Hammond's book "On the Edge"

[vanderwater]

Thanks again. It works fine.

[Mike Bull]

Yup, just burning mine to discs- it's brilliant, thanks so much!

Will leave it seeding for a while, to help others out.

[Kenyeres]

Is this the WHOLE book read out? I mean word by word? Because I think it's a book with more than 300 pages and this audio version looks to be much shorter

[silverdolphin86]

I don't know. I don't have the book for reference.

[Jacobi]

The audio CD versions we have at my work are abridged. So maybe what you have will be to.

[vanderwater]

It is abridged. But it is done well, so it still flows ok. But I would read the book first

[Jocó]

I finally got the book and read it.

It was great, very emotional. He really did have a hard time - and his family and friends too. Most of the interviews after the accident were pretty light-heartened and full of jokes, but reading the book you understand that he had lots of problems for a long time.

[Jacobi]

The current Australian Readers Digest features a badly chopped up, almost Spark Notes version of the book in the back, as their kind of feature of the month. The book cover photo is the cover of this issue, with the speeds converted to KPH...

The cover reads, "The day I died at 449kmh by Top Gear's Richard Hammond"... You're still better off reading the book, a lot of the little bits that I loved aren't in it.

[aaurora]

There's several varities of this book available. Can I please ask which kind everyone else has?

Whats the difference between the American and UK version? The UK hardback is 344 pages while the USA one is 309.

I know I'm a bit slow off the mark, but I've read it through my local library and now I want to buy a copy, so I'm after the best one I can find. I've found one for $50 (the 344 page UK edition) or $38 for the 309 USA edition. Both hardback.

What one should I get?

[juLie]

I got the 309 page one from borders for $35 a while ago now. But the one I got wasnt a hardback copy.
I didnt realise there were 2 different versions.

[aaurora]

Yeah, I've rung up a few book stores and they have the paperback for around that price. Does it have colour pictures? Thanks

[ladora]

It was a very riveting read, and definitely gave me an idea of what it's like to have someone close to me suffer from brain injury. I remember reading through Mindy's parts and wanting to put the book down at times. because i could literally feel what she was feeling (despair, etc). Reading it just makes me really grateful that the Hamster's okay now.

Originally Posted by aaurora

Yeah, I've rung up a few book stores and they have the paperback for around that price. Does it have colour pictures? Thanks

I've got the 309-page paperback version, yup it does have color pictures. (:

[aaurora]

Thanks, Ladora! That really helps!

I wonder what is the difference between this:

Format: Hardcover, 309 pages
Quantity Available: 287
Usually ships within: 6-11 days
Condition: New
Publisher: Orion Publishing, April 2008
ISBN: 0297853279 EAN: 9780297853275
Dimensions: 23.93 x 16.46 x 3.20 centimetres (0.64 kg)
Country of Publication: United States


and this:

Format: Hardcover, 344 pages
Usually ships within: 6-11 days
Condition: New
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 20 September 2007
ISBN: 0297853279 EAN: 9780297853275
Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.2 x 2.9 centimetres (0.67 kg)
Other Information: illustrations
Country of Publication: United Kingdom

[skylock]

Originally Posted by aaurora

Thanks, Ladora! That really helps!

I wonder what is the difference between this:

Format: Hardcover, 309 pages
Quantity Available: 287
Usually ships within: 6-11 days
Condition: New
Publisher: Orion Publishing, April 2008
ISBN: 0297853279 EAN: 9780297853275
Dimensions: 23.93 x 16.46 x 3.20 centimetres (0.64 kg)
Country of Publication: United States


and this:

Format: Hardcover, 344 pages
Usually ships within: 6-11 days
Condition: New
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 20 September 2007
ISBN: 0297853279 EAN: 9780297853275
Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.2 x 2.9 centimetres (0.67 kg)
Other Information: illustrations
Country of Publication: United Kingdom

If it has the same ISBN number, I think it is suppose to be the same book. Maybe very slightly smaller text was used for the seemingly shorter version.

You know. Save a few pages, save some money printing it.

[Ottobon]

Originally Posted by skylock

You know. Save a few pages, save some money printing it.

Thats what i would think, theirs no good reason to cut 35 pages of material out.

[aaurora]

That makes sense! You guys might be onto something Clever people. I wonder why they have the USA published book listed as Our Price: $90.99 $38.36 and the UK one for $52.79.

Original price at $90 is a bit hopeful, don't you think?

[Tranquillizer]

i have finished reading the book a month ago.
it was a good read. but a difficult one.
they way hammond wrote the book (pre Mindy chapters, and during recovery) was bit different.
one moment i am ready about something and next line suddenly take a whole new turn. he twists around alot.
may be it was how he is now after the accident.
at quite a few (infact many many times) occasions i had to go back few lines read them again to follow up or stay where he is going.
i kept loosing him at different point.
it took me about two months to finish that book, i had to re-read the pages again and agin to follow him up, i really had to.
but one this is clear, the time him, his family, espacially mindy. i must say she is a very very strong woman. and richard's recovery would not have possible if Mindy wasnt there.
i have noticed how his personality is bit scattered now. and i must say he should have taken some time off the top gear. but he knew top gear would not have returned without him, no one would have accepted TG without him.
i must mention here Isabella, she is a brave girl. she did everything possible for her to make sure she not only takes care of her sister but help her mum to bring back her father into their life once again.

[James May's Hair]

I bought the paperback version - £3.99 from play.com - and read it in a few hours over two days.

There is one part, early on, where Hammond goes right off on a tangent about his grandfather; I thought it was totally out of place and just skipped it. The part written by his wife was excellent: beautifully written and flowing. Many people had said she was the better writer and I can't find a reason to disagree.

Well worth £3.99 of any TG fan's money.