The life story of the popular but often misunderstood British entertainer. The host of The Generation Game and Big Break commands the adulation of millions - but do viewers really know him? He has had tough times, especially over the last decade which has seen him transformed from a blue-mouthed, alcoholic stand-up comic to Jim Davidson, OBE, the face of BBC Family Entertainment, Chairman of the British Forces Foundation and a close friend to Prince Charles.

Jim Davidson: Close to the Edge

Davidson, Jim

Humor & Entertainment

RANDOM HOUSE UK

#5 control system (ECS) Have you ever had the "check engine" light on the dashboard come on? That yellow warning light has caused many a driver to panic. Quite often, the light appears because you have just filled up the gas and put the gas cap on incorrectly. This is an easy fix, but it may require going to a dealer or garage to get the light reset. However, if you didn''t fill up and the light is on, it may mean that the emission control system (ECS) is acting up. The ECS senses how much air is being let into the engine and regulates the exhaust emissions coming out of it. If the ECS is not functioning properly and not allowing air in or out of the engine, it can put a serious strain on the engine. "Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40%." www.fueleconomy.gov Always take the "check engine" light seriously. If it comes on, get your engine checked out immediately. Better yet, have the ECS tested each year to ensure that your engine is okay--before the light comes on. #18 Fill up near empty Although waiting to fill up until the gas tank is near empty may sound like a risky proposition, filling up once it gets below a quarter-full can be a good way to maximize your car''s fuel efficiency. Gas weighs a lot and slows down the car. This weight also taxes the engine, meaning it has to work harder, and burn more fuel, to keep you moving. "[Keep in mind that every] extra 100 lbs (48 kg) of weight can increase your fuel bill by 2%." www.eartheasy.com If the price isn''t right when your gas tank hits the quarter-full mark, put in just a bit of gas for the time being. You can fill up when you see a bargain on gas. The extra weight of a full tank will be offset by the cheaper gas. Some people call this "gas surfing." They believe that by no means should you let your car''s gas tank get to the "light is on" stage--it''s too risky. What if you can''t find a station or if it''s late at night and everything''s closed? But, if you want to save money on fuel, gas surfing might be worth a try. #46 Turn the engine off Other than leaving your car at home, what is the best way to avoid using fuel? Turning off your engine. Idling is one of the biggest drains on fuel economy (see Tip 45). "If you are stopped for more than 10 seconds, except while in traffic, turn off your engine ... idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than it takes to restart your engine." Fuel Consumption Guide, Natural Resources Canada, 2008 There are many myths about turning a car''s engine off and on. Some people think that it takes 10 times as much fuel to restart a car than letting it idle. Others think that you cause great strain and harm on the starter and electrical system when you fire up the engine soon after shutting it off. Both are false. The goal is to save fuel and cut CO2 emissions, so turn it off. If your car isn''t idling, you aren''t wasting fuel. If you have to wait somewhere for 5 or 10 minutes, be patient and turn the car off. If you find yourself with more than 15 minutes and the temperature is extreme, seek out a place that''s heated or air-conditioned. Think how much more pleasant it would be to wait in a bookstore or coffee shop--and be saving money while you''re at it. Places To Turn Your Engine Off Idling is really bad: bad for fuel consumption and bad for the environment. The good news is that most people are aware of this and make the effort to stop and turn off their cars rather than keeping them running unnecessarily. Here is a brief list of a few key places where you should turn off the engine rather than idle: * Schools. In many provinces, it''s illegal to idle near a school when dropping off or picking up the kids. Most people know this, yet many continue to do so, coming up with all sorts of excuses. None are acceptable. * Construction zones. Getting stuck at a construction zone often means we sit in ours cars, idling, for many minutes. As soon as you are stopped (and see that there won''t be any further movement for a while), turn the car''s engine off. If you do, others will follow. * Long lights. If you arrive at a major intersection and the stoplight has just turned red, you may be in for a wait. Instead of sitting there burning up fuel and polluting the air, turn off your car''s engi&ne; restart it just before it turns green again (when the light controlling the opposite traffic turns amber). * Stores. If you are with a friend who needs to make a "quick" stop at an ATM or a convenience store, turn off the engine while you wait--often that quick stop ends up taking five minutes. * Accident sites. Let''s hope that you never get stuck at the scene of an accident. If you do get caught waiting in the jam of cars, turn your engine off, put on some gentle music, and relax. It may be a while before things get sorted.

