Never Give Up

December 20, 2021
Grylls (Mud, Sweat and Tears), star of Man vs. Wild, looks back at the “greatest hits” of his career as a professional adventurer in this exhilarating autobiography. With a laconic sense of humor, he takes fans behind the scenes of his show and how it’s impacted his life—including being “asked more times than is imaginable, do I really drink my own urine?” (He has, on occasion, but only “in the name of survival.”) Just as enthralling are recollections of his encounters with some of the world’s most powerful figures—such as when he recounts the mind-boggling logistics of having former president Obama on an episode of his show Running Wild (a “Running Wild Presidential Special”), and having to account for over 50 Secret Service agents. Doled out in short, punchy chapters that jump back and forth through time, Grylls’s narrative never lets up as he shares his deep and abiding love for the natural world and hard-earned lessons from his travels (“Don’t screw with polar bears”). And his humbleness is made evident throughout—from his giving thanks to the “many unseen kindnesses” of his shows’ crews to his quotidian complaints about aging and annoyance “at how much it hurts to get up in the morning nowadays.” Fans won’t want to miss this.