How to Land an A330 Airbus: And Other Vital Skills for the Modern Man Paperback – May 1, 2012

James May has to be one of the most intelligent, dry, funny beings alive! This book is a must have! The informative info on delivering twins is priceless! Wish I knew it before I had mine!

As much as I love James May (and the rest of the usual suspects), this book is a little underwhelming. However, it is exactly as is described. At times quite funny and certainly a very easy read, it's great for a weekend at the beach. Having said that, it can also be a bit dull at times and seem a little forced. Regardless, I would recommend, as it holds some interesting info, will provide a few laughs, and is a very quick read.

Hilarious book written by one of my favorite people. It will keep you laughing and you won't want to set this book down for a second. Plus you never know when you might find an unexploded German WWII bomb in your backyard (even though I live in the US).

Yes, you should judge this book by its cover. And take, very seriously, this advice:`Neither the author nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any harm arising from the techniques, advice or situations described in this book.'But if you want step-by-step instructions on how to land an A330 Airbus in an emergency, how to fight a duel, or invade the Isle of Wight then this may well be the book for you. Especially if you are a man who reads (and follows) step-by-step instructions. You may (or may not) be enlightened by the chapters telling you how to drive the Peppercorn Class A1 4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive `Tornado' and how to deliver twins, and I certainly wouldn't suggest defusing an unexploded World War II German bomb, or preparing and eating your best mate. The other two chapters tell you how to escape from Butlins and how to play the first movement of Beethoven's `Moonlight' sonata.I enjoyed the first chapter most, and liked the underlying idea that the book came about because James May was bored with the portrayal of men as endearingly hopeless and that there was a need for a book like this which showed men how to do really useful things instead of things like tying a bow tie in fifty different ways in less than 30 seconds.Whether or not you find this book funny will depend a lot on your sense of humour. I found some parts funny but thought that others were too silly to be funny. But, then, I'm not really part of the target audience.`The chances that you will ever meet with the circumstances outlined here are, frankly, very remote.'Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Bought used but arrived like new

If you find James May funny then you will like "How to Land An A330 Airbus." The rest of us think him an interesting and pleasant enough but rather serious fellow whose attempts at humor are clumsy, contrived, and rather embarrassing. May has wit but lacks humor. Unfortunately, much of his book apparently attempts comedy.Each chapter purports to explain how to do something. Landing an Airbus makes for an interesting chapter as does, for example, operating a steam locomotive. The chapter explaining how to disarm an unexploded Nazi bomb would be interesting, even to an American audience, if it did -- but it doesn't, ending for practical purposes at the point where you're killed by the booby trap hidden underneath the fuse you've just finished cleverly disabling. Perhaps booby-trap disabling remains a secret of Her Majesty's government.But the interesting chapters are more than offset by those of pure fiction that instruct merely on May's lack of funny. How to escape by tunnel from what is apparently a well-known British summer resort might perhaps amuse a British audience, though one doubts it since the British still seem unaware of how truly cold and dreary their summer resorts are. And what can one say about instructions for mounting a military invasion of the Isle of Wight? London, perhaps; Gibraltar in a pinch. But the Isle of Wight? That's a one-liner, not a chapter. Nothing about this is at all interesting unless, presumably, that's where you live.So if you're a May fan, or a resident of the Isle of Wight (who I'm told are called "caulkheads" and "overnors," presumably resulting in the more frequent use of the colloquial phrase "resident of the Isle of Wight"), this book is for you. But if you're simply a Top Gear fan, even waiting for Clarkson to recycle another batch of old newspaper columns would be better than this.

You either like him or hate him. Book is great coffee table reading.

How To Land an A330 Airbus: And Other Vital Skills for the Modern Man Okay, so this isn't a very "useful in the real world" book, nor is it as laugh out loud funny as watching, say, Top Gear UK. Plus, some of the references will be lost to non-UK readers (like me). The pleasure, instead, comes from being allowed - however briefly, as it's a slim book - into this creative, eccentric, and intelligent man's mind.I hope he writes more of these types of books, as I thoroughly enjoyed learning things that were completely impractical and/or implausible. I also wish authors of "real" DIY books would write with a similar "seductive," dry wit, as it makes learning much more enjoyable and engaging.

Reading the preview and the chapter names, I really thought to be in for a hilarious ride. But, I'm seriously disappointed. Don't think it was particularly useful as well (apart from: How to bring a baby to the world and playing piano chapters)

Un crack en la televisión, no solo por las series de automoción si no también por series como The Reassembler o Toy Stories - El libro es de fácil lectura, muy entretenido y con muchos puntos cuanto menos curiosos :)

Classic James May humour!

Die wenigsten Leser werden je in die Verlegenheit kommen, einen Airbus A330 notlanden zu müssen, aber gut zu wissen, dass man es könnte. Esgibt noch weitere wichtige Lebenhilfen - oder sagt man heute Lifehacks?- Ausbruch aus dem Gefängnis, Duellieren, Assistieren bei Zwillingsgeburten, Dampflokomotive fahren u.s.w.Alle herrlich nutzlos, aber schön beschrieben. Wer die Art von James May durch Top Gear oder andere Sendungen liebgewonnen hat, wird sich an dem Buch erfreuen. Außerdem ist es eine schöne englischsprachigen Lektüre für Nicht-Muttersprachler.Kaufempfehlung!

Eloquent and hilariously funny.