Richard Hammond has just released his third biographical book in the U.S. this week, so we’re taking a look at his most personal one first.

Those of us who followed Top Gear before it officially reached the States remember the end of September 2006. Richard Hammond was piloting a jet car when it blew a tire and crashed in a field. Hammond had used his head as the primary brake for the 288 mph car.

The subsequent brain trauma put Hammond in a serious coma. The public’s hunger for knowledge and a family’s wish for privacy ignited a feeling that Hamster was damaged and the show was doomed. Those who found out years later on BBC America were spared the months of confusion and limbo that surrounded both a beloved presenter and favorite show.

Four months later Hammond and Top Gear were back on the air. He made surviving a rocket car crash look easy. It wasn’t. 

On the Edge: My Story tells the journey that happened behind closed doors. It deals with everything from what it's like being in a coma to how scary it is that almost everyone is a stranger, even your wife. Hammond takes a much more humorous approach with his web commercial:

Because this is the first of three books Hammond has written about his personal adventures so far, On the Edge also serves as an introduction to his life. It starts with a mini-biography that fills in the background details including how he came to love everything on wheels and how he landed the job at Top Gear. It also allows insight into how much the TG fellas are their own tight-knit family.

On the Edge was a book that had to be written because it was an extraordinary journey that no cameras were allowed to capture – no cameras could ever capture the struggle of such a personal story. His second book, As You Do spends most of its time going into greater detail about extraordinary journeys caught on camera.   It’s a worthwhile read, but was written out of amusement more than need. So we will post a review on As You Do in the future, but this is the one to read first. (The third book, Or Is That Just Me? was first released this week in the U.S. and has not yet arrived at our office.)

On the Edge make Richard Hammond your friend. As You Do makes him the friend you envy.