The Dangerous Book for Boys

Written by: Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden
Details: 288 pages / Collins
Website: http://www.dangerousbookforboys.com/

Kids today. Glued to their cellphones, IM, MySpace. Watching YouTube while playing their Xbox 360’s, drinking Red Bull while working on their homework. Or at least that what my parents tell me. For kids, everything is available at any time. There’s little sense of exploration that doesn’t involve virtual worlds. And you will find no bigger proponent for the gaming and digital world than me (and Steven Johnson), but what about going out to play for hours on end? Leaving in the early morning and not returning home until dinner?Maybe it’s a false nostalgia for a past that no longer exists, but I think that it’s more the case that the helicopter, Boomer parents of our present have completely insulated children from personal harm to such a degree that they no longer know how to fully use their imagination to play without limits.

The minute that I saw the cover of the Igguldens’ The Dangerous Book for Boys, I had to buy it. With a hard leather cover, thick pages marbled page accents and a title reminiscent of so many books of yore, it’s just screaming out to be touched and held. I was taken aback for a minute, when I smelled the pages and didn’t get the musty smell of a 75 year old binding. But no matter: the retro design is extended into the book itself, with a copperplate type font and beautiful, pen and ink illustrations that are completely in line with the similar books from the past century.

The instructions inside aren’t really dangerous in the traditional sense, but they are dangerous for those (overly-concerned) parents that don’t want their kids to be anywhere near sharp things, hot things or objects that could give you a little shock: Making a bow and arrow, a treehouse, little electronic gizmos out of batteries and tape. Nothing that’ll kill ya.

What’s nice is the tone of the instructions, like something from a father or older brother. You can certainly tell that these writers, (and brothers) are steadfast in their assertion that you just try and not worry too much about the very unlikely event that you’ll get hurt. They give you a heads up on ways to do things but don’t flail their hands in the air about the danger. Go do it, the book says, and see what happens. After all, how bad could it be? You get a cut? I’m sure the first aid kit they have you make early in the book would be of assistance.

It’s not all carpentry and projects that encourage you to kill and field dress a rabbit though. There’s plenty of common sense practical advice: talking to girls, teaching dogs tricks, finding bugs - things that boys today probably don’t know but should.This, along with plenty of intellectual stimulus: history: battles, war, Shakespeare. Essential. Important. Man-facts.

The Dangerous Book for Boys is not only for boys, but man-boys as well. Highly recommended for bedside reading and for passing on to those worthy enough to learn some very important secrets.

Book Grade: A+

Buy The Dangerous Book for Boys and Support Lights Out Films