Michael Palin

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Jonathan Margolis

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Pages: 256 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 0752816616

Pub: Orion mass market paperback

Pub date: 2004-10-18

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 194320

Reader Reviews:

Learning that "nice" is not a nice word (4/4 people found this helpful)

The problem with a biography of Michael Palin, is that the man seems so open that we assume we already know everything about him. While that isn't the case, by the completion of the book, my view of Palin has changed very little. There are no dark secrets revealed, no plumbing the depths of his psyche - which actually makes the book a much more pleasant read.

The book describes Palins life up to 1996. It is well written, and pleasant enough and makes a good addition to the bookshelf. However, I did feel that Margolis relied to much on sources other than Palin himself - notably the "Comic Roots" TV programme and an often-mentioned interview that Palin did. As a result, I felt a lot of the time that Margolis was at a distance from his subject. He also should attend to the details of his book more closely- on several occasions he repeats an anecdote which becomes slightly annoying.

The book is "nice" - and reading it you will discover that "nice" isn't always a good thing to be

A not bad summary of the 'nicest' Python (7/7 people found this helpful)

One thing you do read many times in this book is that Michael Palin loathes the idea that he is just the 'nice' one, and that his character ends there. However, it is a hard stigma to overcome, as pretty much everything you learn about him enforces that this persona is the real man, and there is no facade.

There is only one example of him losing his 'nice' temperment; when pushed beyond the edge by a couple of student interviewers.

This is a very easy to read biography...

The book is reasonably well-written, though there were a few times exactly the same thing was repeated. Obviously there is quite an emphasis on his Python years and his travel documentaries, but there is also a reasonable summary of his other work over his long career.

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