CLEAR

An important historical record and a well paced story in its own right Great Uncle Harry is also much more than that a tremendous act of love Guardian From the time many years ago when Michael Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother Harry he was determined to find out more about him The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could He studied every relevant official document He tracked down what remained of his great uncle Harry s diaries and letters and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them He walked the route Harry took on that fatal final day of his life amid the mud of northern France And as he did so a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him Great Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life A blend of biography history travelogue and personal memoir this is Michael Palin at his very finest PRAISE FOR EREBUS Beyond terrific I didn t want it to end BILL BRYSON Magisterial Palin brings energy wit and humanit