undemanding read, nice touches,
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Language wise this is an undemanding, non-technical book, by which I mean you wont learn to be a brain surgeon or rocket car scientist by reading it.
You will learn how one couple coped with and travelled through a terrible thing happening to one of them.
That the 'physically injured party' is well known make this a little like watching a film where you know the ending (think Apollo 13) but are interested to know how you get there - and when you do get to the end you realise you didn't know more than the basic, I don't think I'm spoiling anything to say 'he lived & went back to work' but it is good to know how he feels about that.
It's also good to read Mindy Hammonds' point of view - I particularly liked touches where they remembered things differently, he remembers a green car outside, she a blue one...I enjoyed that side of things very much.
The only thing is I would have liked two things, a bit more detail about the type of brain injury Richard suffered and also a bit more of the going back to work, getting into life again stuff. The end was a little rushed.
Enjoy.
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Fantastic. A riveting read for all ages
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Now I'm 12 years old, but no, I'm not writing a review for the authored..kids..adapted thing. I'm sure you've gathered I prefer the real deal. This book truly is magnificently written. From cover to cover I was 'on the edge' (I wonder if this is where the book got it's name?) of my seat. I know many people say this, but this time it's literal. I couldn't put it down for the life of me.
I was reading this in the garden. I spent 15 or so minutes reading it when a wasp starting buzzing around my head, and yes I'm sure all of you reading this will know how unutterably irritating this is.
So I stood up and started hitting it with a tea-towel, but by the time I could get anywhere near it it had already flown away. And all the time I was doing this, I was still reading the book, so no wonder.
And then I spent 15 minutes standing up reading it, because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or what was going on around me, so I couldn't sit down........I was inside the book. Weird?! Spooky?! Yeah, I think so too.
When you're reading this book you get a feeling you're there. Especially the parts that Richard's wife, Mindy, wrote.
In the part where she was driving to the hospital where Richard was, I felt like I was there. In the car with her.
This book is a compilation, really, of everything that happened to the Hammonds as a family. As a whole. Everything you could possibly want to know is included in On The Edge.
It's the story of how the family adapted to knowing one of their members had brain damage. What you would tell the kids. As Richard said in his book promo, how he risked his life just to strap himself to the front of a jet-engine for kicks. It's the story of how he crashed a jet powered dragster at 288 miles-per-hour.
If you're looking to read a book in the near future, or have just finished a book (probably one you've just bought from ASDA in a 3 for 2 offer with a "Richard & Judy's Summer Read" sticker on the front cover, let's not deny it), and want a truly riveting read that could keep you entertained, on the edge of your seat for hours on end, then look no further. Richard Hammond: On The Edge is one of the most fantastic accounts I've ever read.
Fan of the Hamster or not, this is unmissable.
5 STAR *****
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Remarkable Love Story
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What impressed me about this book was the sheer devotion of Richard and Mindy to each other and their children. Yes this is a book about a man struggling to rehabilitate after a horrific brain injury, and the tale of a man 'off the telly', but it is more than that. It is about courage, hope and resilience in the face of really daunting odds. I was very moved by this story, which is not something I was expecting at all when I first picked it up.
It is simply written and honest about the ups and downs of a horrific time in this family's life. It's not earth shattering literature, but then anyone who was expecting it to be must be slightly deranged themselves.
What really touched me is the effort both Richard and Mindy made to acknowledge the help they have received along the way both professionally and from ordinary people, and the fact that despite the fact that this was a high profile story, they keep coming back to their connection with and understanding of ordinary people who have to go through things like this and worse, with a fraction of the help provided here.
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Survival of the Fittest
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Richard Hammond covers the daredevil stunts of his childhood with a humour that he obviously took into his adult life. But the book isn't so much about his life as about the aftermath of his horrendous crash in a jet car whilst filming for the Top Gear television programme. The fact that Top Gear pushes the boundaries of acceptable motoring or that at times it can be irresponsible and purely for entertainment is probably not for discussion here. Hammond is part of that set-up and the fact that he drove a jet car could smack of commerciality gone too far.
As we all know he suffered severe brain damage from the crash. This book deals primarily with the build-up to the crash and the aftermath seen both through Hammond's eyes and those of his wife Mindy. Whilst Hammond was trying to pick up the pieces of his life and dealing with the problems of recuperating from brain damage, Mindy was trying to carry the burden of the family whilst giving him a solid base for his recovery. This is an overwhelming story of survival and return to fitness that at one point didn't seem possible. It is about the triumph of the human spirit. It is well written and an enjoyable read although I found the almost pathological need to avoid the Media slightly surprising given that Hammond himself operates within that field.
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An excellent read
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What a fantastic book. I really couldn't put it down. It had me laughing and crying, sometimes on the same page. Whovever said they couldn't decide whether it was good or not obviously missed the point completely. Maybe there were too many big words and not enough pictures. A real story about real people and it still has a happy ending. Excellent
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