En septembre 2014, au fond des eaux glacées de l'Arctique canadien, la poupe brisée d'un vaisseau fut découverte. Il s'agissait d'un bateau mythique : l'Erebus. Michael Palin - pilier des Monty Python et réalisateur de documentaires pour la BBC - redonne vie à cet extraordinaire navire, depuis sa mise à l'eau en 1826 jusqu'à ses voyages d'exploration en Antarctique qui ont conduit à sa gloire, puis à son ultime catastrophe en Arctique. Il revisite les parcours entremêlés des hommes qui ont partagé son chemin : le fougueux James Clark Ross, qui cartographia une grande partie des régions australes et supervisa les premières expérimentations scientifiques menées sur place ; mais aussi John Franklin, homme tourmenté qui, à l'âge de 60 ans et après une carrière en dents de scie, prit le commandement du bateau. Il décrit avec brio le quotidien des hommes à bord qui, les premiers, débarquèrent sur la terre Victoria antarctique et ceux qui, à peine quelques années plus tard, finirent gelés jusqu'à en mourir dans les eaux du grand Nord, tandis que des missions de sauvetage tentaient désespérément de les atteindre.
HMS Erebus was one of the great exploring ships, a veteran of groundbreaking expeditions to the ends of the Earth.
In 1848, it disappeared in the Arctic, its fate a mystery. In 2014, it was found.
This is its story.
____________________________________ 'Beyond terrific. I didn't want it to end.' - Bill Bryson ____________________________________ Michael Palin - Monty Python star and television globetrotter - brings the remarkable Erebus back to life, following it from its launch in 1826 to the epic voyages of discovery that led to glory in the Antarctic and to ultimate catastrophe in the Arctic.
The ship was filled with fascinating people: the dashing and popular James Clark Ross, who charted much of the 'Great Southern Barrier'; the troubled John Franklin, whose chequered career culminated in the Erebus's final, disastrous expedition; and the eager Joseph Dalton Hooker, a brilliant naturalist - when he wasn't shooting the local wildlife dead.
Vividly recounting the experiences of the men who first set foot on Antarctica's Victoria Land, and those who, just a few years later, froze to death one by one in the Arctic ice, beyond the reach of desperate rescue missions, Erebus is a wonderfully evocative account of a truly extraordinary adventure, brought to life by a master explorer and storyteller.
____________________________________ 'This is an incredible book. I couldn't put it down. The Erebus story is the Arctic epic we've all been waiting for.' - Nicholas Crane 'One robust little tub of a boat, two death-defying voyages to the ends of the earth. Palin has given us a fascinating account of extraordinary courage' - Charlotte Gray, author of The Promise of Canada: People and Ideas that Shaped Our Country 'What more could a reader ask for? Fascinating mystery, chilling adventure, compelling characters ... simply terrific writing by Michael Palin.' - Roy MacGregor, author of Original Highways: Travelling the Great Rivers of Canada 'Michael Palin is a cracking good companion on this journey of ambition, longing, triumph and tragedy... the age of adventure lives on' - Alanna Mitchell, author of The Spinning Magnet: The Force that Created the Modern World and Could Destroy It
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Erebus, written and read by Michael Palin.
In September 2014 the wreck of a sailing vessel was discovered at the bottom of the sea in the frozen wastes of the Canadian Arctic. It was broken at the stern and covered in a woolly coat of underwater vegetation. Its whereabouts had been a mystery for over a century and a half. Its name was HMS Erebus.
Now Michael Palin - former Monty Python stalwart and much-loved television globetrotter - brings this extraordinary ship back to life, following it from its launch in 1826 to the epic voyages of discovery that led to glory in the Antarctic and to ultimate catastrophe in the Arctic. He explores the intertwined careers of the men who shared its journeys: the dashing James Clark Ross who charted much of the 'Great Southern Barrier' and oversaw some of the earliest scientific experiments to be conducted there; and the troubled John Franklin, who at the age of sixty and after a chequered career, commanded the ship on its final, disastrous expedition. And he vividly recounts the experiences of the men who first stepped ashore on Antarctica's Victoria Land, and those who, just a few years later, froze to death one by one in the Arctic wastes as rescue missions desperately tried to reach them.
To help tell the story, he has travelled to various locations across the world - Tasmania, the Falklands, the Canadian Arctic - to search for local information, and to experience at first hand the terrain and the conditions that would have confronted the Erebus and her crew.
Illustrated with maps, paintings and engravings, this is a wonderfully evocative and epic account, written by a master explorer and storyteller.
