1001 Things To Do If You Dare (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: United States, Middle Eastern, Las Vegas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If you're craving some adventure in your life--or just looking to see how the other side lives, 1001 Things to Do If You Dare is sure to satisfy with its boundary-pushing suggestions of outrageous acts and fear-inducing feats guaranteed to test the physical, mental, and emotional limits of even the most venturesome.

Offering up the antidote to the status quo, thrill-seeker extraordinaire Ben Malisow also let's you keep score along the way with risk rating scales and checkboxes to track your danger quotient.

So go ahead, take the leap . . . if you dare.

From the Author

What can I say? I've led a bizarre existence...and had a vast array of jobs, many of which led me to engage in a host of behaviors I wouldn't have otherwise attempted.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598691201
• ISBN-13: 978-1598691207
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #859,724 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning: May rearrange your worldview, August 9, 2007

By	Andy Hartzell (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You might make the mistake of presuming that "1001 Things" is light reading, the kind of book you keep in the bathroom and dip into during...those private moments. But after a few sessions, Malisow's secret agenda becomes clear: he wants to upend all your assumptions. He wants to tear off those cultural blinders you call "common sense" and force you to consider possibilities you once dismissed as "insanity."

Remove one of your own teeth with no outside assistance?
Become addicted to something and then try to give it up cold turkey?
Tell the IRS that they're wrong?

"1001 Things" is a bracing broadside against the spirit of caution that increasingly darkens our "how-am-I-driving?" society. It's an invitation to unbuckle yourself from the child safety harness, run away from Nanny and get your suit mussed a little.

Of course, most of these 1001 Things are not things you should actually do. But there is value in letting them into your mind, entertaining them as possibilities. You will emerge from that bathroom into a strange new world, one with considerably broader horizons.

A perfect high-school graduation gift for that overly-sheltered mama's boy nephew of yours.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Dared and am Better for Having Done So., June 7, 2007

By	Andrew Harley - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ben Malisow is a shameless hooligan. In his largest work to date he has constructed not merely a list book, not simply some scroll of gags, stunts, and tomfoolery, but a challenge to live one's life for all the tastes, sights, sounds, feelings, injections, and psychological disturbance it has to offer. This is a work which brings joy on many levels. To the chronically macho there are the satisfying moments of "I've done that. Heck, I did it twice, one time blindfolded" as you tick off the checkbox. Additionally, it's Malisow's progression through a series of dares, upping the ante each time. Drink beer. Drink hard liquor. Get drunk in a bar. Get drunk in a ratty bar in the bad part of town. Then just when you fear he'll suggest you get drunk in the scary bar, put on a dress, and challenge the leader of a biker gang to a sword fight, he throws in some tangent like "plant an herb garden."

Beyond the nutty progressions of dares, however, are the deeper challenges to one's worldview. Even through the goofy, hardscrabble presentation (the book comes pre-coffee-stained and fits perfectly in the leg-pocket of your mil-surplus fatigue pants), Malisow's own premium on self-examination and deliberate living comes through. He challenges the reader with dares that make one think about what it would mean to do such a thing. What things that've been held sacred might turn to cloud and mist in the face of real live action? With this book, Ben Malisow dares you to consider that question.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Green Eggs and Ham...[for Adults!] , April 3, 2007

By	Cdunc "cdunc" (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews

I picked up Malisow's book out of curiosity...you know, the kind that kills the cat? I mean who wouldn't be challenged by a title that taunts "I Double-Dog Dare ya!"??
Ben's guide is both witty and honest, while inserting some well-timed dope-slaps here and there to sober me up, [just in case I started to get a bit cocky!] The format makes for either a fun browse or a quick read with added Skull Ratings to assure me this isn't one of those antics my "grandmother could probably accomplish"! And yet...it reminds me of something...from about 1960....
"Could you, would you, with a goat?"
"Would you, could you, on a boat?"
Ben also builds on his themes and turns up the intensity level along the way. For example:
#453. Survive a bite....
#454. Survive a human bite....
#455. Survive a snakebite....
You'll have to read for yourself what the Skull Ratings and comments go here.
Even before I got to page 12, I started thinking of my own past daring-do's for a comparison. Would mine be on the list? Surprisingly, most of them are! He's pretty darn thorough!
So how did I fare in the Skull Ratings of Doom? Well...who knows? Ben neglected to give me a proper scorecard at the end, but many have a variable rating of "that depends", which leaves it up to the reader to rate his/her own performance. For me, I think I'll leave it up to wearing my own Depends before I go out and try anything else on the list! Sign me up!