Into Iraq: Michael Palin

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However, this book is as important as it is interesting because Palin speaks to ordinary people going about their lives. After WW1 and the break-up of the Ottoman Empire there was a relatively short, ultimately unsuccessful, attempt by the British Empire (the biggest of them all) to engineer some stability in the area. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. It’s plain to see that although there are elements of his journey that still capture his interest, the main takeaway this time is of a country whose prosperity has been squandered and its recent history scarred.

He contemplates the graffiti-strewn ruins of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces, and he notes the constant presence of armed guards. For someone who is literally Iraqi and knows most of the stuff in this book – it was nothing new except for a few things I'll probably ask my dad about.

It's too easy to make a trip to Iraq be about bad news - and there is mentions of ISIS and the role of women in a conservative Muslim society and a touching piece on kids playing in war-torn Mosul - but this is Palin, so he tries to focus on the nice side of things. I wonder if the next attempt will be more successful, with any combination of the bullet, ballot box, ‘big oil’ boardroom, or pulpit … I don’t think I will live to see the day, or ever be able to safely follow Palin’s footsteps. It might be because Iraq is such a depressing country at times and yet such nice people there apparently. Ik vind reisboeken veel leuker als ze foto's hebben door het boek heen, en dus niet ergens in het midden een velletje of zo, of helemaal niks.

Waar de gelegenheid zich aandient gaat Michael Palin op zoek naar geschiedenis, maar hij heeft tegelijkertijd veel aandacht voor het roerige nabije verleden en de toestand vandaag. Het wordt een 18 dagen lange en niet ongevaarlijke tocht doorheen het historische, maar vooral ook het hedendaagse Irak. Lots if facts, lots of emotion and lots of incredible insights in a forbidden land steeped in ancient history and troubled times.Michael Palin’s latest travel adventure took place March 2022 and consisted of a short (two week) trip to Iraq, he was after all seventy eight when he made the journey and the epic trips from the 1980’s and 90’s are probably behind him now but this was still a fascinating read. Please Note: By their very nature, all signed books will have been handled several times before they get to you. His books include accounts of his journeys, novels ( Hemingway's Chair and The Truth) and several volumes of diaries.

This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "The Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition" and "Spam". Auch wenn das Buch alles hatte, was mir an den Büchern von Michael Palin gefällt, konnte er mich nicht so fesseln wie sonst. It leaves something behind in the places one visits and one’s heart finds an affinity and true empathy for those who persevere and have an enduring place in their country.The journey starts in a snowy lake in Turkish ‘Kurdestan’ and follows the Tigris - with some digressions west to its sister river, the Euphrates - to the Persian Gulf. I know almost nothing about Iraq as a country so this was interesting and devastating to see that so much of it has not recovered from the war. The book is quite short, just 171 pages and a lot of those have half and half text and photographs of the trip, I therefore read it in about two and a half hours. With over 6,500 books here and several more arriving each week I doubt I'll ever be short of a topic.