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The Grand Tour Guide to the World
The world is a big place full of interesting things. And The Grand Tour has seen some of them. That’s why few people are better placed to lead you around this vast planet of ours than Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. As long as you don’t mind getting hot and lost. Welcome, everyone, to The Grand Tour Guide to The World . In this indispensable guide, you will find an abundance of information, most of which is probably wrong and possibly dangerous. As well as occasionally accurate guides to the places visited on the show, you’ll find exclusive interviews with the presenters and discover their favourite locations for car-based cocking about. As well as being a factually dubious encyclopaedia, The Grand Tour Guide to the World is also a travel companion for those of you who have been inspired by the Grand Tour circus. You’ll find tips on how to sing like a native in the Bahamas, how to speak Welsh (wrongly), and how to navigate the magic roundabout in Swindon. On top of all this, we reveal the world’s fastest cop cars and the greatest car makers. And there’s a picture of James May in an anorak.
- GenresNonfictionTravelHumor
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2017
65 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Clarkson
59 books1,091 followersJeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born April 11, 1960) is an English broadcaster and writer who specialises in motoring.
He writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun, but is better known for his role on the BBC television programme Top Gear.
From a career as a local journalist in the north of England, he rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s Clarkson has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering. From 1998 to 2000 he also hosted his own chat show, Clarkson.
His opinionated but humorous tongue-in-cheek writing and presenting style has often generated much public reaction to his viewpoints. His actions both privately and as a Top Gear presenter have also sometimes resulted in criticism from the media, politicians, pressure groups and the public.
As well as the criticism levelled against him, Clarkson also generated a significant following in the public at large, being credited as a factor in the resurgence of Top Gear to the most popular show on BBC Two, and calls for him to be made Prime Minister. Clarkson himself was keen to downplay his perceived influence on the British public, stating he regularly contradicts himself, and would make a "rubbish" Prime Minister.
He writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun, but is better known for his role on the BBC television programme Top Gear.
From a career as a local journalist in the north of England, he rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s Clarkson has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering. From 1998 to 2000 he also hosted his own chat show, Clarkson.
His opinionated but humorous tongue-in-cheek writing and presenting style has often generated much public reaction to his viewpoints. His actions both privately and as a Top Gear presenter have also sometimes resulted in criticism from the media, politicians, pressure groups and the public.
As well as the criticism levelled against him, Clarkson also generated a significant following in the public at large, being credited as a factor in the resurgence of Top Gear to the most popular show on BBC Two, and calls for him to be made Prime Minister. Clarkson himself was keen to downplay his perceived influence on the British public, stating he regularly contradicts himself, and would make a "rubbish" Prime Minister.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 12, 2018
Even the most committed revhead would fail to find the book funny or informative. The biggest fan would be mystified by this amatuerish work.
What a sad waste of effort and resources. Little redeeming value, except to the casual viewer like myself that learned a fun fact or two. This book must be pulped in sacrafice to the tree gods.
If you've unfortunately already bought this back and still have the receipt, I would suggest you take it back for a refund and tell the bookseller to send it back to the publisher for credit for the woefully inferior production this 'thing' hilariously identifies as a 'book', let alone anything worth reading or holding.
So why 2 stars? Well I reserve the 1 stars for the complete and utter total toxic rubbish that is con-artist Robert Kiyosaki and his 'get rich quick' ilk. They actually only deserve 0 stars on the best days, so their really ought to be a -1 star option.
What a sad waste of effort and resources. Little redeeming value, except to the casual viewer like myself that learned a fun fact or two. This book must be pulped in sacrafice to the tree gods.
If you've unfortunately already bought this back and still have the receipt, I would suggest you take it back for a refund and tell the bookseller to send it back to the publisher for credit for the woefully inferior production this 'thing' hilariously identifies as a 'book', let alone anything worth reading or holding.
So why 2 stars? Well I reserve the 1 stars for the complete and utter total toxic rubbish that is con-artist Robert Kiyosaki and his 'get rich quick' ilk. They actually only deserve 0 stars on the best days, so their really ought to be a -1 star option.
April 11, 2018
Clarkson, Hammond & May... the modern-day equivalent of The Three Stooges.
God Bless 'Em.
God Bless 'Em.
