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On the Edge

by Richard Hammond, Mindy Hammond

3.95 · rating details · 610 ratings · 97 reviews

From the first ridiculous stunts on his tricycle to his increasing and near obsessive attraction to speed and the smell of gas, this is the high-octane life of TV personality Richard Hammond. A lively and intelligent communicator, TV soon beckoned for Hammond. He became one of the daredevil trio--along with Jeremy Clarkson and James May--who have made an enormous, world-wi...more

Hardcover, 344 pages

Published April 1st 2008 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson (first published September 20th 2007)

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Aug 01, 2008

Shelley rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Noora, maybe Rory, and others who love Top Gear

Shelves: media

The Hamster is one of the presenters on the UK car show Top Gear. A few years ago, he was doing a stunt for the show - driving a jet powered car at speeds over 300mph. On the seventh run, the front tire blew out and catapulted the car head over trunk a few times before coming to a stop, thanks to his head and the roller rack. This book, while dipping a bit into his childhood to explain why he thought driving a jet powered car would be a good idea, is mainly about the aftermath of that incident. ...more

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Mar 14, 2011

Grey853 rated it

Shelves: autobiography

Richard Hammond is one of the presenters of the hit BBC series TOP GEAR. It's supposed to be all about cars, but it's not. It's about the people who love them and drive them. It's about the guys on the show mocking and having a laugh at the others expense. It's just much more than another "car" show.

That said, wow, I had no idea that Richard Hammond is a miracle man. I knew he'd had a serious jet car crash in 2006, but I had no clue about how serious it was or how he mana...more

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Sep 14, 2010

Gini rated it

Thanks to a dear friend, I have been turned into a Top Gear fan. This book is the story of the almost fatal accident suffered by "the short bloke off that car show," as Hammond frequently refers to himself. A catastrophic tire blowout during a 300+ mph run of a jet car. The car flipped and Hammond was slammed headfirst into the ground when the roll cage bars literally buried themselves into the ground. While he suffered very little in the way of external physical injury, his brain...more

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May 10, 2010

Tudor-Lee rated it

Oh. My. God.

I am a HUUUUUGGGGGE Top Gear fan, and my Dad likes to be part of that by buying me books by Jeremy Clarkson. When he saw this, he bought this one for me too, because (like every female of a certain age) I have a crush on Richard Hammond.

This was written by Richard after he was in a very serious car accident a few years ago. He discusses some of his dare-devil antics prior to the accident, the accident itself, and some of the aftermath. The aftermath of th...more

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Jul 10, 2010

Carin rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Top Gear fans

Recommended to Carin by: read author's other books

I initially started this book with the aim to read it on my daily commute- I’ve read Richard Hammond’s other books and while I find them funny and entertaining, I’m sure his keyboard needs frequent replacement keys for the comma- he uses them that much. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book has just enough commas (maybe it’s his wife’s influence- if so, Mindy, can you please co-write with him in the future)?

The book starts innocently enough- a short trip through Richar...moreI initially started this book with the aim to read it on my daily commute- I’ve read Richard Hammond’s other books and while I find them funny and entertaining, I’m sure his keyboard needs frequent replacement keys for the comma- he uses them that much. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book has just enough commas (maybe it’s his wife’s influence- if so, Mindy, can you please co-write with him in the future)?

The book starts innocently enough- a short trip through Richard’s childhood and how he became one of the hosts of Top Gear. We then move to Richard filming driving a jet car- which he then crashes and is seriously injured.

Mindy (his wife) then takes over- her shock and horror (including hearing on the radio how her husband was in a critical condition- she wasn’t aware at the time) and coping with two children and a menagerie of pets on top of a husband in ICU. She writes very well and I immediately transferred this to my ‘main’ book to read. I simply couldn’t wait for Monday to roll around to find out what happened next!

Richard has brain damage and eventually comes out of ICU to a HDA-type area (high dependency) - he looks fine apart from a smashed eye and will talk dime a dozen to anyone. Unfortunately, he has a goldfish type memory and repeatedly asks for a cigarette or beer or to join the party. He just can’t remember that he’s had a crash and is in hospital.

