Ben Collins – författare

The Stig gets his kit off and reveals how he came to be Top Gear's iconic racing driver and so much more – including what it's like to thrash an Aston Martin DBS, train for the Army and face the terror of Jeremy Clarkson's underwear…When the Black Stig disappeared off the end of an aircraft carrier in 2003, we were introduced to The White Stig. Faster. Stranger. Harder to keep clean. And ever since, millions have wondered – who is The Man in the White Suit? They're about to find out.Ben Collins caught the car the bug young, kicking his dad's boss in the balls for not giving him a company Jag. This was the attitude that eventually led him to spend seven years sharing a cabin with Jeremy Clarkson's underwear, James May's PhD thesis and Richard Hammond's hairspray. Because he is The Stig.Now he tells all about life inside the iconic white helmet. What it's like to guide a blind ex-RAF officer around the Top Gear track; pit a drug dealer's Mitsubishi Evo against a Trojan tank; set a Vauxhall Monara against Chloe the dancing Ninja; and race double-decker Routemasters against bendy buses. Not to mention all the inside stuff on how the show's amazing driving sequences are made.He also reveals how he got to be there – settinga Dunsfold lap time faster than Michael Schumacher's. Breaking records with the best of the best at Daytona and Le Mans.It's an awesome story, told by an amazing man.

Driving is the most dangerous thing each of us does on a daily basis - and yet the average learner receives just eighteen hours' training - less than a Starbucks barista. In this inspirational, fully illustrated, highly entertaining book, former Top Gear star Ben Collins uses his super-charged experience of racing, stunt-work and cutting-edge scientific knowledge to tell you all of the things you didn't learn on your test - and in the process will make your driving safer, more economical and a lot more enjoyable.The skills described in How to Drive, from skid control to gear changes that are as smooth as a cashmere codpiece, have been honed on racing tracks by the greatest drivers in the world. This is the stuff your instructor missed, your dad forgot and your mates pretend to know . . . but don't. Packed with illustrations, gobsmacking driving anecdotes, humour and wisdom, this is the ultimate book for anyone who wants to be better at something they do every day of their life.The world population of motor vehicles exceeded a billion a couple of years ago. Let's make sure their owners understand how to use them.

From bestselling author, racer and stunt driver Ben Collins - the man who was The Stig - comes a story of spies, speed and hard-driving genius: a driver's love letter to one of the world's best-loved machines.Aston Martin's first, wickedly fast models were forged at a time when Ferrari's premises at Maranello was nothing but a ploughed field. This book celebrates a century of innovators who kept the fire burning brightly for over a century, from the visionary pioneers Martin and Bamford to modern-day design guru Adrian Newey; from a glamorous web of pre- and post-war spies and racing drivers, to David Brown and the achingly beautiful DB models beloved of Bonds past and present.Ben Collins explores the car with the double-o prefix from a unique perspective behind the wheel, carving through country lanes in his father's V8 Vantage, driving Aston Martins in four James Bond movies and competing against them in the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race.Ultimately, this is a very British success story: of a triumph of engineering that has burned brightly from the Roaring 20s to the 2020s, and an iconic car that never says die.

What do you think are the key challenges facing Ireland today, and how can unity address them?How might Irish unity impact your life or the lives of those around you?Have you considered what a referendum on Irish unity could mean for the future of the island?Would there be an ‘Irish unity dividend’ and if so, what form might it take and who would benefit?In this book Ben Collins presents a compelling analysis of the numerous advantages that Irish unity can bring. With the future of the island at a critical juncture, Collins emphasises the importance of planning ahead of a potential border poll to ensure that we get the right structures in place. Whether it be tackling healthcare discrepancies between the north and the south or providing equal educational opportunities and putting young people at the forefront in these conversations as a matter of understanding the importance  of Ireland’s future, The Irish Unity Dividend is an essential read for anyone living on the island. This is a chance to have an open conversation on a controversial topic that is unavoidable. The future is coming, and we need to take this time to fully understand it and plan efficiently.

Growing up during The Troubles, I was determined that I was not going to be forced into Irish unity by terrorist violence or the threat of it. At the time, there was no space to think about a different future. But since then, we have had peace, however imperfect it may be, and we now have the opportunity to freely decide our fate.Why will everyone living on the island of Ireland benefit from Irish unity?How will the referendum be won?Do we need to start preparing now?What will happen when Ireland is reunified?Disillusioned with the state of pro-union politics in Britain and Northern Ireland, scarred by what he and many others see as a detrimental vote for Brexit and determined to heal the wounds inflicted by partition, Ben Collins sets out a multitude of political, social and economic benefits of removing the border on the island of Ireland, once and for all.Written from the viewpoint of an East Belfast-born former UUP campaigner, Irish Unity: Time to Prepare addresses the concerns of unionists in Northern Ireland and sceptics in the Republic and urges everyone on the island of Ireland to escape the crumbling United Kingdom so that we can build a peaceful and prosperous future together, for ourselves and our children.