From: BBC Audiobooks America Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America Average Rating: Binding: Audio CD Format: Audiobook Label: BBC Audiobooks America Number of Items: 6 Publication Date: February 05, 2008
Product Description: In His Seventh Voyage of Discovery, Michael Palin Reads His Own Account of a Journey into a New Europe!
Michael Palin: New Europe starts with a simple idea: that only a couple of hours from home is a half of Europe that is for him as unknown and unexplored as the plateau of Tibet or the vastness of the Sahara. Cut off for most of his life by Cold Wars and Iron Curtains, Europe's eastern lands are now open for business - and Michael sets off to discover them.
After the Balkans, which experienced vicious fighting in the 1990s, Michael encounters a strong eastern influence through Bulgaria, Macedonia and into Turkey, where Europe and Asia meet. He follows the mighty Danube into Serbia and Hungary, the very heart of Europe, and on to Ukraine. Then it's the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and what was formerly East Germany. Visiting twenty countries, more than in his Himalaya and Sahara journeys combined, he encounters painful memories and exuberant celebrations.
Throwing himself into local life with his usual reckless curiosity, he samples pig fat with a brandy chaser, meets Romanian lumberjacks, drives the 8.58 stopping train from Poznan to Wolsztyn, learns about mine-clearing in Bosnia, treads the catwalk at a Budapest fashion show and watches Turkish gents wrestling in olive oil. It's New Europe, but vintage Palin.
Michael Palin New Europe As all his other books, Mr. Palin makes for interesting and informative reading. Good (British / European) sense of humor; which, perhaps, may not quite hit the mark in the U.S. market.
Not "New" but Certainly Interesting Of course, the term "New Europe" is said largely tongue in cheek. There is nothing "new" about "New Europe". It's just new to western visitors. For decades, western tourists have been denied or hindered in their access to Moldova, Georgia, Kaliningrad, Albania and so on. Michael Palin's task has been to put this to right.
Palin spent some six months wandering through eastern Europe (to use a more commonly applied moniker) meeting an array of fascinating people and musing sometimes whimsically upon his travels. His book, "New Europe" is a direct tie in with a BBC series of the same name. So, don't expect some detailed analytical work. But then again, why would you? Palin was one of the original Monty Python crew. No, this book is simply a pleasant stroll through some interesting apparently "new" places.
I guess that, by and large, Palin's work is a coffee table book. That's certainly where it will rest in my house. But, having said this, please don't think that I'm trying to denigrate it. Take it for what it is; namely, a beautifully pictured travelogue. It has been a joy to read over the past week and has certainly whetted my appetite for travel beyond the seemingly more staid confines of Paris, London and Rome.
Palin's new trip Michael Palin once more takes us on a great trip into the New Europe. His travel books always make you feel your along for the ride. The best part of his travel books are you get a chance to meet the locals and see and feel how they live and they always make you smile. Palin has many travel books out and they are always of a high standard and make a good read. I hope after a short rest he's back on the road soon.
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