Gradually though, his memory starts to return (I found the part where Mindy gives Richard the newspaper report of the crash to read very teary) and he is released from hospital. The problem is, how do you find somewhere for a Top Gear host to recover- in peace? Military precision allows the family to escape to seclusion to Scotland where Richard slowly recovers.

I’m glad the Hamster has recovered, Top Gear wouldn’t have been the same without him. This is a great book to read from a patient/family perspective of hospitals and yes, you will get references to Jezza and Captain Slow.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com (less)

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May 27, 2011

Sarah Librarian rated it

· review of another edition

As a fan of Top Gear (though a new fan), I'd read articles about Richard Hammond's accident, but I had no idea of the details or his recovery. I picked up his biography on a whim, I haven't read a lot of bios, but I do tend to enjoy them. Hammon's biography was no exception. It was a fantastic, easy to read book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Written after the crash, the book is in three parts, though not really divided as such). The first takes place as Richard is a child, then growing up and wor...more

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Feb 18, 2009

Keonaona rated it

While I could not give a toss about supercars (or, to be honest, about any car), I am a huge fan of the BBC Two show Top Gear. For those who haven't seen it, Richard Hammond is one of the three hosts--you might say he is the cute one (where James May is the dependable, cultivated, or stodgy one--depending on your point of view--and Jeremy Clarkson is the class clown). Their antics and bickering are what keeps me and many, many others coming back to the show. In September 2006 Hammond was filming...moreWhile I could not give a toss about supercars (or, to be honest, about any car), I am a huge fan of the BBC Two show Top Gear. For those who haven't seen it, Richard Hammond is one of the three hosts--you might say he is the cute one (where James May is the dependable, cultivated, or stodgy one--depending on your point of view--and Jeremy Clarkson is the class clown). Their antics and bickering are what keeps me and many, many others coming back to the show. In September 2006 Hammond was filming a segment for the show, driving a jet-engine-powered car down a runway in Yorkshire, when a front tire blew out. The car veered off the runway and flipped at 280 mph, digging into the ground. If one of his much taller co-hosts had been at the wheel, they'd have been beheaded. Hammond suffered serious brain damage and was in a deep coma (on the Glasgow Coma Scale he rated a 3, the worst score you can attain).

Needless to say, since he's published a book about the whole thing, you know from the get-go that he has recovered--he returned to Top Gear in late January 2007 (at the end of that first show, they go through the crash footage; you can find it on YouTube). He was mostly mended in an astonishingly short time frame, though he later admitted that he knows he came back to work too soon. This book is the story of the crash and his recovery. Because there was rather a long while when he was in a coma and later, after he awoke, suffered from post-traumatic amnesia, about half of the book was authored by his wife, Mindy. As has been said by book reviewers, she's not a writer. But that doesn't make her half of the book any less good. She is a wife and mother who suddenly had to deal with a major crisis, one that was splashed all over the news. The Top Gear team was camped at the hospital in Leeds; news and photos of the crash were all over the television and the papers. Her short declarative sentences and the sense of repetition give what I think is probably an accurate sense of what it was like to be in that situation. You can only look ahead five minutes at a time, and your life moves from task to task with no notion of a long view into the future. You don't know if your husband is going to live; and if he does, what does that mean? Will he recognize you--or his parents, brothers, daughters, and friends? What if he lives but is basically a vegetable? Or permanently stuck at the age of six? I'd be thinking in short, declarative sentences, too.

After Hammond more or less returns to his senses and his brain begins to heal so that the amnesia fades and he is able to remember what was happening from one moment to the next, the book becomes a dialog, where he writes about something he remembers happening and Mindy writes her take on it or her part of that event. It culminates with his return to the show and filming the Polar Challenge special (May and Clarkson drove to the North Pole in a Toyota Hilux while Hammond raced against them on a dog sled).

Is it great literature? No. But then memoirs rarely are. If you've ever seen him in action, you know Hammond has a quick, sharp wit, and that gift translates well into his writing and in the end keeps the book from being mawkish.(less)

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Nov 16, 2008

S rated it

Shelves: 2008

Shoddy, cliche writing, but he's too lovable for me to mind much.

