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The World According to Clarkson #4
How Hard Can It Be?: The World According to Clarkson Volume 4 (World According to Clarkson 4) by Clarkson, Jeremy (2010) Hardcover
Jeremy Clarkson had a dream - a world where the nonsensical made sense, the idiotic was abolished and the sheer bloody brilliant was embraced. He embarks on a quest to set the world to rights. En-route, he discovers how rhubarb will become the new crack, that a comb over will end anyone's quest for global domination.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
February 9, 2017
If I met Jeremy Clarkson right now, I would tell him
Not the literal ones, of course. I couldn't even imagine anything about them.
But I digress, this collection of articles was probably the most hilarious of The World According to Clarkson lot. Jeremy actually theorises that conquering France might solve Britain's immigration problem. He also almost blew out his stomach having ignored a warning label on Insanity Hot Sauce. He complains about the endless beeps of bells and beepers that ding every time something goes poof, or boom, or on, or off. The variations of these articles make me wish I could get a room in Clarkson's unique mind.
I kept laughing out loud in places with extreme quiet- a snort shy of embarrassing the hell out of myself.. The article that killed me was the one where Jeremy was stumped by a high-tech Japanese toilet. Just look at this:
First of all the seat is warmed- and there is no way for the round-eye to know this, which means I had to sit there imagining the heat had come from the lorry driver who'd been the last person to use the motorway service station cubicle. This is unnerving. Soon I become convinced that it was possible to catch encephalitis from the latent heat of a Japanese lorry driver's bottom.
This is the part where you throw your head back and laugh.
Not the literal ones, of course. I couldn't even imagine anything about them.
But I digress, this collection of articles was probably the most hilarious of The World According to Clarkson lot. Jeremy actually theorises that conquering France might solve Britain's immigration problem. He also almost blew out his stomach having ignored a warning label on Insanity Hot Sauce. He complains about the endless beeps of bells and beepers that ding every time something goes poof, or boom, or on, or off. The variations of these articles make me wish I could get a room in Clarkson's unique mind.
I kept laughing out loud in places with extreme quiet- a snort shy of embarrassing the hell out of myself.. The article that killed me was the one where Jeremy was stumped by a high-tech Japanese toilet. Just look at this:
First of all the seat is warmed- and there is no way for the round-eye to know this, which means I had to sit there imagining the heat had come from the lorry driver who'd been the last person to use the motorway service station cubicle. This is unnerving. Soon I become convinced that it was possible to catch encephalitis from the latent heat of a Japanese lorry driver's bottom.
This is the part where you throw your head back and laugh.
June 29, 2013
There's something about Jeremy Clarkson that I can't quite put my finger on. Everything should suggest that I should hate him and not even want to pick up one of his books or watch one of his shows. But yet I do. His brand of tired misogyny and out of touch dad stupidity and his obsession with gas guzzling cars is everything that I hate. Yet I'm still drawn to him. Even some of his opinions I don't agree with. Yet I'm transfixed by his books, I laugh my balls off and sometimes even find myself agreeing with him. And I hate myself for it. His books are great though. There I go again. I mean, honestly...
December 13, 2011
Jeremy Clarkson is outspoken. We all know that, given recent comments that made worldwide media headlines. He’s also very funny, not only on the TV, but in print too. How Hard Can it Be?, which Top Gear fans will know as one of the show’s catch cries (along with ‘Loser!’ and ‘That’s not gone well, has it?’). This is not a book of Top Gear anecdotes (how good would that be?), but the fourth collection of his newspaper columns published in the UK. This may be a detractor for those readers in the UK, but not for those Down Under. (These are not motoring columns, although cars and other transport do feature occasionally, but articles on what is wrong with the world at large).
Clarkson’s columns are to put it simply, very funny. There is often logic and truth to what he’s saying is wrong with the world and how it should be fixed. He writes clearly, succinctly and with just enough information about Top Gear to keep the fans turning the pages and the non-fans (all three of them) entertained. His rants and raves can be applied to a larger audience – some of the articles you might get more out of if you’re from the UK (for example, local politicians), but there’s always Google if you’re interested.
