The Dangerous Book for Boys - Conn & Hal Iggulden

Brilliant marketing masks some weak content.

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Common Sense rates it
3
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Book details
  • Author:Conn & Hal Iggulden
  • # of pages: 270
  • Publisher:Collins
  • Original Publication Date: 05/01/2007
  • Genre: Non-Fiction - Activity
  • Hardcover: $24.95
  • Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: 10-14
  • Read Aloud: 10
  • Read Alone: 10

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that there is much here that you may find objectionable, beginning with the premise of the book. Boys are encouraged to hunt and gamble, and some of the stories are very violent, though not graphically so. Most of the activities require lots of adult supervision.

Families can talk about which of the activities they would like to do, and what parental supervision is necessary. Also, why were the particular activities, stories, and poems chosen? What are the authors saying about boyhood? Are they right?

Message

Social Behavior:

Some would consider the whole premise of the book to be sexist. Boys are encouraged to gamble for money, and to run away if they accidentally break a window.

Consumerism:

Candy and sports brands mentioned.

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

References to alcohol and hashish.

Violence

A chapter on how to kill and skin a rabbit, another on how to make a bow and arrow. In the stories, there are fights and wars, beatings, amputation, deaths by a variety of methods, including being impaled on a red-hot poker which, the author states, was a statement on the victim's homosexuality.

Sex

A reference to homosexuality, a statement that boys spend a lot of time dreaming about girls.

Language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Matt Berman

This compendium of things the authors believe will appeal to boys includes activities, such as building a tree house and go-cart; stories of famous battles and heroes; information on such things as grammar, first aid, and astronomy; advice; games; codes; and more.

Is it any good?

3
Tearing boys away from the screen to get out and do things and learn things in the real world is a laudable goal. If the surprising success of this book achieves that, well and good.

But this has been done, and oh so much better, before, going back a hundred years or more to books such as The American Boy's Handy Book and The Official Handbook for Boys by the Boy Scouts of America (both still available). THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS shows all the signs of being slapped together quickly -- lots of typos and mistakes; inaccurate information; half-baked, arguable opinions presented as fact; plodding, muddy prose; and impenetrable, inadequate instructions from authors who clearly are not experts.

So how to explain its jaw-dropping success? In two words: brilliant marketing. Start with that great title, sure to attract the eye of any boy. Add to that a book design (with the words "Dangerous" and "Boys" big enough to be spotted across the store) that is at once retro and cool. Finally, make the whole thing more appealing to dads than kids -- dads who are nostalgic for the childhood they never actually had, and want to believe they can provide for their own kids. Bad news: they can't -- at least not by using this book.

Other choices

Same Idea, Only Better:
The American Boy's Handy Book by Daniel Carter Beard
The Official Handbook for Boys by Boy Scouts of America

More Activities for Boys:
The Boy Mechanic: 200 Classic Things to Build by The Editors of Popular Mechanics
The Field and Forest Handy Book: New Ideas for Out of Doors by Daniel Carter Beard
The Curious Boy's Book of Adventure by Sam Martin

Aimed at Girls:
The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan
American Girls Handy Book by Lina Beard

Related Web Sites:
Official Site

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