Every Sunday we are taking a look at the world of books. I read a lot and always want to share my opinions on what I read, so I thought it would be fun to write reviews. Today we are looking at a book that delves behind the scenes of the biggest car shows.
Mr Wilman’s Motoring Adventure: Top Gear, Grand Tour, Clarkson and Me (2025)
Andy Wilman
Synopsis
Top Gear turned gloomy Sunday nights into celebratory Friday nights. It made household names of presenters Clarkson, Hammond and May, their unique chemistry and buddy movie antics proving irresistible to a vast global audience. With these three at the helm, Top Gear earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular factual TV show on the planet.
Then, a short while later, it was all gone.
How did a thoroughly sensible little consumer advice programme on cars turn into a global phenomenon in the first place, though? How did it all go wrong? And how did they rise from the ashes as The Grand Tour, and go on to scale even greater heights?
One man has all the answers.
There from the beginning, Top Gear and The Grand Tour co-creator, and Jeremy’s oldest friend, Andy Wilman, opens the bonnet on over twenty years of motoring mayhem. In Mr Wilman’s Motoring Adventure, the mysterious man in the shadows tells the inside story of your favourite TV shows for the first time.
Irreverent, joyful and as laugh-out-loud funny as the shows themselves, it’s the best book about Top Gear and The Grand Tour . . . in the world.
– from Waterstones
Positive Points
This is a fantastic insight into the world of Top Gear and the Grand Tour from someone who was at the forefront of everything. The fact that it is told by one of the creators and not the three main presenters means that you get even more in depth information about the show and the filming process that you do not get from Jeremy, Richard or James’ own books. If you are a fan of these shows or Jeremy Clarkson I reccommend a read.
Negative Points
They briefly touch on Clarkson Farm but it is a shame that they do not have a chapter on it. Not all the adventures in the shows are spoken about either.
Overall Review
This is a great read and I learnt more then this then the Jeremy Clarkson books. It has a lot of great stories as he is childhood friends with the journalist so it goes further then other books. Just be prepared not everything is covered.
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