Mud, Sweat and Tears

Mud, Sweat and Tears is Bear Grylls's 2011 autobiography, covering his life before television fame. It traces his childhood on the Isle of Wight, where his father taught him to sail and climb; his teenage turn to mountaineering and martial arts, including a grandmaster's karate camp in Japan; and his gruelling selection for the British Special Forces' 21 SAS. A free-fall parachuting accident in Africa broke his back in three places, and doctors doubted he would walk again — eighteen months later he became one of the youngest climbers to summit Everest, at twenty-three.

Published by Transworld in May 2011, the book was named one of the best autobiographies for children and teenagers by The Guardian, spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list, and was voted the most influential book in China in 2012. It predates Grylls's Man vs. Wild fame and his role as Chief Scout, focusing instead on the formative experiences that shaped him.