In September 2006, Richard Hammond suffered a serious brain injury following a high-speed car crash. Here 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. His insights into the personalities, the camaraderie, and the stunts for which Top Gear has become famous, make compulsive reading. It was while filming 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.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Very touching:
I listened to the audiobook. It's an interesting story. If you're a fan of the Hamster, you'll love hearing him read this.
Great Story:
It is a rare thing in today's world that you find a true gentleman adventurer. His story is a great read and yet still very touching. The nice guy you see on Top Gear doesn't seem to be an act, he really is a genuinely nice guy with a beautiful family.
On the Edge:
I bought this book based on the rave reviews it had received upon release in Britain and expected, as a fellow reviewer here noted, an autobiography. Which it is, but not in the 'traditional sense', if one can say that. It describes Hammonds childhood adventures dreaming about being Evil Knivel and doing stunts on his bicycle, but it mostly focuses on the great crash that he had in "The Vampire", a rocketpropelled, 10.000 horsepower dragster and the subsequent hospitalisation and recovery. It was... more info
How love really can conquer all.:
I was expecting an auto-biography; instead, I found a compelling account of suffering a brain injury, recovering from that injury, and - most movingly of all - living with and loving someone with a brain injury. The searing honesty, and the often black humour, shown by both Richard and Mindy Hammond shows that theirs is a marriage that can survive anything life throws at it. This book ultimately is about hope, and it certainly puts my little gripes about life into perspective. A great read.