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Dec 03, 2010

Steffi rated it

Shelves: bbc

This was a really great read about Richard's jet car crash that happened in 2006. It was so much more than what I thought it would it be. Not to say that I didn't think it would be interesting. I knew that it was about the crash from both Richard and his wife Mindy's POV of what happened before and after the crash. But I didn't know it would go into such depth of what really went on at the hospital and at their getaway home. The story was arranged wonderfully starting off with the crash having a...more

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May 26, 2009

Dylan rated it

I love Top Gear and when I heard of Richard's accident I knew I had to keep a eye out.
No idea he would write about it mind you, I guess thats what star's do...
I found it gave a great look behind "the Hamster" and how that terrible moment effected him, as well as the sad truths he was left to deal with.
Saying that, the true story that grabs you is not his, but that of his wife, who mite as well have her own book on the event!
As well as that, Richard talks about h...more

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Apr 26, 2009

New York Nick rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of Top Gear and the Hamster

Recommended to New York Nick by: Top Gear Magazine

A focused and personal account of the author surviving a massive accident and his journey back to his family. Hammond tells the story up to the accident and post his waking from a coma. His wife, Mindy, picks up the story in between and gives a heart wrenching and somewhat chilling re-account of her learning of the accident, the frantic rush to be at his side, the patients required to provide care and the skill required to protect her husband from the media at bay. Hammond is accurate when he sa...more

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Sep 21, 2009

Sarah rated it

I've been a huge fan of Top Gear for ages, so it surprised me to learn that Richard Hammond had been in a life-threatening crash during the 2006 season. The book gives a decent background on Hammond, but mainly chronicles the events of the crash and the aftermath--how he and his family deals with a traumatic brain injury.

There's something about a near-death experience, a tale of personal grievance where you think the protagonist might not make it, that shows you and how bloody raw a...more

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Aug 07, 2009

Jenn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, audio

Oh wee Richard! The bulk of this book is about his car crash, brain injury, and recovery from that, and it's as much his wife Mindy's story as it is his. Appropriately, she narrates her sections of the book and does a great, affecting job. You get a very clear sense of how hard it must be to tend to a loved one with a brain that's out of whack (even with all the resources available to them). This is a brief little abridgment, and I did wonder how much was left out. It's also necessarily not qui...more

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Jul 03, 2011

John P. rated it

I loved this book. It gives a great insight not just into Hammond's almost-fatal accident (with just as much input from his wife's perspective which gives the book a more rounded quality) but into their life as well.

On the surface it might seem like it's "that bloke off top Gear who crashed that car", but as soon as you start reading you realise it is a story of a man who had worked hard to have a brilliant life; how close he came to losing it all, and the long journey back a...more

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Mar 11, 2011

Loraine rated it

Shelves: biography

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it was actually not that bad. The first part is told by Richard himself which tells of his life up until the accident. Then the story is taken over by his wife who tells the horrific details of the high speed crash and the aftermath that followed. Then Richard takes over once more telling life as he sees it now and his long recovery.
There are points that do make you feel a bit emotional and you feel for his wife and children. Richard really i...more

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Jan 27, 2011

Timo rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: äänikirjat

It is so bitter to hear about someone who loves and is enthusiastic about his work, because I hate and loathe mine.
It is so emotional hear about someone who is loved by so many and cared so deeply, because it only makes me wonder if anybody (beside my ever lovely Kaisa) would notice if something happened tome.
This audio version of this book was done well. Richard read his onwn bits and while he was in coma and when the book dealt the situations his condition brought to the people clo...more

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Apr 20, 2010

Tara Calaby rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: top-gear, autobiography, richard-hammond

I'm not really an autobiography/biography kind of person, but I was interested in learning more about the Hamster's recovery from his horrific jet-car accident. In places, it's a little slow, but on the whole it was an engrossing, if not entirely enjoyable read - after all, brain injuries are not exactly jolly fare. I think Mindy's sections really add to the overall worth of the book, and it's easy to sympathise with her, and to come away with a high opinion of her loyalty and bravery.