October 20, 2022
BEST BOOK EVER
So funny and is just superior
So funny and is just superior
October 10, 2017
They’re back. The trio of Clarkson, Hammond and May are on your computer, streaming device or provoking you with the promise of free to air broadcasting (thanks, Channel 7) of The Grand Tour. As the second series is about to premiere, it’s time for a book to look back on Series One. Now I haven’t seen all of the first series of The Grand Tour, so I may not have gotten all the in jokes, but this is a pretty funny book. It combines the humour you’ve come to expect from the trio with loads of pictures and some occasionally useful, possibly true facts.
If you’ve read Top Gear annuals before, you will know what to expect. There’s some photoshopped pictures, promotions for Clarkson’s travel agency, ‘interviews’ with the presenters and a light hearted look at the big crashes/explosions/humiliations of the previous series. This is a little bit more mature in places and goes on to explain some useful stuff, like how The Grand Tour is filmed down to camera types and terabytes of raw footage. The setup of the tent is also explained, right down to dimensions of the containers. There are facts on each country the trio visited. It will keep you entertained for several hours as familiar phrases reappear (e.g. “HAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMOND!”, “literally”, “what could possibly go wrong?”). It’s like visiting an old friend, albeit one you have never met*. The boys also slip into the personalities that you know well – Jeremy, literally the loudest and tallest man on the planet (who makes liberal use of the word ‘literally’); Richard, the small one who is accident prone with a strange love for Land Rovers and bikes and James, the slow/boring one who knows – and cares – about things to the smallest detail. There are also a lot of lovely car shots from gorgeous supercars to ones that look like they were built in a nursery.
While the whole book is fun, there are some jokes that fall a bit flat. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t seen the relevant episode. I’m not sure who the authors are of this book (the internet quotes Clarkson, Hammond and May but I’m pretty sure that’s not 100% true). Some of the content is designed more for adults, some sits more in the 7-14 year old boy bracket and some is just a bit too out there for both those markets. However, if you’re a fan of the trio you simply need this book. It’s a fun way to read more about the making of the series and occupy an afternoon. As an added bonus, there are pictures from Series Two of The Grand Tour, including jaaaaaaaaags, tiny tanks and supercars.
(*I have actually met James May. Richard Hammond and I [in heeled boots] are too similar in height for me to find him in a crowd. Jeremy Clarkson is far too tall to even see me and his strides are literally about 193.97 metres long).
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
If you’ve read Top Gear annuals before, you will know what to expect. There’s some photoshopped pictures, promotions for Clarkson’s travel agency, ‘interviews’ with the presenters and a light hearted look at the big crashes/explosions/humiliations of the previous series. This is a little bit more mature in places and goes on to explain some useful stuff, like how The Grand Tour is filmed down to camera types and terabytes of raw footage. The setup of the tent is also explained, right down to dimensions of the containers. There are facts on each country the trio visited. It will keep you entertained for several hours as familiar phrases reappear (e.g. “HAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMOND!”, “literally”, “what could possibly go wrong?”). It’s like visiting an old friend, albeit one you have never met*. The boys also slip into the personalities that you know well – Jeremy, literally the loudest and tallest man on the planet (who makes liberal use of the word ‘literally’); Richard, the small one who is accident prone with a strange love for Land Rovers and bikes and James, the slow/boring one who knows – and cares – about things to the smallest detail. There are also a lot of lovely car shots from gorgeous supercars to ones that look like they were built in a nursery.
While the whole book is fun, there are some jokes that fall a bit flat. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t seen the relevant episode. I’m not sure who the authors are of this book (the internet quotes Clarkson, Hammond and May but I’m pretty sure that’s not 100% true). Some of the content is designed more for adults, some sits more in the 7-14 year old boy bracket and some is just a bit too out there for both those markets. However, if you’re a fan of the trio you simply need this book. It’s a fun way to read more about the making of the series and occupy an afternoon. As an added bonus, there are pictures from Series Two of The Grand Tour, including jaaaaaaaaags, tiny tanks and supercars.
(*I have actually met James May. Richard Hammond and I [in heeled boots] are too similar in height for me to find him in a crowd. Jeremy Clarkson is far too tall to even see me and his strides are literally about 193.97 metres long).
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
September 25, 2022
I have been a big fan of Top Gear and The Grand Tour for many years. So I was excited to see they came out with a Grand Tour book. This quick read has some interesting backstories about The Grand Tour and several funny scenes. However, they are mainly wordplay, and I skipped them.
