Notes from the Hard Shoulder

by James May

Top Gear presenter and columnist for the "Daily Telegraph" James May brings together another brilliant collection of his most controversial and humorous writing. From tales of motoring adventures through India, Russia and Iceland, to classic articles on essential subjects such as driving songs and haunted car parks, these gems from the number one car connoisseur will take readers on a motoring journey that will amuse and entertain in equal measure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Travel, Biography, Cars, Comedy

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

James May is a British television presenter and award-winning journalist.

May is best known as co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond. He also writes a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph's motoring section. On Top Gear, his nickname is "Captain Slow", owing to his 'careful' driving style. He has, however, carried out some exceptionally high-speed driving (including taking a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed).

Reviews

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may be biased as I have a strange, huge crush on James May, but I thought this was fantastic! Wry, witty, well-written, wonderful. And you certainly don't need to be a car person to enjoy this!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

James May is one of the presenters of 'Top Gear', a car based magazine programme on British TV. He is often seen as the 'fall guy' who is there to be the butt of the joke, coming last in the various 'races' that the team run. He even has the nickname 'Captain Slow'.

This book is a collection of his writings in various newspapers and magazines. He is clearly the most eloquent of the team, able to tell an amusing tale as well as to argue a detailed case.

Like many of the books I've been reading recently, this is a 'short snippets' type affair, with most articles being no more than three of four pages long. This makes it handy for reading in the small snippets that my reading is currently reduced to.

The book is enjoyable, with James May able to entertain. I don't agree with much of his views on things like global warming, but that didn't really get in the way of enjoying the book.

[Kifflie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is another collection of essays from one of the presenters on Top Gear. James May writes with one of the driest wits I have ever come across. He has a real knack for finding absurdities in all sorts of situations and making them amusing.

I'd love to read something by either May or Jeremy Clarkson that wasn't simply a collection of essays. It took me some time to get through this, mainly because there wasn't any unifying theme as there was with Richard Hammond's books. Still, it was good for a few chuckles.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books is a collection of James May's magazine columns.

One thing is obvious, he is out to claim Jeremy Clarkson's title of BBC's Curmudgeon-in-Residence. But he does it with much more flair and intelligence.

He makes comments and jokes that, unless you are VERY well read with good general knowledge, the average reader is just not going to get them.

A must read for Top Gear fans, car enthusiasts, and fans of middle-aged English curmudgeons.

[Sephie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking the acerbic wit of the more erudite Clarkson, and resembling an overgrown schoolboy (or hip Geography teacher/social worker) on the front cover, this selection of automotive anecdotes is mildly amusing. There are indeed a few very funny bits, but overall, I was pleased to have arrived at the end, thankfully aided by the larger than usual font size.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brings together a good collection of articles written by James May and previously published in various magazines. If you like Clarkson's books which contain similar articles or if you're a fan of Top Gear then you'll find something in here to like. Easy to pick up and read one or two articles if you only have a short while.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, low-pressure read. I enjoy James' grumpy but articulate rants, and even if I don't always agree with him, I can usually at least see his point. It's nice to pick this up and just read a couple articles for a laugh.

[Sumit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had higher expectations from him. And although it is unfair to compare him with Clarkson, but have to mention it as I was disappointed to find that somehow Clarkson manages to make much better intellectual remarks and deeper thoughts than James, even though I would have expected it to be opposite.

[Ross Kung · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the start of the book. James May had some very interesting stories at the start 100 pages or so. But after reading half way through the book, it became boring and dry. I give this a 2.5 out of 5.

[Kristina Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has an incredibly wide range of subjects, all broadly related to cars naturally but some chapters were too technical for me while others were more fun. Also May has quite a dry sense of humour that is better heard than read.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally really funny and not as political as Clarkson's books; quite a good read

[Gregory Gay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book of essays from the Top Gear co-host. Very funny, and often quite intelligent as well.

[Manuel Marques · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good companion for a 5-hour wait for my flight home... James May can be quite funny, and it is quite interesting to know the guy better, especially if you're a Top Gear fan like me :).

[Bill Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a Top Gear fan for many years (until the original trio departed) and now enjoy the Grand Tour. I have read Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson's books, but not James May. I saw this book a few months ago, and when it dropped in price, I downloaded it on my Kindle.
I was a bit surprised by the content. This book is a collection of newspaper or magazine columns written by James May. I was expecting more of a personal story rather than old material. Each article stands out as a separate gem that does not connect to the others. Overall, there is no significant theme other than most of the material is about cars.
In comparing this work to all the books I have read, I found the writing style and types of topics to be remarkably close to the books by Jeremy Clarkson. I found this quite surprising, as they are very different people with vastly distinct personalities, political views, and styles. Both were snarky and had distinctive views on sports cars, life, people, and politics. Jeremy Clarkson is a hard-core conservative, and James May is a passionate liberal, but I found them to hold the same conservative viewpoint when they write. This was a big surprise.
I enjoyed the content of this book, especially the Iceland adventure, but I would have liked more insight into the author and less. The title seemed to imply that the author took notes during his life, and here they are. This was misleading. I would recommend this book if you enjoyed such Jeremy Clarkson books as And Another Thing, Born to be Riled, and For Crying Out Loud.

[SHR · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this a mixed read, possibly because I don’t much care for cars and some of the detail in this was in the “too much information” category for me! I both enjoyed and was bored by May’s style of writing. He has a keen observational eye and makes some witty comparisons and uses some wonderful examples to make points. But for me, overall I found his writing to be too long-winded; he always had to use an example, or an analogy and when they didn’t hit the mark it made his writing ponderous and stilted - with the effect that I lost interest in the narrative. Most of the pieces have previously been published in various newspapers and some would have read better when they were topical. I would probably only recommend it to car nuts or May fans.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably entertaining book of anecdotes and events written by Top Gear/Grand Tour presenter James May. Whilst amusing, with a few laugh out loud moments, I found myself bemoaning the fact that May was drier and less pithy and sarcastic when compared to his ranting, grumpy colleague, Jeremy Clarkson. Worth the read, but at times it was typically James May - it just went on a bit with pointless details, rather than cutting to the Chase. I will say though, he clearly has an amazing eye for attention to detail.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I flip-flopped a bit between giving this 2 or 3 stars. I'd rather be too picky than overly generous in keeping with my pretentious affectation but I eventually settled on 3. James May is my favorite of "the trio," and his writing here is full of his dry wit which works well in short bursts. Perhaps the best way to read this book is to keep it on a table and read a chapter every couple of days.

[Sean Rima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read. Full of funny and interesting stuff from one of the best car journalists ever. Well done captain slow

[Richelle Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book for fans of "Top Gear". One of the funniest books I've ever read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's James May. One of the greatest men in all the world. What's not to love?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but VERY hard to read at night if you want to understand what he's saying

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, grumpy old man in a Porsche. Alright, it's more than that. But that's how it starts. I like the author's sense of humour. This book is a lot of fun.

[Jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Clarkson, but not bad.