Our reviews of Ben Collins' book

jenna42

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Apologies for adding another to the plethora of Stig threads. I got so moithered trying to decide where to post this I thought I'd let the Mods decide where to move it if need be.

After all the hooha I thought Richard Porter said it best "a hilarious joke in which The Stig accidentally writes a rather boring autobiography in the comically overwrought style of Troy Queef. Although come to think of it, that last thing really has happened." Mind you, I'm not the target audience and a petrolhead might find it fascinating.

The book starts with Ben's audition for the Stig job, then the first fifth is about his growing up and his early racing experiences, eg Daytona and Le Mans 24.

Thereafter, (ends on page 323 with the Cruise and Diaz laps) it's primarily about TG, TG Live, Jeremy's DVDS, a little on his other racing and quite a bit on his SAS training.

There are no Deep Throat revelations about TG - from what little he says about the presenters I got the impression he liked Hammond best, was slightly baffled by James and a bit overawed by Jeremy. If there was any friction it was with Andy, but the references to the TG4 are surprisingly few and completely unrevealing.

There are anecdotes about some of the SIARPCs; a chapter about Schumacher; accounts of some of the challenges, and talk about various cars eg the Bugatti Veyron and, especially, the Koenigsegg CCX. Ben's account of binning it in the presence of Christian von K is actually the only car bit I found myself gripped by. Ben goes into the technicalities of driving and, particularly, of driving the Dunsfold track. I'd think petrolheads would find these pages engrossing.

There's nothing about the dispute over his leaving or, really, his reasons for doing so, although he does mention that he'd have liked to race NASCAR and Le Mans as the Stig but that didn't happen; no details of his contracts, NDAs, pay etc. In the acknowledgements he says only "The Top Gear Team, thank you for the good times, I wish you all the best for the future".

I'd be interested to know what a driving enthusiast thinks of the book. It wasn't for me - and is ridiculously overpriced at ?20 for bookshops - but it'll be interesting to see what the media thinks, or if they even bother to review it.
 
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Im off out to buy it tomorrow before work. At ?5, i think its worth it :)
 
Let's be honest, most people will buy it in the hope that it dishes the dirt on TG and its presenters, and will be most disappointed that it doesn't
 
i wouldnt mind buying it so long as i can get it off iBooks, that way i can keep myself entertained at the dinner table when im dining out for one :(
 
Let's be honest, most people will buy it in the hope that it dishes the dirt on TG and its presenters, and will be most disappointed that it doesn't

I was worried that it would dish dirt, and mar the time that TG has left. I breathed a sigh of relief when I read this review. Actually, parts of the book sound like they might be interesting to read, even to a "junior" petrolhead like myself. And "slightly baffled by James" made me:lmao:
 
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My grandma will be picking up the book when she goes to the UK next week.

I think it'll be an interesting read. :)

She even knows who Ben Collins is. She's British and follows all the news from here in Holland. :lol:

"Isn't that the testdriver who got sacked!?" was her reply. :lol:
 
I have to wonder why he found it necessary to write a book about being the Stig.. The book sounds boring imo. Maybe it's just my view of it, but it seems people loved the Stig because of the Mystery not because he was some white guy in a suit that could race... I have to wonder if he thought that writing a book and going public about it would greatly help his career or give him fame or something. That being said, I could possibly find the answers to these questions in articles, but I can't care enough to bother reading them. :rolleyes:
 
i bet the stories are massivly good. think about the fact that when people are around him when he is in charactor, they will say anything and whine like a B*&^%. i think people forget they are around a normal person and feel more open to talk. he got to see sides of people that most of the public dont and i bet in schumi's case, he got to see what most people in his circle wont talk about, the fact that he can be a huge pain in the ass. im just guessing.

i wasnt going to buy the book based on the fact that he is a jackass in my eyes but im just betting there is some good stuff in there.
 
Searching for this on BookDepository also gave this result

9780007273843.jpg


:think:

I'm not burning to read this so I'll probably get it when it's cheaper
 
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