New Releases by Richard Hammond

RICHARD HAMMOND''S CAR CONFIDENTIAL, packed with information and wit, is a must for anyone even remotely interested in cars. It includes an enormous variety of hints and tips: car and traffic etiquette; how to buy a car; the seven ages of the motorist from learning how to drive when you are 18 to driving the wrong way down motorways when you are 80; a spotter''s guide to motorists in the style of a WW2 manual; customizing - what is OK and what isn''t; cool hearses to be buried in; and the alternative guide to road rage. There are also lots of lists of everything - such as the top noble failures: did you know that Chrysler put out a car aimed at women called the ''Femme'' which came in one colour, pink, with matching pink handbag and lipstick? Or the top mad moments in motorsport history,dubious highway codes, most amazing roads... The odd, the mad, the bad, the curious or ridiculous are all here in this wonderful, witty and incredibly useful compendium of everything to do with cars and their drivers - all we ever needed to know about the modern world of motoring.

Numerous places call themselves ‘eco’ or ‘green’, yet standards differ enormously throughout the world. This guide features those very special places that also go the extra mile to provide responsible holidays. We have sought out and visited people with a passion for the local culture and environment, from the heart of Borneo to the African savannah. Our approach is unusual and subjective, but all the delightful places to stay featured in this guide provide tangible benefits to local communities and minimize the impact of holidays on the environment.

One positive if belated aspect of ''Cool Britannia'' is that British-originated cars have become (again?) among the coolest on the planet. Range Rover, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin - especially the Aston Martin - these are names not only of historic significance but have a new resonance in the contemporary world too. But what of the not so cool cars, the cars you shouldn''t opt to buy - and those you shouldn''t even be seen in or alongside? No, not the Skoda or station wagon, which have a heroic anti-car coolness of their own, but the Golf or Astra or professional footballer''s Ferrari.This is a book that jumps from an enormous height on personalised number plates, but celebrates Jarvis Cocker''s decision to drive a station wagon and Roger Moore a Renault 5. It questions what happens to the status of your car after you have seen Bernard Manning or Jade Goodie posing next to a model of it in the newspaper.So there is a ''Showroom Questionnaire'' for car manufacturers to check out their customers before they deign to sell them a car that might become irrevocably uncool as a result. As funny as it is cool and aspirational, WHAT NOT TO DRIVE will entertain all who love the information, banter and humour of BBC TV''s Top Gear.