Yes, it is grumpy and politically incorrect at times but that’s what makes it worth a guilty giggle or two. A great book to pick up and put down (e.g. on public transport) due to the length of the columns.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Clarkson’s columns are to put it simply, very funny. There is often logic and truth to what he’s saying is wrong with the world and how it should be fixed. He writes clearly, succinctly and with just enough information about Top Gear to keep the fans turning the pages and the non-fans (all three of them) entertained. His rants and raves can be applied to a larger audience – some of the articles you might get more out of if you’re from the UK (for example, local politicians), but there’s always Google if you’re interested.
Yes, it is grumpy and politically incorrect at times but that’s what makes it worth a guilty giggle or two. A great book to pick up and put down (e.g. on public transport) due to the length of the columns.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
March 26, 2015
In view of recent events, it seemed a good time to see what Jeremy Clarkson had to say for himself. Quite a lot as it happens,
How Hard Can It Be? is an anthology of Clarkson’s column entries from 2008 to 2010, and while the subject matter is varied, his attitudes and directness are not. He claims that he will speak sense, and in actual fact he does most of the time. He is, generally speaking, opposed to red tape, bureaucracy and overdoing political correctness. He might be putting it bluntly, but in many cases he’s simply saying what we’re all thinking.
His wit is razor sharp and unapologetic, and it’s hard not to laugh at loud at some of his admittedly outrageous remarks.
In one sitting, it gets a bit wearing but remember these columns were published weekly; it’s perhaps better suited to your bathroom for dipping in and out of than for a long-haul flight, but it certainly won’t fail to entertain you.
(PS – this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be sacked for punching a colleague.)
How Hard Can It Be? is an anthology of Clarkson’s column entries from 2008 to 2010, and while the subject matter is varied, his attitudes and directness are not. He claims that he will speak sense, and in actual fact he does most of the time. He is, generally speaking, opposed to red tape, bureaucracy and overdoing political correctness. He might be putting it bluntly, but in many cases he’s simply saying what we’re all thinking.
His wit is razor sharp and unapologetic, and it’s hard not to laugh at loud at some of his admittedly outrageous remarks.
In one sitting, it gets a bit wearing but remember these columns were published weekly; it’s perhaps better suited to your bathroom for dipping in and out of than for a long-haul flight, but it certainly won’t fail to entertain you.
(PS – this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be sacked for punching a colleague.)
October 15, 2012
This is another collection of Jeremy Clarkson's essays from The Guardian, dealing with all matters of life. Mostly he explores the mistakes that people make, and how he would correct them. Apparently, if Clarkson ruled the world, it would've been a place free of environmentalists, politicians, traffic jams and idiots.
I love Clarkson's sense of humor! I guess he's the "love him or hate him" type of guy, and I'm definitely in the "love him" pool. Although his grumbles do get repetitive sometimes, and I skip through some of the essays, but on the whole, it's a funny and clever book that makes you think, and makes you hoot with laughter.
I love Clarkson's sense of humor! I guess he's the "love him or hate him" type of guy, and I'm definitely in the "love him" pool. Although his grumbles do get repetitive sometimes, and I skip through some of the essays, but on the whole, it's a funny and clever book that makes you think, and makes you hoot with laughter.
July 1, 2013
I absolutely love this guy's sense of humor! My friend John brought it over from the UK when he came to visit us.
Jeremy shares his thoughts of UK political activities with a cutting wit. And America gets a little dig at too!
Haven't got around to reading any of his other books though.
Jeremy shares his thoughts of UK political activities with a cutting wit. And America gets a little dig at too!
Haven't got around to reading any of his other books though.
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July 12, 2012Funny, Funny, Funny
July 23, 2012
Needed some chuckles after all the heavy reading I've been doing this summer. Quick read, and for whatever reason, Clarkson always hits my funny bone.
November 8, 2015
I'm beginning to feel that if you've read one Jeremy Clarkson book you've read the lot.
A pleasant way to spend a quiet afternoon, but not an earth shatteringly good read.
A pleasant way to spend a quiet afternoon, but not an earth shatteringly good read.
July 13, 2018
Pretty disrespectful to just about anyone outside of Chipping Norton, this is a fun read if you don't take it to heart. His writing style is light, pacy and accessible and he covers a gamut of topics but with recurrent aspects which enhance, rather than detract from, the impact. In the midst of his random, clearly 'for fun', cut-out-and-keep solutions to many of the world's problems, there are actually a few interesting examples of lateral thinking that bear further mulling! I enjoyed it and found it a nice distraction from the grim realities of modern life, pretty much as intended, I suspect.
