May on Motors

by James May

Best known as the third presenter in the unholy trinity that is Clarkson, Hammond and May on Top Gear, James May has lived, breathed and dreamt about cars his entire life.
There is something about cars that stirs up intense feelings in people - how it makes them look to the outside world, how it makes them feel about themselves, how it looks to their girlfriends or their mates, or their neighbours. These feelings are humorously described in May on Motors, as James takes us on the road and looks at the cars that have shaped him, his world and the ordinary people of Britain.
In May on Motors, James has brought together his most controversial and amusing pieces to make a brilliant collection that will amuse and inspire all car enthusiasts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cars, Humor

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

James May is a British television presenter and award-winning journalist.

May is best known as co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond. He also writes a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph's motoring section. On Top Gear, his nickname is "Captain Slow", owing to his 'careful' driving style. He has, however, carried out some exceptionally high-speed driving (including taking a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed).

Reviews

[Mihai]

The book is a colection of James May's newspaper columns. Therefore, each story is a two and a half pages article, due to the standard format of the Daily Telegraph column. May's writing style is humorously sarcastic, but thankfully not as rude and offensive as Clarkson's. James May certainly has the knowledge and the analytical thinking to produce quality comments on the automotive industry and he fulfilled his potential in most of the columns that comprise this good for an afternoon's reading called 'May on Motors'.

[Liam]

I really enjoyed this series of articles by James May. His dry humour, entertaining writing style and overall 'Britishness' made each one pleasurable. Some were obviously better than others, but there wasn't one that I disliked and so I managed to read this in only 3 days - whilst on holiday in Majorca.

NB: I'm ashamed to say that as it was so amusing, it derailed my inevitable romance with the pretty girl doing the entertainment - our relationship being reduced to a few lingering looks; now just a slowly fading memory. For this I curse Mr. May... I'm not even particularly into cars anyway.

[Nick Nillo]

I will always argue that James May is by far the best commentator on on Top Gear no matter who keeps calling him Captain Slow. I really enjoyed his book even though it can get pretentious and preachy at times. If you're a fan of the man you'll really like his book. If you find him too boring, stick to Jezza. (If you're not a Top Gear fan, don't be surprised if you don't understand me)

[Graham]

A collection of May's non-fiction articles, culled from the pages of The Telegraph and Top Gear magazine and dating back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. I've read a similar book by Jeremy Clarkson and I have to say that May comes across as more erudite: he shares plenty of knowledge, including some classic poetry, and the viewer feels that overall he's more culturally focused. Often funnier, too. However, I view cars as little more than big toys, and this all gets very samey to me at some point; there's only so many times you can hear variations on the same theme. Some of the 'banter' feels a little below the author too, such as the obvious digs at other cultures and various stereotypes. If you like cars more than I do then you'll probably enjoy it more, but prepare to find this dated.

[Joe Walker]

Fun going back to this some 15-20 years after most of the articles are written and seeing how things have turned out compared to what was anticipated or hoped for in the motoring industry. Nice and easy to fly though as each article is only a few pages long and arranged in such a way that whilst articles run on a theme, them coming from different sources and different time periods keeps things constantly fresh. A good collection that shows what a wonderful writer James is, and it's a shame that there aren't as many collections of his works as there are or Clarkson's, as James' style is a delight to read. It is like him: a blend of incredible sophistication with a lot of pub banter thrown in.

[Neowright]

I really enjoyed this series of articles by James May. His dry humour, entertaining writing style and overall 'Britishness' made each one really enjoyable. Some were obviously better than others, but there wasn't one that I didn’t like, so I managed to read this in only 3 days , whilst on holiday in France.
I really enjoyed his book even though it can get pretentious and preachy at times. If you're a fan of the man you'll really like his book!

[Danny Theurer]

Favorite Top Gear/Grand Tour presenter, but not my favorite bit of writing. James May stays true to his unique communication style throughout these collected articles, but (as one who has read a good bit of his written work) this specific collection is far from his best work. Not bad for a read here and there, but I would not recommend that a reader get their hopes up too highly when selecting this book.

[Richelle Stephens]

A must-read book for fans of "Top Gear". One of the funniest books I've ever read.

[Ewen Stapley]

An enjoyable compilation of humerous columns about cars and life.

[Sharon]

These are a collection of May's columns from the Telegraph in one handy book form. Unlike Clarkson's World According book they are all car or bike related but even to a very non-petrol head they are still very amusing, covering everything from mad French drivers to his dislike of Motorways. Anyone who drives and goes on road trips through to those that like nothing better than to tinker around in the garage for hours will enjoy this read. May is knowledgeable and witty and can talk about a subject in a way that will interest most people.

[Phil Cotnoir]

One Sentence Review: Quite simply the ideal bathroom reader for any car enthusiast who appreciates witty British humour (note the British spelling of that particular word); like any compilation there are duds and there are home runs, but the bottom line is that it is consistently entertaining, enjoyable, and at times laugh-out-loud funny.

[Kristina Brown]

I admit I may be slightly biased, but I still reckon this is a great book. It covers a wide range of topics and, if you're a fan of Top Gear, you'll recognize his opinion on each of them. Navigation (on land and by air), american hard gums, pies, the French, the countryside... to name but a few. You can't help but pick it up... even if you've already read it twice.

[Becca]

Out of the three Top Gear presenters, I enjoy James May's writing the most. This book may just be a collection of columns he's written, and they all relate in some way to cars, but I enjoy it regardless.

[Olivia Friary]

This is so weird. I scanned the barcode for a giant picture book called Nature's Show Offs. It was illustrated by John Francis, courtesy of Bernard Thornton Artists. Instead Goodreads came up with this book about cars. I really need to find another copy of this book - my chihuahua peed on our copy.

[Paddy Willard]

A collection of May's musings for various mags and papers. Some good, some OK but altogether more measured than a Clarkson rant.

[Jono Carney]

Good in places, but was a bit repetitive and at the end of the day he's not Clarkson.

[Chris]

Quite simply, funnier than Clarkson's World according to books.

[Gregory Gay]

James May's oldest essay book is probably his weakest, but still a good collection of hilarious musings on cars and tech. Good stuff!

[Neil Denham]

If you like cars, and you like James may then you will like this book. If not stay well clear!