True Character

True Character
The epic stories of heroism and survival that changed my life

True Character

Forget the comfort of the familiar and the safe – true character is forged in the furnaces of hell.

Bear Grylls inspires millions with his ability to find a way out of even the most hopeless situations, but who are the heroic figures who became symbols of hope for him? The professional survival expert takes a short break from dangerous adventures and steps into the role of storyteller to honor the deeds of dozens of determined men and women who showed true character in death’s tightening grip.

Louis Zamperini spends 47 days on a raft, withstanding attacks from ferocious sharks and enemy bombers, and when he finally reaches shore, he ends up in a Japanese death camp, where he is tortured for a full two years. Badly injured and without any equipment, armed only with her will to live, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke faces the dangers of the primeval jungle after falling from a plane at an altitude of 3,000 meters. In less than 72 hours, Nancy Wake travels 500 kilometers on a rattling bicycle across Nazi-occupied France to supply the Resistance with secret codes that could determine the outcome of the war. Aron Ralston is forced to cut off his arm to free himself from the rock pinning him down in a narrow canyon, while Captain James Riley feeds on his own flesh to survive in the harsh desert.

The deadly ordeals of adventurers, explorers, spies, soldiers, and many other heroic individuals described in this book prove that survival is anything but glamorous and often comes at far too high a price. Even so, the extraordinary feats of ordinary people restore our faith that, no matter what hardships we face along the way, there is a hero slumbering inside each of us. He is simply waiting to be awakened.