December 22, 2011
Reasons why I love Jeremy Clarkson:
"You have pills for when you have a headache and pills to keep you unpregnant when you don’t."
"one day soon the oil and gas will run out – and the only alternatives being suggested right now are coming from people who smoke way too much cannabis. Like the tide, man. And, you know, the wind is totally, like, sustainable."
"Then there’s India, which I can’t take seriously until its air force has some planes with fewer than three wings. Yes, they have nuclear missiles – but could they actually hit Islamabad with them? ‘I very much doubt it,’ said an Indian professor chum of mine recently. ‘I’m not even certain we could hit Pakistan.’"
"This morning I decided to transfer all the pictures of the sky and our kitchen scissors from my iPhone on to my computer. This is easy enough if you have about four spare weeks, the temper of someone who’s actually dead and a master’s degree in American business-speak."
"That’s 400m people saying, on average, 1,500 words a day. Week in, week out. You’d imagine, then, that every single combination would have been used up years ago, and yet we can be certain no one has ever said: ‘I name this ship HMS Vulnerable.’ Or: ‘The thing I love most about my husband is his herpes.’ Or: ‘Look at that maniac in that Saab."
"Enormous Tattoo Owners’ Club"
"In a matter of seconds I was in agony. After maybe a minute I was frightened that I might die. After five I was frightened that I might not."
"Limited-edition Insanity sauce is ridiculous. It’s made in Costa Rica, from hot pepper extract, crushed red savina peppers, red tabasco pepper pulp, green tabasco pepper pulp, crushed red habanero peppers, crushed green habanero peppers, red habanero pepper powder and fruit juice. Well, that’s what it says on the tin. But I don’t believe it. I think it’s made from uranium, plutonium, fertilizer, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and ammonia, with a splash of mace. I do not believe it’s a foodstuff. It’s a weapon."
"The notion that Springsteen, that hard, blue-collar chap who normally sings about broken heroes on a last-chance power drive, can be even remotely convincing while singing about a fat man on an airborne sledge is utterly nonsensical."
"You have pills for when you have a headache and pills to keep you unpregnant when you don’t."
"one day soon the oil and gas will run out – and the only alternatives being suggested right now are coming from people who smoke way too much cannabis. Like the tide, man. And, you know, the wind is totally, like, sustainable."
"Then there’s India, which I can’t take seriously until its air force has some planes with fewer than three wings. Yes, they have nuclear missiles – but could they actually hit Islamabad with them? ‘I very much doubt it,’ said an Indian professor chum of mine recently. ‘I’m not even certain we could hit Pakistan.’"
"This morning I decided to transfer all the pictures of the sky and our kitchen scissors from my iPhone on to my computer. This is easy enough if you have about four spare weeks, the temper of someone who’s actually dead and a master’s degree in American business-speak."
"That’s 400m people saying, on average, 1,500 words a day. Week in, week out. You’d imagine, then, that every single combination would have been used up years ago, and yet we can be certain no one has ever said: ‘I name this ship HMS Vulnerable.’ Or: ‘The thing I love most about my husband is his herpes.’ Or: ‘Look at that maniac in that Saab."
"Enormous Tattoo Owners’ Club"
"In a matter of seconds I was in agony. After maybe a minute I was frightened that I might die. After five I was frightened that I might not."
"Limited-edition Insanity sauce is ridiculous. It’s made in Costa Rica, from hot pepper extract, crushed red savina peppers, red tabasco pepper pulp, green tabasco pepper pulp, crushed red habanero peppers, crushed green habanero peppers, red habanero pepper powder and fruit juice. Well, that’s what it says on the tin. But I don’t believe it. I think it’s made from uranium, plutonium, fertilizer, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and ammonia, with a splash of mace. I do not believe it’s a foodstuff. It’s a weapon."
"The notion that Springsteen, that hard, blue-collar chap who normally sings about broken heroes on a last-chance power drive, can be even remotely convincing while singing about a fat man on an airborne sledge is utterly nonsensical."
