Customer Reviews
Really disappointing - By: J. SCARROTT, 22 Jun 2008 
I'm a huge fan of Top Gear & think its one of most entertaining programmes on television & Jeremy Clarkson is a complete legend. However, when I read this book, I was reallly disppointed as many of entries are pretty much the same! Half the book is a long rant about Vauxhalll Vectras, drink driving laws & 'slow' drivers. Frankly, I just got reallly bored & reallly struggled to finish it. Also much of the content is now so old & irrelevant, its pointless. If it were half the size it would be brilliant but unfortunately it's not.
Material 15 years out of date - By: Deb, 01 Jan 2008 
I bought this for my husband for Christmas and, despite him liking Clarkson, this book is an irritation because its once-topical content is completely out of date. When contemplating buying it I checked the publication date to make sure it was recent - so it would feel current, & so it was less likely he'd already read it. The date of publication was listed as Jan 2007 - seemed pretty safe. I assumed the hardback would have been about a year earlier. It's currently number 26 in the Amazon 'Humour' chart, but when I bought it in mid December I think it was higher in the chart, again giving the impression of something current. I only read the most recent Amazon reviews, which were written in 2007 - if I'd read ALL the reviews & checked the dates they were written I would have seen that some of them were written several years ago, but usuallly you're looking for people's impressions & not proof of the book's age!
When my husband received the book & started to read it he was a little peeved to discover that the book refers to lots of events which took place during the 90s, such as discussing car launches for cars which aren't even made any more, having been discontinued & replaced! He checked the inside front cover & found that the book was FIRST published in 1999, but seems to have been compiled from newspaper articles which went back much further than that, to the early 90s.
To reprint it now in paperback as if it's a new book is cynical, greedy, misleading & wrong. People will obviously buy it thinking the material is new or at least reasonably in date! No doubt it's been bought widely by people who like Clarkson & people buying Xmas presents for people who like Clarkson, thinking they know what they're getting. Soooo.... lots of disappointed & irritated buyers, & more cash to line Clarkson's pockets & those of his publishers. I'll think twice before buying another book by him.
A good read but has aged badly. - By: Mr. Hywel Thomas, 19 Apr 2007 
If like me you read Clarkson to be amused by his ranting then you won't be disappointed. Sadly as articles are often put in contex of current issues the book hasn't aged well. Often articles are irrelivent & his remarks on the cars often dated due to the release of new novels.
For a first Clarkson book I would recomend one of the newer ones, but for seasoned Clarkson fans the book will make you laugh & alll to often nod along with Clarksons rants.
Another side to Jeremy Clarkson - By: THE D.M., 10 Apr 2007 A collection of Clarkson's writings, which reveal a little more than his usual drab observations. Here, Clarkson opens up about his feelings for other men with some subtle details & his homo-erotic car fixation suggests he is more than the blatant sexist he presents himself as on television. It's pleasing that he realises his own inadequacies & implores us to love his rogue-ish right-wing persona, but he just lacks the literary talent to reallly pull it off. A game effort, but ultimately a disappointment.
Cynical Re-hash of Clarkson articles from 10-15 years ago - AVOID! - By: Jando, 07 Mar 2007 You would be forgiven for buying this book & thinking you were getting something new - in fairness, it does say in the smalll print on the back that the book is a collection of "classic" Clarkson, & that it was first published in 1999, but even that (should you spot it) doesn't give any indication of just how old & irrelevant the contents are.
The book is simply a compilation of newspaper articles from the 90s, many from the very eary 90s, so most are at least 10-15 years old. The problem is that newpaper columns tend by their nature to be fairly topical, & so throughout the book it is genuinely hard to understand what the topical references relate to.
In my view, this is just lazy & cynical publishing - Clarkson has already been paid handsomely to write these articles as a columnist in the first place, so to simply collate it alll together & pretend it is something new is greedy & misleading.
Its not that Clarkson isn't funny, he is in places as always, but you just can't help feeling cheated for paying good money for this recycled rubbish.
This book would be OK if you want a trip down memory lane from the last decade, but avoid if you are expecting something more contemporary.