...more

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Feb 24, 2010

Kimberley rated it

Shelves: gift, it-s-on-my-shelf-may-read-again, auto-biography

This isn't my usual genre but I have been a fan of the Hamster for a while.
Primarily this is a book about his life and the recovery of his high speed crash. Part of this is written by his wife and details how they felt following the crash and then Richard talks about how he felt and dealt with his recovery, it pulled heart strings hearing how he felt and his fears for his health since but you gain a new admiration for how he deals with the day to day things and how he faught to get himself...more

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Jan 17, 2010

Anne rated it

One of the UK TV shows I watch is Top Gear, the British version, and it was Richard Hammond, one of the presenters, whose autobio I read over the holidays. It tells of his early start in his journalist career, his love of bikes and cars and how he managed to get a great job combining both. But mainly, the book is an honest account of how Richard and his wife coped with the aftermath of the crash that nearly ended his life and how they both overcame a terrifying situation for them and their famil...more

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Feb 02, 2009

Dustin rated it

I initially read this book because I was an avid Top Gear Fan. I was looking to learn more about "the Hamster" and specifically about the crash that nearly ended his life. Search it out if you've never heard of it. What i ended up reading was so much more. This book is Richards life story. Who he is now, who he was before the crash, and what appears to be a very honest look into head trauma and recovery told by two sides (Richard and his Wife).

Moreover, as someone who has w...more

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Jul 11, 2009

Heather rated it

An autobiography by Richard Hammond giving an insight into his youth and background then focussing on the catatrophic accident he had in a jet car and his subsequent recovery from head injury. The second part of the book is written in conjunction with his wife, Mindy, giving both sides of the story which gives wonderful perspective.As Richard Hammond is my favourite Top Gear presenter this was an enjoyable and insightful read although I did get confused by time lines a little post accident but p...more

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Jun 19, 2011

Laini rated it

Shelves: biography, top-gear, non-fiction

Whilst filming an episode of Top Gear, driving an extremely fast jet powered car, Richard Hammond was in a horfic crash. He survived, however with severe head trauma. This is his story of the crash and his recovery, partly written by his wife Mindy who chronicles the days and weeks after the crash when Richard's short term memory problems means he has very few memories of this time.

As always Richard's sections are full of wit and humour. I laughed out loud, I cringed when he ment...more

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May 21, 2011

Graceann rated it

Shelves: memoir

In September 2006, popular television presenter Richard Hammond set off in a jet car for an episode of Top Gear, and his world quite literally turned upside down. This is the story about how he could have died, and very nearly did, and how he and his loved ones clawed their way back.

This is a book that doesn't let you go, and one that doesn't ease you past the more gruesome aspects of Hammond's story. The accident itself is described in chilling, nerve-twisting detail; so complete ...more

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Aug 08, 2009

Peter rated it

Shelves: autobiography

On the Edge - Richard Hammond
Weidenfiled & Nicolson
isbn 13 978 0 85327 5

When a national TV star has a serious accident in the course of his work it is BIG news. That is how things are these days. The viewer builds up some sort of relationship with the person on the small(ish) screen. So Richard's jet car accident was a big deal. The newspapers and the TV and radio news not only reported his crash, but also to some extent his recovery. This book is Richards record, for pub...moreOn the Edge - Richard Hammond
Weidenfiled & Nicolson
isbn 13 978 0 85327 5

When a national TV star has a serious accident in the course of his work it is BIG news. That is how things are these days. The viewer builds up some sort of relationship with the person on the small(ish) screen. So Richard's jet car accident was a big deal. The newspapers and the TV and radio news not only reported his crash, but also to some extent his recovery. This book is Richards record, for public consumption, of that whole process.

I started reading this on our quiet weekend, and got a fair way through. It starts with Richard's childhood and gives you some idea why he turned out like he did, his family life, and how he ended up on 'Top Gear'. This is all very interesting stuff as autobiographies go, but it isn't the main point of his book. The point is the recovery from the accident. It was just another mad day of filming. Richard describes the 'car' as he normally would. I could hear him as I read the words. The preparations for the run, the description of the simplicity of the controls. His evaluation of the vehicle and the driving experience. The description of the accident is brief. His thoughts during it are also recorded, but obviously from his memories - after the accident. He is used to observing and recording his impressions and playing them back for the viewer, and the accident is recorded in a similar way.

