest of them all) to engineer some stability in the area. The first thing to say about this book is visually it's stunningly beautiful with countless images woven on nearly every single page. He has also made several much-acclaimed travel documentaries, his journeys taking him to the North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe and Brazil.