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  • Travelling to Work

  • Diaries 1988–1998 (Volume 3)
  • By: Michael Palin
  • Narrated by: Michael Palin
  • Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (560 ratings)
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Travelling to Work cover art

Travelling to Work

By: Michael Palin
Narrated by: Michael Palin
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Summary

Travelling to Work is the third volume of Michael Palin's widely acclaimed diaries. After the Python years and a decade of filming, writing, and acting, Palin's career takes an unexpected direction into travel, which will shape his working life for the next 25 years. Yet, as the diaries reveal, he remained ferociously busy on a host of other projects throughout this whirlwind period.

Travelling to Work opens in September 1988 with Michael travelling down the Adriatic on the first leg of a modern-day Around the World in 80 Days. He was not the BBC's first choice for the series, but after its success and that of the accompanying book, the public naturally wanted more. Palin, though, has other plans.

Following the tumultuous success of A Fish Called Wanda, he is in demand as an actor. His next film, American Friends, is based on his great-grandfather's diaries. Next he takes on his most demanding role as the head teacher in Alan Bleasdale's award-winning drama series GBH. There is also his West End play, The Weekend; a first novel, Hemingway's Chair; and a lead role in Fierce Creatures, the much-delayed follow-up to Wanda.

Michael describes himself as 'drawn to risk like a moth to a flame. Someone grounded and safe who can be tempted into almost anything.' He duly finds time for two more travel series - Pole to Pole, in 1991, and Full Circle, in 1996 - and two more best-selling books to accompany them.

These latest Diaries show a man grasping every opportunity that came his way, and they deal candidly with the doubts and setbacks that accompany this prodigious word-rate. As ever, his family life, with three children growing up fast, is there to anchor him.

Travelling to Work is a roller-coaster ride driven by the Palin hallmarks of curiosity and sense of adventure. These 10 years in different directions offer riches on every page to his ever-growing army of fans.

©2014 Anna Freeman (P)2014 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about Travelling to Work

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Wounderfull

I have really enjoyed listening to all of Micheal Palin's diaries, the way he reads makes me feels he reading just for me and that we are good friends (sadly we are not). I would recommend all 3 volumes to any one with a passing interest in British comedy, TV and Film.

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7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Sometimes sad sometimes very funny but always engaging. A great listen.

I enjoyed all the Michael Palin travel series and read his previous memoirs so thought I'd get this. Travelling to work brings together his thoughts about his travels and merges them with a thread of Python reminiscences, his work on films and some really difficult personal moments. He's just such an interesting bloke to listen to. Sometimes sad sometimes very funny but always engaging. A great listen! Don't get put off by the first 20 minutes. It gets better when he gets into his flow.

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6 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Used to idolise Palin

From my teens I hung on Micheal Palins every word. Growing up on a rough council estate in Tottenham I dreamt of escaping. I eventually did by moving abroad. This more than Palins words opened my horizons. All these years later I snuggled down to listen again to his wise words. Alas,his left wing closeted bile made me turn off. From idolising the IRA ( at least republicanism) to pathetic bashing of anyone who doesn’t agree with his ‘soft’ socialism. Lost me as a fan

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4 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Rather Boring

Would you try another book written by Michael Palin or narrated by Michael Palin?

Yes

Would you ever listen to anything by Michael Palin again?

Yes

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I'm finding it all a bit boring and will probably give up...

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Michael Palin is an interesting and talented man. There are fragments that I have found interesting but this book is a rather dull list of uninteresting facts from his diary and a multitude of name dropping.

Any additional comments?

I'm sure Michael Palin has more interesting books.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lots of eating and drinking

well. it's alright. noting revelatory really. Mr Palin knows a lot of celebs and is quite a sociable chap.

he was once in a quite famous comedy group who now meet and bicker a lot, though are still friends it seems.

it's a nice book about a nice mans life read by the nice man.

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3 people found this helpful

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An excellent listen

Palin draws you into his world spanning a decade of exciting adventures alongside the everyday life of a remarkable man.

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3 people found this helpful

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Superb

I had hesitated before I chose this book as I had doubted that listening to the reading of a diary would hold my interest. How wrong I was! As ever, Michael Palin has produced an entertaining and captivating book which underlines his skills, both as a narrator and writer. Thoroughly enjoyable!

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A lot of Michael Palin

I've listened to 3-4 of Palin's books now and generally enjoyed them, but this was a bit too much of him if I'm honest. I'm not sure I clocked the running time before I purchased.

As would no doubt be the case spending this amount of time listening to anyone, certain aspects of his personality begin to grate a little – I don't begrudge the relentless celebrity name dropping (it's the world he lives in after all), but the constant complimenting of himself via reporting things other people have said starts to irritate after a while — "A lady with a foreign accent leans in confidentially: "You have a tremendous body"" he reveals, apropos of nothing.

For somebody who reminds us frequently how 'nice' and down-to-earth he is, he's intent on making sure we realise how great he is too. A little self-deprecation and modesty would go a long way, and I couldn't get through too much of the book without taking a break. Plus by the halfway mark, I'd have paid good money to never hear 'American Friends' ever again.

All in all, interesting enough in places, but way too much of a good thing.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Unremittingly nice and lots of lovies

Would you listen to Travelling to Work again? Why?

Once was enough. Indeed by the end I'd had enough and realized I should have listened to it in parts with breaks. While it is fun to hear snippets about this person and that person, I can only take so many references to meeting this celebrity or that celebrity.

Would you recommend Travelling to Work to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes. I really enjoyed the diary at first and with appropriate rests throughout the book it would have been great.

Have you listened to any of Michael Palin’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Compared to the various travel adventures and Monty Python it gets samey. It would be hard to extract more variance from the reading of the diaries though he does throw in some impersonations.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would recommend taking this book in slices. Each slice is great. All together less so.

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Excellent

Interesting insight into celebs lifestyle. Good to hear honest view of relationships between the Pythons.

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1 person found this helpful