On The Edge - Richard Hammond

Advantages: heartwrenching story about his crash.
Disadvantages: Not enough about his childhood etc.

...months later, I heard something on the news… Richard Hammond was in a coma after crashing a 200mph jet powered car. I think the countries hearts were in their mouths wanting him to pull through. When he released the book I immediately wanted to read it. With the help of his wife Mindy, he manged to write a 200+ page biography from the time just before his crash to now. Is it worth reading? Damn, yes! I was riveted. I sat down Christmas day ...
...my face but still carried on reading. It was heartbreaking to see how someone can just change like that just from a knock on the head. If I was someone who had no idea that Richard was a celebrity and that he had pulled through, I would have thought it was a fantastic little book. I can't really say that I enjoyed it however as in my opinion that wouldn't be right… It wasn't a nice experience by any means and I just pray that nothing like that ever ... Read review

Advantages: very readable, honest and moving
Disadvantages: none

...a jet car, which occurred on 20th September 2006. When I saw that he had written a book about what happened and his road to recovery, I knew I was going to have to read it. The first thing to say is that although you might find the book in the autobiography section of any good book shop, that is not really what it is. There are a couple of chapters which talk about his childhood and how he got the job on Top Gear but much of his thirty six years ...
...people saw the crash shown on TV they could hardly think he would survive let alone recover so well. That is what makes this book such a moving and involving read. One of the things you really gain a sense of from the book is how close knit Richard Hammond's family is. His wife Mindy played such a key role in nursing her husband, his two daughters were incredibly brave when 'Daddy was poorly' and his parents, brothers and their families formed a ... Read review

Advantages: Brilliantly written, heartfelt
Disadvantages: -

...that he had not been on my radar at all. I knew who he was from the odd Top Gear I had watched, but now it seems that he is one of the most recognisable faces in the country. I am now an avid Top Gear fan, and cannot comprehend why the show and it's humour had not grabbed me so forcefully before. Most people know the story. Richard was filming for Top Gear when he was involved in a crash whilst travelling over 200 miles per hour in a jet powered ...
...the recovery that he went on to make. We, the watching public read about the crash, and his progress in and out of hospital, but this book, written with his devoted wife Mindy details exactly what happened through this dramatic and emotional time. The book is not strictly a book of his life, as his childhood is only briefly covered, but it gives you a taster of the man as a boy, and how in so many ways he has not grown up. He has been a petrol head ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic writing, amazing story
Disadvantages: You will probably cry (I did!)

...we would ever see him on tv again, would he be the same person? The first television appearance was on Jonathan Ross, and I tuned in eagerly, to see if the Hamster we all loved was still there. It seemed yes he was, apart from a new love for celery, and an uncanny ability to recall everyone's phone number! What relief. During this time we had been watching the media storm against the BBC and more specifically Top Gear, claims it was dangerous, it ...
...I had found Hammonds interview on Ross fascinating. Being stingy however, I waited until I could pick it up at two books for £7 in the supermarket! (In all fairness, it's only now Mia's reaching one that I get chance to read anyway!). To be honest, I didn't expect a talented writer when I thought of Hammond, which in hindsight, was silly, he is a journalist after all. I was shocked by the unique and direct writing style he used. Somehow, there ... Read review

Advantages: Beautifully written
Disadvantages: Not a complete autobiography

...who just happens to be on TV, especially on "Brainiac" and "Top Gear", where his cheeky sense of humour and his natural enthusiasm are given full rein. Whenever you watch him, it feels like he's about to walk out of the studio, into the pub and say "you'll never guess what I just did/drove/exploded" and have you in fits of laughter for the rest of the evening telling you all about it. We get a brief look at how the cheeky young boy became the cheeky ...
...time in local radio and on "Top Gear" presenter, before recounting the day of his accident. His wife Mindy takes over the story while Richard is easing in and out of consciousness in Leeds General Hospital and you get both sides of the story once Richard has been transferred to Bristol and is more coherent. The parts of the book are quite distinct, with Mindy's parts being quite simply written but full of emotion and Richard's having more humour, ... Read review