Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
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Over the last few years or so I have become quite big fan of Top Gear and in particular Jeremy Clarkson. I'd previously read one of his other books, I Know You've Got Soul, so when I came across The World According To Clarkson it was inevitable I was going to read that as well. I've read a number of Clarkson's newspaper columns in the Sun but hadn't really seen much from his days with the Times. This book gave me the opportunity to put that right as rather than being a book of new material it is a compilation of his Sunday Times articles.
The articles cover a period from January 2001 till December 2003, but it isn't every weeks articles. There are massive jumps and in total there are 81 weeks worth of articles in the book and they all cover a vast array of subjects. Now as someone who doesn't regularly read the Sunday Times this was all new to me and in a way was acceptable as original material. If however I'd been a Times reader or if indeed you are then this book probably isn't really worth buying as it's word for word what appeared in the paper during that time frame.
I found the only real structure of the book was the articles being in date order, other than that the articles are so varied and all over the place with very little correlation from one to another. He covers subjects ranging from the Health and Safety madness gripping the Country, to his Chickens being attacked by a Fox to The Space Shuttle. All of these articles have some relevance to a news piece or something he was doing at the time and Clarkson as always is never backward in coming forwards.
His style is quite dry but the humour seems to be there in a lot of the articles. He gives his honest opinions on the issue his article is about but does lace it with large helpings of humour. A few people commented while I was reading it that he comes across as a bit of a grumpy old man and in these articles I'd agree, but he's a funny grumpy old man. While the book loses a bit from having no real structure or subject it is certainly saved by Clarkson's style and the way he says what he wants to say rather than mince his words.
Apart from the lack of structure, which I found a little hard to move from one article to another because of, I thought there was only one other real downside. A few of the articles seemed to repeat comments and points he'd already made in previous ones. There were two that really seemed to be the same point made in a different way but other than that minor annoyance the book is typical Clarkson. The rest of the subjects are quite wide ranging and while the events he talks about are quite a few years ago now the articles do bring memories of them back again.
Like the other Clarkson book I read recently this one does have a few minor flaws but its nothing to major and certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book. Of course this isn't a page turning novel and all the articles are based on real events and experiences in Jeremy's life, written in his own style. For that reason I'd say that anyone who doesn't actually like Mr Clarkson will not enjoy this book. Likewise if you used to read his column in the Sunday Times between 2001 and 2003 then this book will not be worth your while. I think, like I Know You've Got Soul, this book will only stand one reading but it was a very enjoyable read and one for Clarkson fans I recommend you give it the once over.
Amazon: £3.89 Amazon Marketplace: £0.38
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Dec 31st, 2006
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