Michael Palin has written and starred in numerous TV programmes and films, from Monty Python and Ripping Yarns to The Missionary and The Death of Stalin. 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. His books include accounts of his journeys, novels (Hemingway's Chair and The Truth) and several volumes of diaries. From 2009 to 2012 he was president of the Royal Geographical Society, and in 2013 he was made a BAFTA fellow. He lives in London.
A typically cracking Palin read with loads of lovely photos. -- Best Christmas travel reads * Daily Express * His careful probing and gentle observations of a country that is at once suffocated by suppression and highly-functioning make for an eye-opening account with a level of humanity that often gets lost in the headlines. -- 8 Great books for Escapism * Luxury London * The book is full of stunning photography which shows the natural splendour and beauty of Korea. And it also affords a rare glimpse of a non-communist who is really attempting to get to the pulse of everyday life in the country. Palin has a refreshing honesty about people who we almost never get to see. * Morning Star * TV adventurer and Monty Python legend Michael Palin recounts his most recent travel escapades . . . the book details a world of gleaming skyscrapers, an airport with no passengers and a countryside where centuries-old traditions dominate * Best Travel Books, ShortList * It's a typically entertaining guide, combining travelogue tips with his own interesting observations * RTE Guide * Gem of a book * Daily Express * A fascinating and humorous document * Choice Magazine * Reading his account . . . one is reminded afresh of Palin's great qualities as a traveller - his curiosity, good humour, and willingness to see the best in everyone he encounters. * Telegraph * The most recent - and the most extraordinary - trip was his exploration of North Korea... in his North Korea Journal... he offers fresh insight into the secretive country, which he approached with his signature openness and curiosity. * Radio Times * [Lifts] the veil on one of the last blind spots on the globe * Irish Independent * The Python's most dangerous journey yet. Palin journeyed into the heart of Kim Jong-un's repressive and secretive regime. * The Times, 50 Best Book for Autumn * An eye-opening look at a place that doesn't figure on most travellers' bucket lists * Kirkus * A fascinating proposition . . . [a] winning mix of genuine interest, good-humoured charm and that deceptively steely nose for humbug. * Wanderlust * Palin expands on his Channel 5 documentary with this absorbing and beautifully illustrated day-by-day account. * Daily Mirror *