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March 4, 2016PART 1
This book is written by former television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, I chose to read this because I have read several other books by him and their humorous and interesting topics have hooked me to his books. This book is written by small newspaper articles made by Clarkson put together to form a book.
I have read about half of this book and I think that it is a good and funny books written by taking some serious topics and ridiculing them to make them funny, I really like this approach and I think that it should be used more when writing books.
For now, I really like this book and will most certainly keep reading it. The parts that I have read from this book have been good enough to get a 9/10 rating from me and I think that I will recommend this book to all of my friends.
I have now finished reading this book which was written by Jeremy Clarkson and I really liked the style of this book a lot
This book was really funny and interesting and I had a lot of fun reading this book. I think that the style that this book was written in was really good and entertaining. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot
I think that this book is a 9/10 and I would recommend it to my friends because it is such a funny and interesting book
This book is written by former television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, I chose to read this because I have read several other books by him and their humorous and interesting topics have hooked me to his books. This book is written by small newspaper articles made by Clarkson put together to form a book.
I have read about half of this book and I think that it is a good and funny books written by taking some serious topics and ridiculing them to make them funny, I really like this approach and I think that it should be used more when writing books.
For now, I really like this book and will most certainly keep reading it. The parts that I have read from this book have been good enough to get a 9/10 rating from me and I think that I will recommend this book to all of my friends.
I have now finished reading this book which was written by Jeremy Clarkson and I really liked the style of this book a lot
This book was really funny and interesting and I had a lot of fun reading this book. I think that the style that this book was written in was really good and entertaining. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot
I think that this book is a 9/10 and I would recommend it to my friends because it is such a funny and interesting book
August 13, 2015
I am a huge Jeremy Clarkson fan and these books make me an even bigger fan.
This book and the whole entire series is absolutely hilarious. I found myself laughing aloud on the bus journeys I spent reading, and attracting some weird looks because of it. The World According to Clarkson provides a snippet into the inner workings of his brain, some of which is fantastic, other ideas are ridiculously stupid but the vast majority is brilliantly funny.
One of the things i love most about these books is that because they're newspaper articles, they're short snippets you can read in a couple of minutes so it's great for picking up and putting down as you wish. Every "chapter" is completely different so it's perfect for picking up when you've only got a five minute of free time.
I've already bought the next instalment of the series.
This book and the whole entire series is absolutely hilarious. I found myself laughing aloud on the bus journeys I spent reading, and attracting some weird looks because of it. The World According to Clarkson provides a snippet into the inner workings of his brain, some of which is fantastic, other ideas are ridiculously stupid but the vast majority is brilliantly funny.
One of the things i love most about these books is that because they're newspaper articles, they're short snippets you can read in a couple of minutes so it's great for picking up and putting down as you wish. Every "chapter" is completely different so it's perfect for picking up when you've only got a five minute of free time.
I've already bought the next instalment of the series.
April 16, 2015
I know that Clarkson isn't everyone's favourite, particularly at the moment, but I enjoyed his book of sarcastic moans about society. If you take his comments with a pinch of salt, he does point out some good things about modern society, offering farcical solutions to waste disposal and politics (arguably the same thing). This collection of articles from the Sunday Times is easy to read, humorous, and something you can pick up and put down with ease.
For those who want some light relief from the serious issues in the news we have to trawl through on a daily basis this book is for you. Just don't take everything he says seriously and read it with an open mind. All in all a comical romp through life today.
For those who want some light relief from the serious issues in the news we have to trawl through on a daily basis this book is for you. Just don't take everything he says seriously and read it with an open mind. All in all a comical romp through life today.
May 22, 2014
Loved it. This series is great as the articles are not very long, which makes it the perfect book to get a quick bit of reading in before bedtime.
As with all great comedians, Jeremy manages to poke fun at absolutely every people group. He is sarcastic and exaggerated, and this is worth bearing in mind if you are particularly sensitive about your beliefs/nationality etc.
As with all great comedians, Jeremy manages to poke fun at absolutely every people group. He is sarcastic and exaggerated, and this is worth bearing in mind if you are particularly sensitive about your beliefs/nationality etc.
February 22, 2017
Just more of the same really. Which isn't s bad thing but can get a bit repetitive in places and he doesn't seem to have the same energy as usual.
Saying that, it's funny enough and quite readable and is presented in a way that makes it an ideal toilet book.
