Born to Be Riled

Jeremy Clarkson, the opinionated motoring journalist, has something to say on just about everything, not just cars, in this collection of his columns from both Top Gear Magazine and The Sunday Times.

Whether you love or loathe him, Born to be Riled makes for an entertaining and lively read as Clarkson vents his anger and frustration at, among other things, Sunday drivers, caravans and politicians. Even places are not safe from his poisonous tongue, with Surrey, Birmingham and Norfolk being on the receiving end of some particularly venomous rants.

Clarkson's views on cars and motoring make for interesting reading but do tend to speak to the more initiated enthusiast than the casual driver and analogies and comparisons are often lost on all but the most technically minded car fanatic.

However, Clarkson writes with joyous wit and even when his arguments seem a little shaky, you can't help but find yourself nodding in agreement or realising that he is riled by all the things in life that you are--being stuck behind a caravan on a country back road or the drink-driving laws in this country. In much the same way as Bill Bryson chronicles life's daily woes and pitfalls with a scathing sense of humour, so Clarkson speaks for a silent majority who are secretly incensed by a million and one things everyday of their lives, but are just a little too British to say anything.

In this book, Clarkson has become the common man's champion and when he is fighting for the cause with this much humour and wit, long may he remain in that position. --Jonathan Weir

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Really disappointing - Rated
I'm a huge fan of Top Gear and think its one of most entertaining programmes on television and Jeremy Clarkson is a complete legend. However, when I read this book, I was really disppointed as many of entries are pretty much the same! Half the book is a long rant about Vauxhall Vectras, drink driving laws and 'slow' drivers. Frankly, I just got really bored and really struggled to finish it. Also much of the content is now so old and irrelevant, its pointless. If it were half the size it would be brilliant but unfortunately it's not.

Material 15 years out of date - Rated
I bought this for my husband for Christmas and, despite him liking Clarkson, this book is an irritation because its once-topical content is completely out of date. When contemplating buying it I checked the publication date to make sure it was recent - so it would feel current, and so it was less likely he'd already read it. The date of publication was listed as Jan 2007 - seemed pretty safe. I assumed the hardback would have been about a year earlier. It's currently number 26 in the Amazon 'Humour' chart, but when I bought it in mid December I think it was higher in the chart, again giving the impression of something current. I only read the most recent Amazon reviews, which were written in 2007 - if I'd read ALL the reviews and checked the dates they were written I would have seen that some of them were written several years ago, but usually you're looking for people's impressions and not proof of the book's age!
When my husband received the book and started to read it he was a little peeved to discover that the book refers to lots of events which took place during the 90s, such as discussing car launches for cars which aren't even made any more, having been discontinued and replaced! He checked the inside front cover and found that the book was FIRST published in 1999, but seems to have been compiled from newspaper articles which went back much further than that, to the early 90s.
To reprint it now in paperback as if it's a new book is cynical, greedy, misleading and wrong. People will obviously buy it thinking the material is new or at least reasonably in date! No doubt it's been bought widely by people who like Clarkson and people buying Xmas presents for people who like Clarkson, thinking they know what they're getting. Soooo.... lots of disappointed and irritated buyers, and more cash to line Clarkson's pockets and those of his publishers. I'll think twice before buying another book by him.

A good read but has aged badly. - Rated
If like me you read Clarkson to be amused by his ranting then you won't be disappointed. Sadly as articles are often put in contex of current issues the book hasn't aged well. Often articles are irrelivent and his remarks on the cars often dated due to the release of new novels.

For a first Clarkson book I would recomend one of the newer ones, but for seasoned Clarkson fans the book will make you laugh and all to often nod along with Clarksons rants.

Another side to Jeremy Clarkson - Rated
A collection of Clarkson's writings, which reveal a little more than his usual drab observations. Here, Clarkson opens up about his feelings for other men with some subtle details and his homo-erotic car fixation suggests he is more than the blatant sexist he presents himself as on television. It's pleasing that he realises his own inadequacies and implores us to love his rogue-ish right-wing persona, but he just lacks the literary talent to really pull it off. A game effort, but ultimately a disappointment.

Cynical Re-hash of Clarkson articles from 10-15 years ago - AVOID! - Rated
You would be forgiven for buying this book and thinking you were getting something new - in fairness, it does say in the small print on the back that the book is a collection of "classic" Clarkson, and that it was first published in 1999, but even that (should you spot it) doesn't give any indication of just how old and irrelevant the contents are.

The book is simply a compilation of newspaper articles from the 90s, many from the very eary 90s, so most are at least 10-15 years old. The problem is that newpaper columns tend by their nature to be fairly topical, and so throughout the book it is genuinely hard to understand what the topical references relate to.

In my view, this is just lazy and cynical publishing - Clarkson has already been paid handsomely to write these articles as a columnist in the first place, so to simply collate it all together and pretend it is something new is greedy and misleading.

Its not that Clarkson isn't funny, he is in places as always, but you just can't help feeling cheated for paying good money for this recycled rubbish.

This book would be OK if you want a trip down memory lane from the last decade, but avoid if you are expecting something more contemporary.