Mud, Sweat, and Tears: The Autobiography

by Bear Grylls

Overview

The thrilling #1 bestselling memoir by adventure legend and survivalist Bear Grylls.

Bear Grylls has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on a remote island off of Britain's windswept coast, he was taught by his father to sail and climb at an early age. Inevitably, it wasn't long before the young explorer was sneaking out to lead all-night climbing expeditions.

As a teenager at Eton College, Bear found his identity and purpose through both mountaineering and martial arts. These passions led him into the foothills of the mighty Himalayas and to a karate grandmaster's remote training camp in Japan, an experience that soon helped him earn a second-degree black belt. Returning home, he embarked upon the notoriously grueling selection course for the British Special Forces to join the elite Special Air Service unit 21 SAS—a journey that would push him to the very limits of physical and mental endurance.

Then, disaster. Bear broke his back in three places in a horrific free-fall parachuting accident in Africa. It was touch and go whether he would walk again, according to doctors. However, only eighteen months later, a twenty-three-year-old Bear became one of the youngest climbers to scale Mount Everest, the world's highest summit. But this was just the beginning of his many extraordinary adventures. . . .

Known and admired by millions as the star of Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls has survived where few would dare to go. Now, for the first time, Bear tells the story of his action-packed life. Gripping, moving, and wildly exhilarating, Mud, Sweat, and Tears is a must-read for adrenaline junkies and armchair explorers alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062124135
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/29/2013
Pages:	408
Sales rank:	134,638
Product dimensions:	5.76(w) x 8.52(h) x 1.14(d)

About the Author

Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. His journey to this acclaim started in the UK, where his late father taught him to climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 SAS. It was here that he perfected many of the skills that his fans all over the world enjoy watching him pit against mother-nature.

His TV show Man Vs Wild and Born Survivor became one of the most watched programmes on the planet with an estimated audience of 1.2 billion. He also hosts the hit adventure show 'Running Wild' on NBC in America, as well as 'The Island with Bear Grylls' & 'Bear's Wild weekends' for Channel 4 in the UK.

He is currently the youngest ever Chief Scout to the UK Scout Association and is an honorary Lt-Colonel to the Royal Marines Commandos.

He has authored 14 books including the number one Bestseller: Mud, Sweat & Tears.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Part 1 In the Genes 5

Part 2 Among the Few 125

Part 3 Adversity 233

Part 4 Faith 317

Part 5 The Beginning 373

Epilogue 396

Index 403

What People are Saying About This

Charles Guthrie

“I cannont think of anyone who has faced challenges and overcome them like Bear Grylls.”

Editorial Reviews

Grylls has gained a huge audience of fans over seven seasons as star of the Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild program, with each episode featuring Grylls living by his wits in dangerous situations in the wild. Already a bestseller in the U.K., this fascinating if irritatingly upbeat memoir of his pre-television life would have been expected to be a hit in the U.S.—except that the show was canceled in March after Grylls was fired for reported contract differences. Nevertheless, his fans may still be interested in learning what made Grylls an adventurer: “the early, bigger missions that shaped me, and the even earlier, smaller moments that steered me.” He begins with some childhood and teenage adventures that make him realize that he “simply loved adventure.” But the bulk of the book describes in detail Grylls’s two most formative experiences: training for and mastering the brutal selection process to join the elite Special Air Services (SAS) unit of the British Special Forces, and his attempts and eventual success in climbing Mt. Everest. Although Grylls’s adventures are fascinating and carefully detailed, the problem with this memoir is that it is written in a basic, one-sentence-per-paragraph style, which may inspire younger readers (“I knew that nothing good in life ever came from quitting”), but which makes Grylls sound far more one-dimensional than he appears to be on his show. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Mud, Sweat, and Tears is required reading for fans of Man vs. Wild but also for anyone who revels in first-person stories of high adventure.” — BOOKLIST

“I cannont think of anyone who has faced challenges and overcome them like Bear Grylls.” — GENERAL CHARLES GUTHRIE, Colonel Commandant of the SAS

“Mud, Sweat, and Tears flows with the verve of an engaging novel and forms a satisfying life story brimming with excitement and adventuresome risk-taking. An inside look at the makings of an intrepid, insatiable explorer. ” — KIRKUS REVIEWS

“World-famous ‘extreme adventurer’ Bear Grylls had so far avoided telling his life story—until now. Well told, personable, fast-paced, and undoubtedly a fascinating read.” — DAILY TELEGRAPH

From the Publisher

Mud, Sweat, and Tears is required reading for fans of Man vs. Wild but also for anyone who revels in first-person stories of high adventure.

BOOKLIST

I cannont think of anyone who has faced challenges and overcome them like Bear Grylls.

GENERAL CHARLES GUTHRIE

World-famous ‘extreme adventurer’ Bear Grylls had so far avoided telling his life story—until now. Well told, personable, fast-paced, and undoubtedly a fascinating read.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

"World-famous ‘extreme adventurer’ Bear Grylls had so far avoided telling his life story—until now. Well told, personable, fast-paced, and undoubtedly a fascinating read."

Daily Telegraph

"I cannont think of anyone who has faced challenges and overcome them like Bear Grylls."

General - Charles Guthrie

Mud, Sweat, and Tears is required reading for fans of Man vs. Wild but also for anyone who revels in first-person stories of high adventure."

Booklist

The fearless host of Man vs. Wild illustrates a highly spirited life. Born in Britain in 1974, Edward Michael Grylls (his sister nicknamed him "Bear," and it stuck) became heavily influenced by the strength and resilience of his great-grandfather, a British officer during World War I. His childhood memories include nervously anticipating school grades and thriving amid the tireless support (but limited attention) of two hardworking parents who urged him to "follow your dreams and to look after your friends and family along the way." With unflagging confidence, Grylls (To My Sons: Lessons for the Wild Adventure Called Life, 2012, etc.) satisfied his adventurous side as a youth with frequent harrowing adventures with his father, a Royal Marine, and developed physical stamina in karate class, which tempered bouts of mischief. Grylls' narrative is bolstered by its heavily anecdotal form. The author's finely detailed account of a grueling, physically challenging stint in the Special Air Services becomes surprisingly overshadowed by the book's centerpiece: the author's arduous, three-month group expedition at 23 to the crest of Mount Everest. Utilizing skills polished in the British Army, he became one of the youngest mountaineers to reach that summit, which begat lectures, a deodorant commercial, appointment as the youngest ever Chief Scout to the Scouting Association and eventual celebrity status as an influential personality on the Discovery Channel (Man vs. Wild receives only a few cursory, concluding chapters). Grylls' breezy account flows with the verve and uncomplicated language of an engaging novel and forms a satisfying life story brimming with excitement and adventuresome risk-taking. An inside look at the makings of an intrepid, insatiable explorer.

Kirkus Reviews