Immediately after the accident Mindy (his wife) takes over the narrative. It is through her descriptions of the aftermath that we get a real feeling for the impact that such an accident has on those around the victim. At first just the worry, the narrow focus on the person you think you may loose, and the overwhelming shock of it all. All this comes through really clearly.
The recovery process is more prolonged, this part takes about half the book. There are some lovely scenes that portray the madness of it all, they should be funny, but because we have got to know Richard somehow, they are not. The escape from the hospital, the military style operation to move the family to somewhere quiet so that the recovery can continue should be a point of high humour - but we care, so it isn't. Mindy's passages about the family, and particularly the children make for difficult reading. They are well written, but hard to read, hard to get through, especially if you have children of your own, I suspect.

Towards the end where Richard and Mindy are both writing, and it is possible to compare what they were doing by putting the passages next to each other, the font is changed so that we can easily tell who is who. That is helpful, but that part of the book is still the most confusing. It would have been better separated into chapters, and some explaining used to help the reader through. The constant switches from Richard to Mindy and back again just serves to break both stories.

It is a very readable book, from one of our best TV personalities, describing a difficult period in his life. Mindy's sections are perhaps the most important, and perhaps communicate the experience better than Richard's, but then she is on the outside, just as we are. (less)

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Aug 28, 2008

Linda rated it

An interesting insight into the trauma of and recovery from a brain injury from the viewpoint of the patient and his wife. Richard Hammond, one of the presenters on Top Gear, leads into his accident with a jet-powered car and subsequent brain injury with a short look at his life and his career with Top Gear up to the moment of the accident. His wife, Mindy, then continues with a recount of her reactions and subsequent journey with Richard as he fights to regain his life and heal his brain.
...more

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Jan 18, 2012

Muffy Morrigan rated it

· review of another edition

Fans of Top Gear might pick this up merely because Richard Hammond is one of the starts of the show. They might be a little surprised to discover this is about his recovery from a horrific crash suffered while working on the show (A jet car overturned at more the 270mph) and this book relates, very honestly, his road to recovery.

It begins with his childhood, so we can understand why he gets into that jet car in the first place--along the way we meet one of the most amazing women--his...more

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Aug 12, 2011

Kylie Martin rated it

Fantastic book - we all love "the little bloke off the car show". the book has been incredibly well written by Hammond and his wife Mindy. Its been done in a positive way and has many interesting areas from his career in it.

Fair play to the bloke for having at some points been so scared of people to bounce back to his TV career and opening himself up in this book and telling the world about it

well done to him and the many others who suffer similarly

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Jan 28, 2012

Josefa Ann rated it

· review of another edition

I have a great adoration for Richard Hammond on Top Gear, which was only increased when I heard about his past accident and recovery. my own interest the medical side of things encouraged me to look into his personal story around this time, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. The narration by both Hammond and his loving, intelligent wife were well done, and I enjoyed hearing both sides of the story with pieces of Richard's childhood sprinkled throughout the text. It was everything I'...more

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Jul 25, 2011

Meredith Walker rated it

I thought this would be an interesting read but found it to be so much more - a lovely and touching love story. Yes it is more about Richard and Mindy's relationship than the actual events of the accident, however, this was what made it so wonderful. I only hope that one day i can enjoy the same type of love they do. Would recommend it to anyone and everyone. I can see why he is such a popular UK figure - such a loveable larikan and genuine good guy

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May 31, 2011

Kiri rated it

An account of Hammond's crash, brain-injury and subsequent recovery. I've become a devoted fan of the British "Top Gear" TV show, to a great extent because of the wonderful personalities of the hosts, and the great chemistry they have with each other. I tracked this book down to get the full story of Hammond's jet car crash. Very detailed, obviously written by two people who are not professional writers, but genuine and moving.

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About Richard Hammond

Richard Hammond is a British TV presenter, most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky1, Should I Worry About...? on BBC One and Total Wipeout, also on BBC One and Richard Hammonds Blast Lab on CBBC. He has also presented several one-off specials such as ITV's The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend...more

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As You Do: Adventures With Evel, Oliver, and The Vice-President Of Botswana

Richard Hammond's Car Confidential: The Odd, the Mad, the Bad and the Curious

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