Bear Grylls - True Grit

Bear Grylls knows what it takes to survive. But hes not the first.

Take the American bombardier Louis Zamperini, who survived 47 days stranded at sea by catching and killing hungry sharks and drinking the warm blood of albatrosses only to be captured by the Japanese and horrifically tortured for years in their most brutal POW camps...

Or Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL who single-handedly took on a Taliban regiment before dragging his bleeding, bullet-ridden body for days through the harsh mountains of Afghanistan...

Or Nando Parrado, one of the survivors of a horrific air-crash high in the ice-bound Andes, who only lived because he was willing to eat the flesh of his dead companions...

In this gripping new book, Bear tells the stories of the adventurers, explorers, soldiers and spies whose refusal to quit in the most extreme situations has inspired him throughout his life. Some of them make uncomfortable reading survival is rarely pretty. But all of them are tales of eye-watering bravery, death-defying resilience and extraordinary mental toughness by men and women who have one thing in common: true grit.

Bear Grylls prime-time TV adventure series are some of the most watched shows on the planet, reaching an estimated 1.2 billion viewers in over 200 countries.

Bear has authored twelve books, including the international bestseller Mud, Sweat and Tears, which has been translated into thirteen languages and was voted the most influential book in China in 2012.

He originally served as a Trooper with 21 SAS, as part of the UK Reserve Special Forces, and subsequently led many record-breaking expeditions to the worlds extremes, raising millions of dollars for childrens charities. In recognition of this Bear was made an honorary Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy as well as a Colonel in the elite Royal Marines Commandos.

In 2009, Bear took over as the youngest ever UK Chief Scout to the Scouting Association, acting as a figurehead to 30 million Scouts around the globe.

He lives with his wife, Shara, and their three sons, Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry, on a Dutch barge in London and on a small remote island off the coast of Wales.

Facing Up

Facing the Frozen Ocean

Born Survivor

Great Outdoor Adventures

Living Wild

With Love, Papa

Mud, Sweat and Tears

A Survival Guide for Life

Mission Survival

Gold of the Gods

Way of the Wolf

Sands of the Scorpion

Tracks of the Tiger

For more information on Bear Grylls and his books, see his website at www.beargrylls.com

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First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright Bear Grylls Ventures 2013

Bear Grylls has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Excerpt from The Road Not Taken from The Poetry of Robert Frost edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright 1916, 1969 by Henry Holt and Company, LLC. Copyright 1944 by Robert Frost. Published in the UK by Jonathan Cape. Reprinted by permission of the Random House Group Ltd.

Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448127245
ISBNs 9780593071052 (cased)
9780593071069 (tpb)

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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To my heroes, past and present.
Forged through hardship, defined by their
actions and remembered for their spirit.
And to the few young who dont yet know they will
be tested and proven into the heroes of tomorrow.

Contents

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

R OBERT F ROST

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.

G EORGE M ATHESON

One of the questions that I get asked over and over again is: who are my heroes, my influences, my inspirations?

The truth is that its not an easy question to answer.

For sure, my late father was a hero to me: adventurous, fun, humble a man of the people a risk taker, a climber, a commando and a loving, gentle father.

But so much of what has driven me to push myself mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, has come from some unlikely sources.

I hope this book will uncover and reveal to you some of the worlds most inspiring, moving and mind-blowing feats of human endurance ever undertaken.

There were many to choose from. Some of these stories you will know, many you will not. And for every story of pain and hardship there were often dozens of others to rival it harrowing and inspiring in equal measure.

But I have put this collection together as it stands, because not only have these stories always moved me, but they also cover such a broad spectrum: from Antarctic hell, to desert disaster; from unparalleled wartime courage to facing the unimaginable horror of hacking your own arm off in order to survive.

But what drives men and women to plumb such depths and to risk it all? Where do those wells of resilience, grit and determination come from? Are we born with them, or are they something we learn?

Again, there are no simple answers, and if I have learned anything it is that there is no mould for a hero they come in all sorts of unlikely guises. And people often surprise themselves when tested.

At the same time, there is an element of me that sees how certain people are destined for greatness. They develop character and courage, and they cultivate self-belief and vision from a young age. And it stands them well when their time of testing finally comes.

Ultimately, I like to think this quote by the mountaineering author Walt Unsworth sums up the type of character that seeks out adventure:

There are men for whom the unattainable has a special attraction. Usually they are not experts: their ambitions and fantasies are strong enough to brush aside the doubts which more cautious men might have. Determination and faith are their strongest weapons.

I also believe that we are all capable of great things, as well as having incredible reserves of strength that we might never know we possess. Like with a grape, you dont really know what it is made of until it is squeezed.