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  • Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

  • By: Michael Palin
  • Narrated by: Michael Palin
  • Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,757 ratings)

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Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

By: Michael Palin
Narrated by: Michael Palin
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Summary

In the autumn of 1988, Michael Palin set out from the Reform Club with an ambitious plan: to circumnavigate the world, following the route taken by Jules Verne's fictional hero Phileas Fogg 115 years earlier. The rules were simple. He had to make the journey in 80 days using only forms of transport that would have been available to Fogg. And so, complete with visas, running shoes, an inflatable globe and sound advice from Alan Whicker, Michael Palin began his incredible journey.

Crossing 17 borders and meeting innumerable challenges, he saw Venice from the back of a rubbish barge, rode around the Pyramids on a camel called Michael, and was attacked by a cockatoo in Hong Kong - amongst many other adventures. Phileas Fogg may have brought a Princess back from his travels, but Michael Palin brought back a fascinating and frequently humorous account of the journey of a lifetime.

©1989 Michael Palin (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
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Editor reviews

Having mostly retired from comedy, former Monty Python member Michael Palin sets out with a BBC film crew from the Reform Club in London, planning to follow in the footsteps of Jules Verne’s fictional Phileas Fogg to travel Around the World in 80 Days. Palin is allowed only to use modes of transport that to which Fogg would have access during Victorian times, a feat in itself. Visiting Venice and Hong Kong, Giza and many other exotic locations, Michael travels around the globe, bringing back entertaining anecdotes and an epic adventure filled with humour and excitement. Narrated by Michael Palin himself, this marvellous audiobook can be downloaded from Audible.

What listeners say about Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great trip down memory lane

If you could sum up Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days in three words, what would they be?

Adventure, humour, exciting

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the TV series and the book in the 80's so it was great to take a trip down memory lane and relive the excitement and pressure of the trip

What about Michael Palin’s performance did you like?

As he lived the words he writes it made for a very authentic performance

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Join the adventure

Any additional comments?

Just a great book (still, despite being almost 30 years since it was written) and thoroughly enjoyable. I am sure I will go back to this again and listen in the future. I've also just bought full circle, which I also enjoyed when first available, in the print and TV forms.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A grand tale.

Nicely observed and got to the heart of the people and countries that make up the world today.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Highly entertaining adventure

Michael Palin at his best meeting lots of fascinating people.Definitely worth a listen.Really enjoyable and fun.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Class

Loved it just like I loved the TV programme... Listening to this was like travelling back in time to the 80s. Class 👌

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Too short

Great book but way too short for such a journey. Not enough detail. Music far too loud.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Now almost a historical document

So much has changed in the world since the 1980s. This observed narrative gains importance

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Around the world in 80 days

A bit dated now, but Palin’s style is easy on the ear and a good raconteur . To hear now it demonstrates to me how much the borders and shape of the world has changed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable

Seldom has a book awakened my wanderlust like this! Just the right length, a perfect balance between the tension of delays in bustling cities and of dashes across desert landscapes, it kept my attention throughout. It really felt as if I was sitting with the traveller, listening to a reading of random extracts and highlights straight from his personal journal.
I found it interesting to note the differences in relationships between the 1980s English team and their ex-colonial support teams along the way, to what it would be now. Would the imitations of the Indian, Chinese and Egyptian accents and mannerisms not be considered politically incorrect these days? And yet, by reflecting an appreciation for the people and the cultures which they come from, they add a sense of immersion for the listener.
I will definitely listen to more of Michael Palin's travel stories.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely excellent

Fun, nostalgic, captivating, funny at points, a little enchanting, and brilliantly read.. And I loved the music. Win.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

80 days of adventure.

Loved it😎. Michel manages to take you with him. As good as the TV series!

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