Adrenalin junkie

Jun 20 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

ALREADY famous as one third of the Top Gear presentation team, Hammond was catapulted (literally!) into the international spotlight in September 2006 when he suffered a serious brain injury following a high-speed crash in a jet-powered dragster.

Here is a powerful and down-to-earth memoir of his life before and after the accident at Elvington airfield. Poignantly, his wife Mindy helps piece together his recovery - the agonising wait until he finally emerged from a coma up to his triumphant reappearance in front of the cameras. But there’s much more than just the accident.

This is an honest and compelling account of a true “adrenalin junkie” - from a small boy showing off his bicycle stunts to an adult with an obsession for speed. Yet, despite his addiction to danger, it is his love of “ordinary things” - wife, kids, dogs and house - that will strike a chord with readers.

CHRIS BURGESS