Review "Witty and entertaining." -"-The New York Times "on "Full Circle""""Charming and often hilarious."--"New York Daily News" on "Full Circle""Ever affable and eclectic, Palin disarms and delights. He has an unerring eye for the bizarre. His book is sheer escapism, pure entertainment, and I love it." "-- Sunday Times" (London) on" Sahara" Read more From the Inside Flap The Himalaya is the greatest mountain range on earth, a virtually unbroken wall of rock stretching 1800 miles from the borders of Afghanistan to southwest China. It remains the world's most majestic natural barrier, a magnificent wilderness that shapes the history and politics of Asia to this day. Having risen to the challenge of seas, poles, dhows and deserts, the highest mountains on earth were a natural target for Michael Palin. In a journey rarely, if ever, attempted before, Palin takes on the full length of the Himalaya, from the Pakistan--Afghan frontier through India, Nepal, Tibet, and Yunnan in CHina, before recrossing the mountains to Assam, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The product of six months' hard traveling, "Himalaya" links together the Khyber Pass, the hidden valleys of the Hindu Kush, ancient cities like Peshawar and Lahore, the mighty peaks of K2, Annapurna and Everest, the bleak and barren plateau of Tibet, the gorges of the Yangtze, the tribal lands of the Indo-Burmese border and the vast Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. Facing altitudes as high as 17,500 feet at Everest base camp, and treks through some of the world's deepest gorges, Palin and his team also passed through political flashpoints like Pakistan's remote northwest frontier, terrorist-torn Kashmir and the mountains of Nagaland, only recently open to visitors. They had a brush with the Maoists while filming in Nepal and advice from the Dalai Lama before crossing into Tibet. "Himalaya "is, for Palin, a true voyage of discovery. He had covered none of this ground before, let alone milked a yak, washed an elephant or swum at 14,000 feet. This book, compiled from Palin's diaries, records thepleasure and pain of his most challenging journey so far and Basil Pao, the inspired photographer of "Sahara, Full Circle, "and "Pole to Pole," captures the sensational beauty of the finest mountain scenery in the world. This is adventure at the very highest level. Read more
R**L
I loved it!
What great fun this book is. He has a light touch, using language prettily without laying it on too thick. He gives you glimpses of here and there, conversations with plain folks, descriptions of the little things he sees, maybe with an emphasis on the silly and ironic. Most of the humor is directed at himself, though.He's not a judgmental traveler (although some food-related preferences are noticeable); he stays well away from assuming he knows what's good or bad about a place and instead just talks about what he finds. I like this. His impression of Srinagar would be a great example.Oddly the writing for the book seems better rounded and more sensible than the narration for the Himalaya series. Maybe it's a function of the final format of the video part of the project. I'm glad I read the book in addition to watching; I got more out of the series this way and never felt like the book was solely repetitive of anything I saw.Kim was one of my favorite books as a child. The Himalaya series happens to illuminate many of the places I read about in that novel, so it was fun for me in that respect too.
J**E
Great read!
Michael Palin (and editors, etc.) provided me a great read, some lovely photographs, and an entertaining armchair trip thru the coutries "containing" (if any country can indeed "contain" such a physical bodiment, much like the Sahara, the Amazon, and so on) the Himalayas; with the highlands and lowlands, hamlets, small villages, huge cities, religions, and most important (as Palin points out at the end of the book) - the people in these countries. You'll learn about history, and people, religion today and yesterday... and of multitudes' and individuals' achievements. For instance: I never knew it was possible to sleep on Mt. Everest. Learn something new everyday.
G**R
Companion book to the DVD series...
This is the third time I've purchased this book as people keep "borrowing" it and I never get it back. Well-written, hugely funny and lots of excellent photos. This is a great companion to Michael Palin's HIMALAYA DVD series, which I also have a do not let anyone borrow.
M**E
No mountain visiting for me
A really old world place and dangerousNot planning a trip there anytime in the future
A**R
Great book!
I loved this book!
M**S
Arrived when promised in great condition. My Dad just loves it
Ordered this to go with the DVD series. Arrived when promised in great condition. My Dad just loves it. Has read it from cover to cover.
M**Y
Wonderful book
I have read all of Michael Palins books and have enjoyed all of them. This new book, Himalaya is very good. This book like the others has beautiful pictures as well and you can see the places Mr. Palin is writing about.
T**E
Four Stars
Good book.
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