Pole to Pole (book)
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| Pole to Pole with Michael Palin | |
 Hardcover first edition, 1992, BCA |
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| Author | Michael Palin |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Michael Palin's Trips |
| Genre(s) | Travel literature |
| Publisher | BCA |
| Publication date | 1992 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 320 |
| Preceded by | Around the World in 80 Days |
| Followed by | Full Circle |
Pole to Pole with Michael Palin is the book that Michael Palin wrote to accompany the BBC TV programme Pole to Pole with Michael Palin.
This book, like the other books that Michael Palin wrote following each of his seven trips for the BBC, consists both of his text and of many photographs to illustrate the trip. Almost all of the pictures in this book were taken by Basil Pao, the stills photographer who was part of the team who did the trip. The exception is the pictures from the first couple of days and the last couple of days - there was not room on the small aeroplanes used to reach the two poles to allow Basil Pao to be present at the two extremes of the trip.
(Basil Pao also produced a book, Pole to Pole - The Photographs, containing many more of his pictures.)
The book contains five chapters:
- The North Pole to Tallinn - The Arctic, Greenland, Norway, Finland, USSR
- Tallinn to Port Said - USSR, Turkey, Rhodes, Cyprus, Egypt
- Port Said to Nairobi - Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya
- Nairobi to Cape Town - Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa
- Cape Town to the South Pole - South Africa, Chile, Antarctica
To some extent the book reads like a diary, as Michael Palin starts each section of the book with a heading like "Day 42 - Odessa to Istanbul". This is a hold-over from Around the World in 80 Days, which was a race against time, making the number of days very important.
This trip involved many fantastic contrasts. From the icy cold of the Poles (-50 C wind chill factor at the South Pole) to the blistering heat of Africa (+128 F / +54 C in Sudan). From stable democracies in Norway and Finland to Communist USSR in disarray to repressive African dictatorships. From the crowded and bustling streets of Cairo to the empty deserts in northern Africa to the Arctic wastelands. From the abject poverty of Sudan to the elegant and luxurious Blue Train in South Africa. From the shaft of a gold mine two miles below the Earth's surface to the South Pole, 10,000 feet above sea level.
The text of this book is available free to read on-line on Michael Palin's official web site.
[edit] Audio edition
This book was made available as an audio book, read by Michael Palin himself, allowing the listener to hear his wit and charm, and his ability to do accents. The audio book does not include the photographs. Two versions of the audio book exist, an abridged version that lasts 6 hours and an unabridged version that lasts 10 hours 15 minutes.
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