Publishers Weekly
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)
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, 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
BOOKLIST
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.
GENERAL CHARLES GUTHRIE
I cannont think of anyone who has faced challenges and overcome them like Bear Grylls.
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
"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."
General - Charles Guthrie
"I cannont think of anyone who has faced challenges and overcome them like Bear Grylls."
Booklist
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."
Kirkus Reviews
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.
