This is a five-star book for me in spite of the first 50 or so pages being a little slow (as he explains a bit about his family lineage). It quickly becomes a page-turner though, as he recounts what he went through to join the SAS, describes a terrible accident he faced (and his recovery) and then what it took to summit Mount Everest.

Along the way, there are so many life lessons learned and easily applied. Of the themes that stand out to me are: 1) Fun - he aims for fun in life in everything he does alone or with his family. 2) The reality of fear and how to respond to it. 3) The importance of doing life/adventure with others. He's very humble and notes that none of his "successes" could have been accomplished alone. 4) Generosity. A theme that runs strong from his parents and now through him.

One of my favorite quotes (upon his reflections after reaching the summit of Mount Everest): “You don’t have to be strong all the time...when we show chinks it creates bonds, and where there are bonds, there is strength."

An incredible and inspiring story.

Very interesting memoir that focuses on Bear's grueling selection process for Special Armed Services, his Everest expedition, and the beginnings of Man vs Wild. Two stars off for the little tiny words formed into little tiny sentences in little tiny chapters (well over 100 of them). On the other hand, I think my 8 year old could probably read this on his own, so it's not all bad.

I’ve always liked Bear although I didn’t really know much about him aside from the fact that he had been to Eton and was in the SAS. I never knew he’d climbed Mount Everest but knowing what I do about him now it doesn’t surprise me. I have seen a few episodes of his shows and really enjoyed the celebrity ones he did, especially the one with Stephen Fry. If I’m entirely honest he’s the sort of man I just cannot relate to. There needs to be people like Bear in the world, people that advance mankind through a mixture of determination and recklessness, but there also needs to be people like me; cautious, not attempting anything I am not certain I can complete, happy with both my feet on the ground.

I greatly admire him but also disagree with his statement that the mountaineers who have lost their lives attempting to climb Everest were heroes. Nurses are heroes, soldiers are heroes, social workers and youth workers are heroes, people who work with the homeless are heroes… I could go on. Although I feel sorry for the people who have died doing what they loved to my mind they were not heroes, they were selfish, putting their own adventure before their families and the people who loved them.

I also could not relate to Bear’s faith. I’m an atheist and for as long as I could remember I have felt deep in my bones that the whole religion thing was a nonsense dreamt up by man to stop us feeling so insignificant and alone. However if I did have faith then Bear’s is the type I would long to have; deeply personal and rooted in nature.

So in summary I enjoyed the book and I like the man but I didn’t really connect with him on any sort of level. I would recommend it for those adventuring types.

Simply written (very casual style, much like his TV show) but gripping. The childhood section is a bit lacking but does help explain how he's gotten to where he is now. The Everest section could have been a separate book (and I think it might be, but this is the only book by Grylls I've read so far). The section about getting into the SAS was excellent but also could have been its own book. The Man vs. Wild section was disappointingly short and really, I would have liked to know more about that part of his life. GREAT, thrilling book worth carving out the time to read in one sitting (it's one of those books that you'll stay up all night to read) but not much in the way of autobiography.