Product Description

Richard Hammond is one of our most in-demand and best-loved television presenters. On September 20, 2006, he suffered a serious brain injury following a high-speed car crash, and the nation held its breath. On the Edge is his compelling account of life before and after the accident and an honest description of his year of recovery, full of drama and incident. It is also, perhaps, his explanation of why, as a married man and father of two young daughters, he was prepared to risk all by strapping himself to the front of a jet engine with the power of eleven Formula One cars. A daredevil and a petrolhead long before his association with Top Gear, Richard tells the story of his life as an adrenalin junkie, 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, one of the world's most popular shows, upgrading his car with each step up the ladder. His insights into the personalities, the camaraderie and, of course, the stunts for which Top Gear has become famous make compulsive reading. It was whilst filming for Top Gear, driving a jet-powered dragster at speeds over 300mph, that a tyre burst and the car left the track and rolled over, burying him in the earth. He was airlifted to hospital and hovered near death for several days. 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, leaving him sometimes lucid and plausible, sometimes confused and angry, and often exhausted. The final chapter recounts his return home and his triumphant reappearance in front of the cameras.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35647 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-20
• Released on: 2007-09-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 310 pages

About the Author
Richard Hammond is internationally famous for co-presenting Top Gear over the last 4 years with Jeremy Clarkson; he also presented Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1, Should I Worry About...? on BBC 1 and Time Commanders on BBC 2. His Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show was shown every weekday on ITV1 during January and February 2006, and he is a team captain on the BBC2 quiz show, Petrolheads. He writes a weekly column in The Daily Mirror. His crash whilst filming for Top Gear in September 2006 made him a household name.

Customer Reviews

Not what I expected but very touching
This book is not an in-depth autobiography of the popular TV presenter. His life up until 2006 is dealt with sparingly in the first 60-odd pages and then he drives to Yorkshire to do a film about driving a jet-car...

200 or so pages are dedicated to the accident and his recovery - written by Hammand and his wife in unison. Mrs. Hammonds sections of the book, from the moment she heard of the crash to returning home weeks later, are incredibly touching and a demonstration of what love can enable you to do.

She copes with unimaginable stresses and does her all to help not only her husband but her entire family through this trying time.

All-in-all this is a touching story of a family dealing with brain injury, it just so happens the injured one is famous, and recovering afterwards.

On The Edge - Richard Hammond
This is an amazing book. A must have for all Hamster fans! It's great to actually read a book about somebody who is old enough to have had a life (and nearly lose it). As for the people who gave it 1 star & slated the book - if you look to see what they have rated 5 stars it'll give an insight into what really makes them tick (and it isn't that great). I think it's a touch of jealousy if you ask me. What a genuine man Richard is and how fantastic Mindy is for standing by him. It's not about the money it's the story of a man that loves his work & of a wife that is selfless enough to let him do it. Believe me i know people risk their lives for a living (my father is a retired fire-fighter & my hubby in the police), but it's touching how tough the road to recovery has been for the Hammond family. Plenty of people stand by others through tough times - it's just taken somebody like Richard & Mindy to highlight the highs & lows of married life regardless of fame or fortune. If you like a great auto biography, you'll love this one!

Courageous and moving, but not Top Gear
I enjoyed this book immensely, the story of the crash and long recovery were gripping and moving, Mindy's account really gives an insight as to the suffering of families in the case of accidents and recoverys like these. The trauma for the loved ones is often more moving than the poor unfortunate lying comatose on a hospital bed. And for that this book rates 5 stars. Although do not think that this book has anything more than a passing description of life inside Top Gear. Of course there are references to Jeremy, James etc but this book is not in anyway about them and do not buy this book if you expect to be rolling about laughing at their antics. I am a huge fan of TG and have bought many of the DVDs and books and although Richard and Mindy Hammond wrote this book it could well have been written by any other accident victim. Buy this book if only to understand what can happen as a result of brain trauma and the recovery. As to cashing in on an accident, I won't waste my time gracing such a shallow comment. I think that the very act of writing this book was as much a therapy for the Hammonds as it was a sharing of the story and if they benefit in any way from this book, be it emotionally or financially they have deserved it. Do yourself a favour buy the book.