For more than twenty years, Tony Hawks has been mistaken for Tony Hawk, the American skateboarder. Even though it is abundantly clear on his website that he is an English comedian and author, people still write to him asking the best way to do a kickflip or land a melon. One mischievous day he started writing back in a pompous tone, goading his correspondents for their spelling mistakes and poor grammar, while offering bogus or downright silly advice on how to improve their skateboarding. Featuring entries on parents’ pain, disappointment, underachievers, Quorn and the Vatican, this is his A to Z guide to the world of skateboarding, as seen through the eyes of someone who knows absolutely nothing about it.

I received a review copy from the publishers and was invited to participate in the blog tour by Anne Cater of Random Things Tours. My thanks to both.

For many people the name Tony Hawk will immediately bring to mind the image of a skateboarding legend.

If you hear Tony Hawks being mentioned your first thought may also be of that skateboarding legend but you would be wrong!  Has Tony Hawk ever been on Top of the Pops?  NO.  Has Tony Hawk ever hitchhiked around Ireland WITH A FRIDGE?  NO.   And has Tony Hawk ever played a game of tennis?  Well maybe…but I’ll wager he has never taken on the Moldovan national football team at tennis.  So Tony Hawk can do some stunts on a skateboard and become famous but he hasn’t accomplished half of the successes of Mr Tony Hawks.

Confused?  No need.  The English comedian and frequent contributor to Radio 4 has reached the end of his tether when it comes to being confused with the American skateboarder who has a somewhat similar name. Twenty years of frustration have led to Mr Hawks penning a “helpful” A-Z of Skateboarding advice – largely dominated by a running thread that getting on a skateboard is a pretty terrible idea.

Not content with just delivering the helpful 26 tips spanning the A-Z classification we are also treated to an insight into some of the correspondence Tony (from England) receives which is intended to reach Tony in America.  Delightfully our author (Mr Hawks) also shares some of the replies he sends to the correspondents. Given these are mainly young(ish) American kids or their parents it remains unclear how many of them may get the joke.  Which is a shame really as the replies are hilarious.

The A-Z of Skateboarding is not to be taken seriously if you are actually looking for skateboarding advice, but should certainly be kept in mind when looking for a fun wee read.  With Father’s Day looming in the UK this would be a top idea to gift a Dad in their 20’s to early 40’s – this seems the optimum age range to get the Tony Hawk references and to understand just what those American Kids are trying to articulate.

I laughed often as I read this one and I suspect I drove Mrs Grab slightly crazy as I read her some of my favourite lines. I don’t read nearly enough funny books these days – this was a very welcome addition to my week.

The A-Z of Skateboarding is published by Unbound and is available in digital and hardback editions. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Z-Skateboarding-Tony-Hawks/dp/1783526734/ref=sr_1_4?qid=1560457198&refinements=p_27%3ATony+Hawks&s=books&sr=1-4&text=Tony+Hawks

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