Saying that, it's funny enough and quite readable and is presented in a way that makes it an ideal toilet book.
September 16, 2011
It was ok - not really "the world according to". There were some funny patches but these are getting few and far between, and the books are getting a little past it now. This one however had some opinions in it that made me think about his personality and that maybe now i'm not that keen on him
February 23, 2013
I did not find this book as overall funny as say the third one. Sure, there were some articles that made me laugh out loud the entire time, and there were ones that made me groan and think that Jeremy Clarkson goes out of his way to offend every one he can. All at once.
April 16, 2013
Ah Jeremy... lovely and funny in small doses, and so the little chapters are just right. Pick it up, have a chuckle (mostly) and put it down until the next time you find it lying around and have another spare few minutes.
August 16, 2011
Repetitive and not as good as one of his earlier ones I read... Then again I wasn't stuck in some European country with little English material to read when I read this one.
October 21, 2012
How hard can it be to read a book? It took me almost a year to read this one. Even though there are good articles, this is not the beet Clarkson's book.
December 23, 2011
Although a bit dreary at times, "How Hard Can It Be?" was a good read, with several excellent points in it
December 2, 2012
You let this guy publish more books in his lifetime than Ludwig Wittgenstein did? I don't understand British people!
May 23, 2013
Clarkson strikes back in one of his most entertaining compilations to date. My opinion of this writer has done nothing but trend upwards with each publication, and this does not change the pattern.
September 21, 2014
Grappige columns! En, wat ik helemaal niet gedacht had, soms ga ik nog akkoord met zijn mening! :D.
December 17, 2013
Mogło być zabawne jako eseje w prasie, ale zebrane w postaci książki i kilka lat po napisaniu niestety tracą urok.
April 23, 2014
A collection of his newspaper columns. Some are witty, some are not, all British humor. Fine for casual reads.
November 3, 2015
The fourth collection of Jeremy's columns, covering 2008-09.
Funny, on target a good deal of the time, although I don't always agree with him on everything.
Funny, on target a good deal of the time, although I don't always agree with him on everything.
August 30, 2017
The top end of OK. This has been sitting about a while and is a compilation of Clarkson's Sunday Times columns from 2008-9 so it is something of an instructive wander down Memory Lane as well as a handy bag book for a train journey (aside from feeling faintly as though a plain cover is required) Of course all written pre his final fall from grace and the end of Top Gear and indeed the end of his long marriage.
How hard can it be to churn out a few pages every week to entertain the readers of the Murdoch press? Probably quite hard. I'm reading this now for my book group's "Funny" theme, and yes, he does tick that box because he is good with words. Others can churn out the opinions (similarly provocative or worse) but he does have a gift for this. It is uncomfortable reading though, and not primarily because he is often thought provoking and surprising, but because of the power of his words to influence (negatively) the general tone of discussion on topics . 'Eco-mentalist' is amusing the first time, if you don't take yourself too seriously, for example (and he lets slip quite a few eco-mentalist behaviours of his own) The relentless use of that sort of language however, and in some of these pieces an angry humourless edge becomes problematic.
How hard can it be to churn out a few pages every week to entertain the readers of the Murdoch press? Probably quite hard. I'm reading this now for my book group's "Funny" theme, and yes, he does tick that box because he is good with words. Others can churn out the opinions (similarly provocative or worse) but he does have a gift for this. It is uncomfortable reading though, and not primarily because he is often thought provoking and surprising, but because of the power of his words to influence (negatively) the general tone of discussion on topics . 'Eco-mentalist' is amusing the first time, if you don't take yourself too seriously, for example (and he lets slip quite a few eco-mentalist behaviours of his own) The relentless use of that sort of language however, and in some of these pieces an angry humourless edge becomes problematic.
May 20, 2019
Sadly I only read 10% of this “book” and I didn’t understand what it is was? Was it a recollection of things Jeremy Clarkson wrote for the times? Was it comedy? Was it satire? What I learnt is you can still in this day and age write a book about anything. This “book” if you can call it that, is an amalgam of Clarkson trying to be funny. Comedy is subjective, but it’s got no punch line half the time. Maybe because I’m not British I didn’t quite understand the cultural references. But this is a disaster in a sentence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews