On the Edge by Richard Hammond

On the Edge by Richard Hammond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Richard Hammond is one of our most in-demand and best-loved television presenters. In September 2006, he suffered a serious brain injury following a high-speed car crash. ON THE EDGE is his compelling account of life before and after the accident and an honest description of his recovery, full of drama and incident.

An adrenalin junkie long before his association with Top Gear, Richard tells the story of his life, from the small boy showing off with ridiculous stunts on his bicycle to the adolescent with a near-obsessive attraction to speed and the smell of petrol.

After a series of jobs in local radio, he graduated to television and eventually to Top Gear. His insights into the personalities, the camaraderie and the stunts for which Top Gear has become famous, make compulsive reading. It was whilst filming for Top Gear that Richard was involved in a high speed crash, driving a jet-powered dragster. His wife Mindy tells the story of the anxious hours and days of watching and waiting until he finally emerged from his coma. In an extraordinarily powerful piece of writing, she and Richard then piece together the stages of his recovery as his shattered mind slowly reformed. The final chapter recounts his return home and his triumphant reappearance in front of the cameras.

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On the Edge This is an excellent book, I listen to it a couple of years ago as an audiobook, but bought it now because 1.) It was so good I want to read it again and 2.) It will look smashing on my bookshelf 3.) I have a bit of a Top Gear obsession (and I’m not even a car fan.

But anyway, if you are after a great autobiographical book, then this is one I wholeheartedly recommend! I do btw recommend the audio book because both Richard and his wife Mindy is narrating the book, with Mindy taking over the story when Richard is inured. It's a very gripping story and you could really feel Mindy's anxiety when she learned about the accident and not knowing if he would survive.