Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

By: Michael Palin

Narrated by: Michael Palin

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's 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.

music incredibly distracting and annoying

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Michael Palin recount his progress around the world. He has a lovely way of describing what he sees. I wish I could've given the Overall rating 5 stars but there is no Audible category for rating the production quality. (And there should be!) WHY did someone find it necessary to include music over such LONG PORTIONS of Michael's reading???? If you must use music, fine, but do it BETWEEN chapters when the author is NOT speaking. But it went on for MINUTES and MINUTES while he was reading. It was incredibly distracting and made it difficult to focus on Palin's words. It nearly ruined it for me and the only thing it was good for was waking me up if I drifted off. And at various times, the music was completely at-odds with what was being said. Cheerful upbeat music when things are going sadly downhill??? If you're going to do music, be sensible about it!

The ONLY time I appreciated the music was at the very end when the tune FINALLY shifted to something more suitable for the location--it took on a humorously French vibe and got mercifully quieter.

Great Story; Distracting Music

Michael Palin is Michael Palin; I have nothing negative to say toward him. The music, though, that the producers chose to include... ugh. Poor music selection, poor mixing... very distracting and totally unnecessary. I'll still listen to more of Palin's books; I just hope they don't have musical accompaniment.

Nicely done!

Palin does a great job with his descriptions and tells a fascinating story of his unusual trip around the world. My only complaint is a small one - the audiobook includes many small moments of background music that initially add to the feel of the story, but eventually become repetitive and a little tiring. But the rest of the storytelling more than makes up for it. I’m jealous of Palin that he was able to take a journey like this one. It reminded me of a friend who through-hiked a big part of the Appalachian trail. Having heard this audiobook, I plan to purchase the audiobook for Jules Verne’s original classic. Looking forward to it.

I wish I was Passepartout

A highly enjoyable re-visit to Michael's 80 day journey around the world, beautifully narrated by the man himself. Unfortunately, the incidental music and especially the ticking clock become increasingly annoying, so a star off for that. Check out his web site so you can follow along with some photographs, too.

Everything I hoped for

Wonderful narration of a superb story. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to know, good, bad, happy and sad.

A Palin Classic but

Michael Palin is a brilliant, talented author whose world travels, interesting and amusing perspectives are always greatly interesting and entertaining however I was disappointed in the audio version of this book, unlike his later audio books which are carefully and deliberately narrated he seems to be in a great hurry to finish the audio on this one, I think his later narrations improved as he got older !

Great Adventure

Palin is a brilliant writer. Enjoyed this journal of his trip around the world very much.

Disappointed

I really loved this series on television, but this book is a great disappointment. Michael Palin's narration is wooden and most of the fun and funny bits from the TV series is left out. I tried to return this but because I returned 2 books last month, Audible won't allow it.

Palin's the writer Bryson hopes to be.

Now it's off to the North pole! This review needs more words, sp here they are.

Michael Palin is a treasure

His first travelogue, the journey is delightfully recorded with charming insight and wit. Now as much a snapshot of 1988 than anything else, it is remarkable to see how much the world has changed in 32 years.

Excellent

Well written, well read. Totally absorbing.
Would love to travel like this.
Nothing else to say minimum word reviews irritate me

Great story from a "nice man".

What did you like most about Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days?

Michael Palin writes the book as if seeing the world through young eyes. Everything is new and interesting, but it is the people who he meets that adds to the story. I don't know if he likes to be know as a nice man, but he is. I like that he narrates his own book so you feel you get more of the insight into the journey.

Great story and well read. Shame about the music

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The music is annoying and frequently drowns out the spoken word. There is no need for it after the opening.

What did you like best about this story?

It was all fascinating

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Narrator didn't detract from the book, only the annoying music

Did Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

Get rid of the music!

Very interesting indeed

Very good, interesting story and well told. Nice pace to the performance, more than enough to keep you coming back for the next instalment. Made me want to buy the DVD of the TV series too.

Classic boys own adventure

I saw the original TV series of Michael's adventure when I was a teenager - and enjoyed it from start to finish.

This audio book is a carbon copy of the TV series, and is an excellent listen - Michael Palin's genuine interest in the world, coupled with a strong sense of British reserve and sarcasm make for an enjoyable experience.


Highlights for me where the Dow adventure and his train travel across China; for different reasons. The Dow experience was very much about the strong relationship he built with the crew and the China train trip because it is a time stamp for a China that is fast changing.

Great boys own adventure.

Most enjoyable.

I watched the Programmes when they first came out about 25 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed re-living it all now.

The Best Of The Best

Back when I was young and impressionable the TV series was (and still is) a wonder. Listening to it is a pleasure, yes things have changed in the world some for the better, some for the worst. bust listening to this you forget, you are dragged into Palin's life on the road. For anyone with even a passing interest in the world its a good choice!

An excellent tale of adventure

Would you consider the audio edition of Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days to be better than the print version?

Yes

What was one of the most memorable moments of Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days?

Chapter after chapter of adventure from around the globe

What does Michael Palin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Narrative spoken by the author himself

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

No

Any additional comments?

An excellent tale of adventure. As relevant today as the day it was experienced.

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.

Still a grand listen

Its 2020, and I found it fascinating to revisit this chaotic circumnavigation. It's easy to forget life before ubiquitous internet, how an unexpected change of plans was often a bit of a scramble ( though rarely with a time restraint such as this). No mobile phone to grab, no internet cafe to invade. The thing that particularly struck me was near the end, a conversation about ships' charts, how they would be amended manually, the quantities carried on board. The thing that most stood out for me, along with this being a Rattling Good Yarn, was the kindness and helpfulness of so many people, and peoples, whom the team encountered. Yes, there's always a Jobsworth, but there was interest and fascination which, perhaps with information at our fingertips, might now be less eager, less spontaneous - perhaps even lacking.

A tale that has stood the test of time. Very much still worth a listen.