This book is not for everybody. It did not get too deep into the Grand Tour topic, and there was not a lot of new information. But I enjoyed the pictures and the limited insight. Also, it was an expensive download. My recommendation is to wait until it costs $2.99.
This book is not for everybody. It did not get too deep into the Grand Tour topic, and there was not a lot of new information. But I enjoyed the pictures and the limited insight. Also, it was an expensive download. My recommendation is to wait until it costs $2.99.
October 7, 2017
A hard book to actually rate. The pieces that are proper behind the scenes of the show are fascinating (especially stuff about the tent). The images were nice and the producer notes realistic and amusing. Most of the stats had something in them that made me laugh out loud.
But the rest of the book felt like a way to fill space. Some content was too absurdist to even be fun to read. If they’d stuck to a mix of fake and real stats and BTS notes, it would have been better.
But the rest of the book felt like a way to fill space. Some content was too absurdist to even be fun to read. If they’d stuck to a mix of fake and real stats and BTS notes, it would have been better.
November 23, 2017
I've never watched the Grand Tour nor the Top Gear, but this book is quite funny and I watched the first episode of the GT after reading this.
But just like the book, I couldn't finish it. Maybe lesser chapters would do.
But just like the book, I couldn't finish it. Maybe lesser chapters would do.
January 26, 2018
Ummmm Still trying to reboot my brain after all the stupid...er um Sillyness!!
The boys are definitely back and I think Amazon isn't paying Jeremy enough or he wouldn't have had to write/invent/compile/edit this literary monsterpiece to pay his bills.
Have Fun!
The boys are definitely back and I think Amazon isn't paying Jeremy enough or he wouldn't have had to write/invent/compile/edit this literary monsterpiece to pay his bills.
Have Fun!
March 31, 2018
Fun little coffee-table style book about the first season of The Grand Tour, mostly written by Richard Porter (the script editor) and long time script editor of Top Gear. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the show. It's a funny, neat read with plenty of funny pictures.
March 4, 2020
I enjoy the show, but not this book.
The best part was the handful of pages with behind the scenes photos, which I assume you could find online. The made-up facts were not really funny. Many pages between slight laughter.
The best part was the handful of pages with behind the scenes photos, which I assume you could find online. The made-up facts were not really funny. Many pages between slight laughter.
June 19, 2025
Being Back The Grand Tour
What's not to like from Messrs Clarkson Hammond and May they should all be knighted after all the Major of London was knighted for all that he has done to improve London. I recommend this book to everybody with a sense of humour
What's not to like from Messrs Clarkson Hammond and May they should all be knighted after all the Major of London was knighted for all that he has done to improve London. I recommend this book to everybody with a sense of humour
October 15, 2017
Pseudo funny, just like the tv series...
June 25, 2018
The best parts were the postcards from the tent. I would have loved to seen more of those!
August 23, 2018
Disappointed.
August 25, 2018
Tripe
Utter rubbish, childish and not at all funny or clever. Luckily I paid .99p, do not pay full price for this travesty.
Utter rubbish, childish and not at all funny or clever. Luckily I paid .99p, do not pay full price for this travesty.
June 3, 2019
Entertaining. Didn’t take me long to read but a funny insight in to the first series. Typical bloke humour. A good read when you don’t want anything too serious.
March 29, 2020
Hilarious. That's it.
May 8, 2021
Being a Top Gear Grand Tour fan, it’s a have to read. But lots of silliness and whaaat? I can’t recommend much for anyone else.
March 8, 2022
Probably my favourite book so far.
January 24, 2024
The usual material that used to emanate from the BBC's best-selling series of Top Gear books, but that has now been given away to Amazon. Good play, BBC, very smart...
September 27, 2024
slowly nursing my shattered heart
March 19, 2025
a fun book with some great one liners and facts from Series 1/2 of the Grand Tour.
The photos were hilarious too however i wish it was more detailed
The photos were hilarious too however i wish it was more detailed
August 30, 2025
Comfort book comfort book comfort book
Special interest book special interest book special interest book!!
Special interest book special interest book special interest book!!
November 17, 2017
Fun read. Not a lot, but enough. If you watched Season 1, that's a good followup. The graphic design is amazing. Every page is like a poster and that is brilliant, like Clarkson would say. It is a good read - nothing too exceptional and nothing too bad about it.
May 4, 2025
I have loved Top Gear since I was a child and also really love the Grand Tour so I had to read this!! All I can say is…. James May is the best 😍
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews