A Survival Guide For Life. By Bear Grylls (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Bear Grylls shares with readers some of his tips, observations, and guide lines to live well. These primarily focus on how to best relate to others, how to be a team player, and how to successfully pursue life goals. The book is divided into 75 2-5 page chapters with one main piece of advice per chapter, and frequently stories from Bear's life or the lives of famous people to illustrate that point.I read several reviews of this before I started, and I feel like most people missed the introduction, and therefore misunderstood the target audience. Bear says he wrote this for his boys, and I think that really helps in knowing how to evaluate this book. I purchased it for a Christian Secondary School library and it is perfect for that target audience. The points Bear gives are important things for teens to think about and hear as they move into adulthood. And, while parents and teachers may try to impart the same principles into these teens heads, they are honestly more likely to "listen" to someone they look up to and admire as successful, popular, and just a touch crazy. Grylls' solidly grounded messages about money being a tool and not an end goal are especially something I think teens will take to heart from him though they may not listen to teachers saying the same thing. The format of the book is also perfect for today's teens. The variety of font sizes to help make points mimics common modern media aimed at this age group, and the size of the chapters is perfect for their attention span. Several adults complained about this in reviews, but well, they aren't the primary target audience.Grylls is a Christian and does weave Biblical principles into several of the chapters though not all of them. He is respectful of other faiths, so I don't feel like this book was written primarily for the Christian community or meant to be a "Christian" guide to life. Christians can appreciate the grounding of much of Grylls' advice, but most any teen should find the book helpful, especially as they look to the future.Notes on content: Grylls occasionally uses some language that in other cultures may be borderline offensive, while in his culture no one would bat an eye. No sexual content or violence. I received a free copy of this book and I will check to see if my public library wants it, since I don't have any reason to keep it. So my review: First, the title is a misnomer; the words “Survival Guide” were definitely misleading to me, given what this man does for a living. I didn't realize the book would read like salesman training material. "Put a picture of your dream on the wall." "Always be enthusiastic." Etc. Second, the publishers decided to have the text alternate back and forth between huge 48 point font that looks like magazine headlines or graphic novels, and quite small (maybe 9 or 10 pt font). Therefore, after only six pages of reading I was getting an eye strain headache from the fonts dramatically changing two or three times on every page. Please, make sure you see a sample of this book that will help you decide if your eyes can handle this uncomfortable duality. Hint: If it looks like a comic strip, it's not going to serve any function except to entertain. Conclusion: if you just want to read a book by a guy who's on a tv show, enjoy yourself.
What do You think about A Survival Guide For Life. By Bear Grylls (2012)?
If you want a self help book, this is the ultimate one. It's as simple as that.
—Corey
Maybe a bit simplistic but some good advice for day to day living.
—adniles
Great book to consult for some motivation for a particular moment!
—locoquinn