____________________________________ BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ____________________________________ HMS Erebus was one of the great exploring ships, a veteran of groundbreaking expeditions to the ends of the Earth. In 1848, it disappeared in the Arctic, its fate a mystery. In 2014, it was found. This is its story. ____________________________________ ''Beyond terrific. I didn''t want it to end.'' - Bill Bryson ____________________________________ Michael Palin - Monty Python star and television globetrotter - brings the remarkable Erebus back to life, following it from its launch in 1826 to the epic voyages of discovery that led to glory in the Antarctic and to ultimate catastrophe in the Arctic. The ship was filled with fascinating people: the dashing and popular James Clark Ross, who charted much of the ''Great Southern Barrier''; the troubled John Franklin, whose chequered career culminated in the Erebus ''s final, disastrous expedition; and the eager Joseph Dalton Hooker, a brilliant naturalist - when he wasn''t shooting the local wildlife dead. Vividly recounting the experiences of the men who first set foot on Antarctica''s Victoria Land, and those who, just a few years later, froze to death one by one in the Arctic ice, beyond the reach of desperate rescue missions, Erebus is a wonderfully evocative account of a truly extraordinary adventure, brought to life by a master explorer and storyteller. ____________________________________ ''Thoroughly absorbs the reader. . . Carefully researched and well-crafted, it brings the story of a ship vividly to life.'' - Sunday Times ''This is an incredible book. I couldn''t put it down. The Erebus story is the Arctic epic we''ve all been waiting for.'' - Nicholas Crane ''Palin is a superb stylist, low-key and conversational, who skillfully incorporates personal experience. He turns up obscure facts, reanimates essential moments, and never shies away from taking controversial positions. This beautifully produced volume - colour plates, outstanding maps - is a landmark achievement.'' - Ken McGoogan , author of Fatal Passage ''I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting . . . Fascinating.'' - Lorraine Kelly, ITV Lorraine ''Magisterial . . . Brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people since the 1840s.'' - The Times
THE BOOK BEHIND THE HIT CHANNEL 5 DOCUMENTARY A glimpse of life inside the world's most secretive country, as told by Britain's best-loved travel writer.
In May 2018, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin spent two weeks in the notoriously secretive Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a cut-off land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside has barely moved beyond a centuries-old peasant economy but where the cities have gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground train stations. His resulting documentary for Channel 5 was widely acclaimed.
Now he shares his day-by-day diary of his visit, in which he describes not only what he saw - and his fleeting views of what the authorities didn't want him to see - but recounts the conversations he had with the country's inhabitants, talks candidly about his encounters with officialdom, and records his musings about a land wholly unlike any other he has ever visited - one that inspires fascination and fear in equal measure.
Written with Palin's trademark warmth and wit, and illustrated with beautiful colour photographs throughout, the journal offers a rare insight into the North Korea behind the headlines.
This work is a visual record of Michael Palin's journey across the Sahara, accompanying the major BBC TV series. The series sees him facing one of the world's greatest challenges - crossing the world's largest desert from the rock of Gibraltar to Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and beyond.
The third volume of Michael Palin's celebrated diaries. TRAVELLING TO WORK is a roller-coaster ride driven by the Palin hallmarks of curiosity and sense of adventure. Michael was not the BBC's first choice for the travel series AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, but after its success, the public naturally wanted more. Palin, however, had other plans. There was his film AMERICAN FRIENDS, a role in Alan Bleasdale's award-winning drama GBH, the staging of his West End play THE WEEKEND, a first novel, HEMINGWAY'S CHAIR, and a lead role in FIERCE CREATURES. He did find time for two more travel series, POLE TO POLE in 1991 and FULL CIRCLE in 1996, and wrote two bestselling books to accompany them. These ten years in different directions offer riches on every page.
All three of Michael Palin's bestselling diaries, covering 30 years from 1969 to 1998. Throughout his years in Monty Python, his many successful film appearances, the writing of his novels and his travels to all corners of the globe, there was one constant in Michael Palin's life: the daily ritual of writing in his diary. Now, for the first time, the complete diaries have been brought together, charting Michael's highs and lows, and studded with his hallmarks of curiosity and sense of adventure. Volume one begins when he was newly married and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of television comedy. But Monty Python was just around the corner. Volume two follows his trail through seven movies and ends with his final preparations for the documentary that was to change his life - Around the World in Eighty Days . And volume three tracks his journeys to far-flung places, not to mention more films, award-winning TV roles and a first novel. 'Palin shows himself in these diaries to be an acute observer as well as a champion curator of an anecdote' Sunday Times
In March 2022, Michael Palin travelled the length of the River Tigris through Iraq to get a sense of what life is like in a region of the world that once formed the cradle of civilisation, but that in recent times has witnessed turmoil and appalling bloodshed. It was a journey of sharp, often brutal contrasts. At one moment he would be exploring the old streets of Baghdad or the ancient ruins of Babylon. At the next he would be visiting the war-torn city of Mosul, or learning about the horrific Speicher massacre in Tikrit. Now he shares the journal he meticulously kept during his trip, in which he describes the very varied places he visited, the people he met and the impressions he formed of a country that few outsiders now venture to see. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken on the trip, and permeated with his warmth and humour, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.