75 Ways To Save Gas: Clean Green Tips To Cut Your Fuel Bill

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Penguin Canada

75 Ways to Save Gas: Clean Green Tips To Cut Your Fuel Bill

Engineering & Transportation

Automotive

“My eyes travel up the frozen walls. I figure it is eighty feet up to the sunlight. The walls above me climb up at about eighty degrees, then they go dead vertical, and then, higher up, they overhang. It is as if I am looking out from the belly of a beast, its jagged white teeth interlocking above me.” In June 1992, best friends Jim Davidson and Mike Price stood triumphantly atop Washington’s Mount Rainier, celebrating what they hoped would be the first of many milestones in their lives as passionate young mountaineers. Instead, their conquest gave way to catastrophe when a cave-in plunged them deep inside a glacial crevasse—the pitch-black, ice-walled hell that every climber’s nightmares are made of. An avid adventurer from an early age, Davidson was already a seasoned climber at the time of the Rainier ascent, fully aware of the risks and hopelessly in love with the challenge. But in the blur of a harrowing free fall, he suddenly found himself challenged by nature’s grandeur at its most unforgiving. Trapped on a narrow, unstable frozen ledge, deep below daylight and high above a yawning chasm, he would desperately battle crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him alive, while struggling in vain to save his fatally injured companion. And finally, with little equipment, no partner, and rapidly dwindling hope, he would have to make a fateful choice—between the certainty of a slow, lonely death or the seeming impossibility of climbing for his life. At once a heart-stopping adventure story, a heartfelt memoir of friendship, and a stirring meditation on fleeting mortality and immutable nature, The Ledge chronicles one man’s transforming odyssey from the dizzying heights of elation and awe to the punishing depths of grief and hard-won wisdom. This book’s visceral, lyrical prose sings the praises of the physical world’s wonders, while searching the souls of those willing, for better or worse, to fully embrace it.

The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier

Sports & Outdoors

Vaughan, Kevin

Mountaineering

Ballantine Books

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The authors bring extreme climbing to life. . . . Perhaps no author can rationalize why some choose to risk their lives . . . for the thrill of conquering a mountain. The Ledge comes perilously close and tells a ripping true story at the same time.”—The Denver Post In June 1992, best friends Jim Davidson and Mike Price stood atop Washington’s Mount Rainier, celebrating what they hoped would be the first of many milestones in their lives as passionate mountaineers. Then their triumph turned tragic when a cave-in plunged them deep inside a glacial crevasse—the pitch-black, ice-walled hell of every climber’s nightmares. An avid adventurer since youth, Davidson was a seasoned climber at the time of the Rainier ascent. But the harrowing free fall left him challenged by nature’s grandeur at its most unforgiving. Trapped on a narrow frozen shelf, deep below daylight, he desperately battled crumbling ice, snow that threatened to bury him alive, and crippling fear of the inescapable chasm below—all the while struggling to save his fatally injured friend. Finally, alone, with little equipment and rapidly dwindling hope, he confronted a fateful choice: the certainty of a slow, lonely death or the near impossibility of an agonizing climb for life. A story of heart-stopping adventure, heartfelt friendship, fleeting mortality, and implacable nature, The Ledge chronicles the elation and grief, dizzying heights and punishing depths, of a journey to hard-won wisdom. “Plunges readers into a dark, icy chasm from which escape seems impossible. Then it reveals the strength it takes to look up, and to start climbing.”—Jim Sheeler, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of the National Book Award finalist Final Salute “How [Davidson] rescued himself is the core of The Ledge, and its most gripping part. The physical effort and will involved are astonishing.”—The Plain Dealer “A moving portrait of friendship and loss.”—The Wall Street Journal

The Ledge: An Inspirational Story of Friendship and Survival

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Chalk Stream Entertainment Ltd.

'Lilliput', in this dual biography, is the world of literary magazines in Australia between the 1940s and the 1980s. Here Clem Christesen and Stephen Murray-Smith, of the journals Meanjin and Overland, were determined, driven visionaries. Both were very human-and occasionally bruised-believers in and workers for a better nation. The book ranges from before the Menzies era and the Cold War, through the Whitlam period and beyond to the challenges of the 1980s. It shows how the editors constantly aimed for a culture more liberal, diverse and developed than the one then prevailing. Their publications may have lacked resources and economic return, but they nonetheless possessed authority, regularly providing stimulation for their readers and for the nation. In finely wrought detail, Jim Davidson - the second editor of Meanjin - traces the commitment of Christesen and Murray-Smith to this ambitious cultural project and how it attracted many of the key writers and thinkers of those years. There are pen portraits of many of them, as the reader is taken behind the scenes. Emperors in Lilliput exhibits the enlightened creative spirit animating these journals at their best. It is at once captivating biography and rich social history.

Emperors in Lilliput: Clem Christesen of Meanjin and Stephen Murray-Smith of Overland

Melbourne University Press

As Europe becomes one, Jim Davidson gives us the essential survival guide for that threatened species - the True Brit. He gives a list of dos and don'ts for the heroic figure of a Brit abroad, True Brit menu translations and advice on how to tell a "Frankfurter" from a "Frog". This is a light-hearted look at the national characteristics, foibles and failings of our all-too-common market partners.

Jim Davidson's True Brit

Shand, Neil

Humor

Robson Books Ltd.

Marcus Cottin's search for his family's history takes him to Colorado mining towns, to a Navajo reservation, and around the desert Four Corners region where he uncovers some unsettling information.

Mine Work

Literature & Fiction

United States

Utah State University Press

Effective time management: A practical workbook

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

Human Sciences Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davidson, Jim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Davidson, Jim