Adventurer and television personality Bear Grylls has climbed to the top of a different kind of summit — the UK’s literary charts.
On June 29, his new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told: An Eyewitness Account, premiered at the top of the Sunday Times hardback non-fiction bestsellers.
Selling over 8,600 copies since its June 19 release, the book also secured the fifth spot across the nationwide sales rankings and has consistently ranked in Amazon’s top 10.
This milestone marks a first for publisher Hodder Faith: it is the only time in their recorded history - since 2010 - that a book categorised under Christianity has claimed the top spot in the Sunday Times rankings.
Previously, the highest-charting Christian title had reached number four — Jonathan Sacks’ God’s Name in 2015.
The book’s rapid rise reflects broader trends in religious publishing.
According to BookScan, the religion category was the only non-fiction genre among 18 tracked that experienced consistent growth in terms of both quantity sold and market worth between 2022 and 2024.
Grylls describes The Greatest Story Ever Told as his most meaningful work to date: “I’d give up every Everest summit, every Emmy, every book and TV show I have done to have written this, because it is about all our lives and futures, rolled up in this one incredible story.
“Already the book is empowering thousands of lives all around the world.
“I have a feeling though that this is only the beginning and it is because of so many people sharing this story with friends, families and colleagues, that we are seeing such huge numbers sold.
“That is why I say this book belongs to us all, and that its influence will endure. That is what Christ does to people. He changes us all for the better.”
The book presents the life of Jesus through the voices of five close companions — Mary, Thomas, Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene — while integrating Jesus’ own words directly from the Bible.
Churches are being invited to explore the book in a five-part series this autumn, complete with video content featuring Grylls and Andrew Ollerton from the Bible Society’s. Organisers hope that more than 1,000 churches and 100,000 participants will take part.
Publishing Director Andy Lyon commented on the book’s success: "To have the story of Jesus at Number 1 is a testament to the life-changing impact of this story – it needs to be proclaimed afresh in each generation and nobody has done it like Bear.
“This book will be a long-term mission for Hodder Faith and this is just the first milestone of many.”
The Greatest Story Ever Told is set to release in the US on 22 July 2025.
