'On the Edge' by Richard Hammond

If you like the short bloke off Top Gear then you'll love this book. It is filled with happiness, joy and disaster.

It all starts in Gloustershire where Richard Hammond is a local radio presenter on the topic of cars. He was on for 1 hour every Saturday and Sunday. About two years later he applied for BBC radio. He then got a call to come and audition on Sunday for 2 hours talking about the weather, news and as always cars. He was put on 3 hour slots every Sunday. But what he always wanted to be was... a presenter on Top Gear.

Two years into his BBC radio career he noticed that Top Gear was looking for new presenters so as soon as he heard this he quickly applied. He was given a slot to audition on a car called Skoda Superb. Just a few weeks later he was sitting in his study and the phone rang. A voice said, "Richard, it's Dave. Welcome to the team. And that's how his Top Gear career started.

On his first day he burst into the office and said, ‘Right I want to go fast not too fast or maybe break a record.’ Everyone looked at him. Andy Williams is the editor and he thought that this was a good idea so he took up the challenge and asked Richard to do it.

Next comes the disaster. One cold day he turned up on a runway sitting in a dragster and ready to go. He had been given lessons on how to break and drive and now he was ready to go.

The noise could be heard a mile away as this blur could be seen going along a runway. His first run was fantastic. He had reached 213 mph and had accelerated from 0-60 in 2 seconds. He was then taken back up to the top of the runway because Richard said he could go faster. He did this over again 6 times. Then the sun was coming down where he had just one more run allowed before the night. He fastened up and zoomed away from the line. But just 5 seconds later the front wheel came off and he went into a roll. The emergency crews rushed over and found him unconscious and upside down. He was rushed to hospital and was in a coma. But was that the end to his Top Gear career? Find out in On The Edge.

by Nicol Robertson