Bear Grylls Books in Order

How to Start Reading Bear Grylls

Bear Grylls is known worldwide for his survival television shows, but his written work is just as adventurous. Because his books span several completely different genres—ranging from gritty adult action thrillers to children's adventure series and practical field guides—your starting point depends entirely on what you are looking for.

• For Adult Thriller Fans: Start with Ghost Flight, the first book in the Will Jaeger trilogy. It is a fast-paced, military-style survival thriller featuring modern conspiracies and Special Forces action.
• For Young Adults and Teen Readers: Start with Gold of the Gods, which kicks off the Mission: Survival series featuring teenage survival expert Beck Granger.
• For Younger Children (Ages 7-10): Start with The Blizzard Challenge, the opening book of the 12-volume Bear Grylls Adventures, which uses a magical compass to transport children into dangerous wild scenarios.
• For Real-Life Inspiration: Start with Mud, Sweat, and Tears, Bear Grylls' bestselling autobiography that covers his early training, SAS service, his recovery from a broken back, and his historic climb of Mount Everest.

The Will Jaeger Thrillers (Adult Fiction)

For adult readers, Grylls created Will Jaeger, a former SAS soldier haunted by his past who is dragged back into the field. This trilogy is best read in strict publication order, as the overarching mystery of Jaeger's missing family and a dark Nazi-derived conspiracy carries across the books.

1. Ghost Flight (2015) - Jaeger is hired to find a crashed WWII plane in the Amazon jungle, unlocking a secret that could threaten the modern world.
2. Burning Angels (2017) - Jaeger returns to investigate a biological threat and track down the culprits behind his wife and son's abduction.
3. The Hunt (2018) - The thrilling conclusion to the trilogy, where Jaeger faces his final showdown in the mountains. (Note: Some database editions and catalogs mistakenly list this book under the placeholder title "Bear Grylls" or "The Hunt for the Red Temple").

The Beck Granger Universe (Teen & YA Fiction)

Beck Granger is a teenage protagonist who finds himself stranded in some of the most hostile environments on Earth, relying on the survival tips his uncle taught him. This universe is split into two phases and is best read chronologically.

Phase 1: Mission: Survival Series

This is the original sequence that introduces Beck. Each book focuses on a specific biome and includes real survival tips at the end of the text.

1. Gold of the Gods (2008) - Colombian Jungle
2. Way of the Wolf (2009) - Alaskan Wilderness
3. Sands of the Scorpion (2009) - Sahara Desert
4. Tracks of the Tiger (2010) - Sumatran Jungle
5. Claws of the Crocodile (2013) - Australian Outback
6. Strike of the Shark (2013) - Deep Ocean
7. Rage of the Rhino (2014) - African Savannah
8. Lair of the Leopard (2015) - Himalayan Mountains

Phase 2: Beck Granger Adventures

Published in 2016, this sequel series features an older, tougher Beck leading expedition groups and facing even higher stakes. These four books can be read directly after the original series:

1. Mission Typhoon (2016)
2. Mission Dragon (2016)
3. Mission Raptor (2016)
4. Mission Jaguar (2016)

The New Jungle Book Adventures

This is a separate, two-part contemporary reimagining of Rudyard Kipling's classic. It stars Mak, a city boy lost in the Indian jungle. Unlike the original tales, the animals do not speak, and the focus is entirely on realistic wilderness survival.

1. Spirit of the Jungle (2016)
2. Return to the Jungle (2017)

The Bear Grylls Adventures (For Younger Kids)

Designed for younger readers, this 12-book series features different children who attend an outdoor activity camp and are given a magical compass. The compass transports them to extreme locations where they must work alongside a fictionalized version of Bear Grylls to survive and learn a valuable life lesson.

1. The Blizzard Challenge (2017)
2. The Desert Challenge (2017)
3. The Jungle Challenge (2017)
4. The Sea Challenge (2017)
5. The River Challenge (2017)
6. The Earthquake Challenge (2017)
7. The Volcano Challenge (2017)
8. The Safari Challenge (2018)
9. The Cave Challenge (2018)
10. The Mountain Challenge (2018)
11. The Arctic Challenge (2019)
12. The Sailing Challenge (2019)

Bear Grylls Survival Skills Handbooks

If you are looking for non-fiction instruction rather than stories, this series offers compact, highly illustrated handbooks outlining practical skills. (Note: The handbook "Nutrition" is sometimes listed in metadata catalogs with a publication date of 1970 due to a database glitch. Because Bear Grylls was born in 1974, this is chronologically impossible; the book belongs to the modern series launched in 2017).

• 2017 Releases: Knots, Dangers and Emergencies, Hiking, Tracking, Signalling, First Aid, Shelter Building, Dangerous Plants, and Dangerous Animals.
• 2018 Releases: Mountains, Rainforest, Desert, and Polar.
• 2019 Releases: Summer, Winter, and Extreme Environments.

Key Memoirs and Non-Fiction Highlights

For readers interested in Bear's actual life, his non-fiction should be read in order of his life's events to get the best biographical continuity:

1. Facing Up / The Kid Who Climbed Everest (2000) - Chronically detailing his recovery from a broken back and his summit of Everest at age 23.
2. Facing the Frozen Ocean (2004) - His expedition crossing the frozen North Atlantic in an open rigid inflatable boat.
3. Mud, Sweat, and Tears (2011) - His comprehensive memoir combining his childhood, military service, and rise to global TV fame.
4. A Survival Guide for Life (2012) - Focuses on mental resilience, motivation, and life lessons.
5. How to Stay Alive (2017) - The ultimate, comprehensive survival manual detailing techniques for almost any scenario.