Il est le bègue excentrique d'Un poisson nommé Wanda, un tortionnaire dans Brazil, l'ami et le complice de Terry Gillian, un des indispensables piliers des Monty Pythons : Michael Palin, assez inconscient pour relever en 1988 le défi lancé par la BBC de refaire - en 80 jours, et par les moyens de transport de l'époque - le voyage autour du monde de Phileas Fogg, le héros de Jules Verne. Seule différence : son Passepartout à lui sera cinq, soit une équipe de tournage au complet de la BBC. Ce qui ne sera pas forcément pour lui simplifier la vie.
Trains aux allures de chenilles processionnaires, traîneaux, mongolfière, barge d'éboueur, chameau aux humeurs changeantes, dhow surpeuplé dans l'océan Indien : voyager avec Palin n'est pas de tout repos, et ses aventures n'auront rien à envier à celles de son modèle, des égouts de Venise à l'échoppe d'un barbier aveugle à Madras, en passant par l'ex-maison close de l'Orient Express. Arrivera-t-il à temps ? Les incidents se multiplient, à croire que tous, en tous lieux, se sont secrètement ligués pour le faire échouer. Mais il en faut plus pour démonter un Monty Python.
Drolatique et tendre, maniant en virtuose l'humour à froid et le « nonsense », mais toujours profondément humain, ce récit, augmenté ici d'un chapitre où l'auteur revient vingt ans après sur les lieux de ses exploits) a été Outre-Manche un immense best-seller : plus de 500 000 exemplaires vendus, et les 14 épisodes tournés pour la BBC sont devenus une série culte.
Quand un Monty Python se trouve pris par la fièvre des voyages rien ni personne ne peut plus l'arrêter : en 1991, deux ans après son tour du monde en 80 jours, voilà que Michael Patin récidive. Cette fois, d'un pôle à l'autre, en suivant le 30' méridien Est, pour rester le plus possible sur la terre ferme. En ligne droite, donc, de l'Arctique à l'Antarctique : vingt-cinq pays traversés, deux hémisphères, près de six mois en train, en bus, en voiture, en motoneige, en hydravion, en DC-6 ! Enfin, ligne droite, façon de parler, car de malins génies semblent aussitôt s'ingénier à lui compliquer l'existence - pour notre plus grand plaisir, évidemment. Péripéties en tout genre, drames, éclats de rire, rencontres farfelues : le Père Noël en Scandinavie, des chercheurs d'or en Norvège, un guide sosie de Lénine à Leningrad. Mais aussi, bouleversants, un instituteur et de vieilles femmes qui refusent de quitter leur maison, près de Tchernobyl. Plus une cérémonie soufie au Soudan, du rafting sur le fleuve Zambèze (deux côtes cassées), un sorcier et des éléphants au Kenya. Entre autres... Avant, au pôle Sud, de faire le tour du monde en huit secondes. Mont Python oblige, rien, partout où il passe, ne sera plus comme avant. A peine sorti d'URSS, un coup d'État manqué contre Gorbatchev conduit à l'effondrement de l'Union soviétique. Arrivé en Ethiopie, la Derg, junte militaire communiste au pouvoir depuis 1974, est aussitôt démise. En Zambie, dès après son passage, le président autocrate Kenneth Kaunda se trouve évincé. On notera enfin, sans en tirer de conclusion hâtive, qu'à son arrivée en Afrique du Sud l'apartheid était enfin aboli... Etonnez-vous après s'il lui arrive parfois de se sentir fatigué ! Après Le Tour du monde en 80 jours, best-seller outre-Manche, Michael Palin signe ici un petit chef-d'oeuvre d'humour, drolatique et tendre.
A collection of travel writing, which will act as a focus for the Oxfam Bookfest in 2011. It features stories from twenty-five travel writers, including Michael Palin, Paul Theroux, Sara Wheeler, William Dalrymple, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Lloyd Jones, Rory Stewart, Jan Morris, Dervla Murphy, Rory MacLean, and others.
Un beau livre émotion ! Mains retrace douze années de travail du photographe Basil Pao, de ses voyages autour du monde, du nord au sud, d'est en ouest. Il a capturé des images de joie, d'amour, de violence ou d'espoir, offertes par les hommes et les femmes qu'il a rencontrés. Chacune d'entre elles est un instant de vie, figé au creux de leurs mains... témoignage d'une vie de labeur.
Résumé :
Mains qui travaillent ou mains qui soignent, mains qui protègent ou qui nourrissent, qui portent une arme, un éventail ou un bouquet, mains qui jouent de la musique, pétrissent la glaise, comptent quelques pièces, s'accrochent, retiennent et racontent des histoires, l'histoire des hommes.
Ce voyage émotionnel nous entraîne autour du globe, en suivant les fuseaux horaires. Ce magnifique livre présente des clichés exceptionnels et une vision inédite du monde à travers les mains des hommes. Sa mise en page simple, aérée et élégante est au service de nos émotions.
Chacune des 380 photographies est mise en perspective par une autre photographie qui localise l'endroit où elle a été prise et est accompagnée d'un texte qui en explique les circonstances et le contexte.
