Book 4: James May's Magnificent Machines




 I am a huge fan of James May, having watched him in Top Gear, Grand Tour, Toy Stories, Man Lab, Oh Cook! and my favorite, The Reassembler. When I wandered around Reader's Corner, a used bookshop in downtown Raleigh and spotted "James May's Magnificent Machines", I knew I needed to have a copy. James is an excellent presenter, and his voice comes through in the book, making me chuckle often. James takes the reader through the history of important inventions like the car,  electricity, airplane, radio, television, motorcycle and more, all without being bogged down with too many details.

I'm finding it difficult to rate, because I like James May and think he does a wonderful job with this book, but the book isn't some incredible work of importance. It's an easy walk through major inventions with a conversational tone. I don't want to rate it artificially high just because I enjoy all of James May's other work. I've realized that I need to pin down a proper rating scale with definitions.

Lacking that right now, I'll give the book 4/5. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to others, but probably wouldn't read it again. I think I would rather rewatch an episode of The Reassembler!

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