Basil Pao is an author and photographer. He was previously an art director in New York and Los Angeles, where he first worked with Michael Palin while designing the book and graphics for the Monty Python film Life of Brian. They have since collaborated on eleven illustrated books based on the BBC travel series, including Pole to Pole; Full Circle; and Hemingway Adventure. He is the author of twenty-two other books of photographs including Hands; China Revealed; and Yi’Jing-Book of Changes.