Customer Reviews

The Dangerous Book for Boys

5 star:		(587)
4 star:		(80)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I bought this book after seeing the author on the Colbert show (or was it the Daily Show?). I loved the idea of the book and ordered it from Amazon immediately.

On arrival if found it exceeds my expectation. It reminds me a lot of the Popular Mechanics books from the 30's & 40's that I found in my grandmothers attic when I was a kid.

The style is archaic, which is part of the charm. My 6 year old son, who really isn't into "chapter books", went nuts for this book. I think this mostly had to do with the title, but as we scanned each chapter together he seemed to get more and more excited.

Before his bed time we read "coin tricks", "Girls" and he started planning how to get the badges found in the back of the book. He managed to learn the "French Drop" and proceeded to show everyone his new trick. Tomorrow he wants to hear about hunting and cooking rabbits.

My wife was a bit nervous about the book, especially after seeing the section on hunting and cooking a rabbit. But I think she liked the section on "Girls" and she realizes that this book is targeted to boys, not Moms.

It's definitely a hit. I will be reading chapters out of it to my son for some time to come. But I don't mind and will probably learn a thing or two myself.

Update:

It's more than a year later. The book is dog-eared, dirty and worn but my (now) 7 year old still reads and loves this book. I doubt there is a better review you can get from a 7 year old.

I have been thoroughly enjoying the book, as has my son and thousands of boys (and dads!) in Great Britain and the US. What is it about this book that brings such excitement to so many?

If I had to offer my opinion, I would say that the appeal of this book is that it does not ask any boy to apologize for being a boy. Our culture is infested with the demand that boys forgo their God given call to grow up to be men, largely because we have adopted an unhealthy view of just what a man is. Whether our example be found in Homer Simpson, Ray Romano or the dad on Family Guy, men are portrayed as selfish imbeciles in a large portion of the media. Women are shown to be compassionate and intelligent, and they are usually given the role of the one who fixes the problems created by men. I have no doubt that most women are compassionate and intelligent, but the common negative portrayal of men is presented far too often, and frankly I'm tired of it.

This book has a different take on what it means to be a boy, which is important because boys grow up to be men. From a biblical standpoint, men are meant to lead their families and churches by serving them. Where can you find such a concept on the television? You can't. This is yet another reason to get this book in the hands of a boy and his dad and get them outside to explore the world, whether that be an excursion in the woods or even just in the back yard. But how does this book portray a boy? What ideals are encouraged?

I'm glad you asked.

I simply cannot take this book section by section. There are instructions meant to get a boy started in tying knots, making a bow and arrow, fishing and many other activities. These are expected out of a book about being a boy. But included with such topics are other mini-chapters about the wonders of the world, grammar, historical battles, understanding latitude and longitude (something I never grasped in a classroom), the Declaration of Independence, poetry, Latin phrases, literature the Ten Commandments and also how to talk to girls.

I mention talking to girls last, not because it is the last topic, but because I would like to highlight it for a moment. The first piece of advice about girls is to listen to them. The second is to avoid a long string of nervous jokes by listening to them. I'm sure that my wife wishes I had this book as a child! After this, romance is mentioned. Buying flowers is often not a good idea if you are young, because the girl will know your parents purchased them. I wouldn't have thought of that. Anonymous valentines are a good idea, due to the suspense the girl will have trying to figure out who's eye she has caught. Vulgarity of all forms is to be avoided at all costs. Respect for girls is given the utmost priority.

Is this what is so dangerous about this book? Is it the high value the authors place upon girls or is it the very fact that they say that girls and boys are not identical? Is it the suggestion that every boy should have band-aids available for the inevitable mishap, because our bodies do heal? Or is it the way this book portrays a healthy boy in a way that expresses both a boy's natural desire for adventure and the ideal of respectfulness for others? I really can't say for sure.

If I had to pick one way that this book is considered dangerous and why it has met some opposition, I would say that it is because The Dangerous Book for Boys resonates so well with dads who can only wish such a book was available to them when they were growing up, and because their sons by and large are reveling in the contemplation of spending Sunday afternoons and long summer days with their dads, rediscovering what it means to be a boy with their father acting as the primary instructor.

I give this book my highest praise and encourage every dad to buy it for their sons. If you have a boy, you really need to get this book. If you don't have any boys, I'm sure you know somebody who does.

Some books you hang onto because they are useful, or well written, or happy memories are associated with them. And then there are the select books that are so handsome, you keep them because of pride of ownership. THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS is a keeper in all these categories. It is so durable and well designed, it is an absolute pleasure to hold and read.

As to its actual contents, it sits at the pinnacle of nonfiction for early teen and 'tween boys, alongside The Big Book of Boy Stuff by, er, yours truly. Anyway, the chapters in DANGEROUS BOOK are a glorious, encyclopedic hodge-podge. They range from the historical ("The Golden Age of Piracy") to the esoteric ("Grinding an Italic Nib"!) to the quite daring ("Understanding Grammar").

My kudos to the Brothers Iggulden for this retro look celebrating the secrets of boyhood. And again, neither gender nor age should restrict its readership; this book looks great sitting on anyone's nightstand.

I bought this book for my nine year old nephew. When the box arrived and I opened it, the appearance of this book literally took my breath away. It is a large, beautifully fabric bound book with gold leaf lettering. Very retro and charming. Looks like it could have been pulled off of a bookshelf in the 40's. As I watched my nephew thumb through the chapters I saw and felt his excitement as he found sections on fossils, baseball, knots, bows and arrows, pirates and so much more. He is very excited to try everything he found!! I'm a woman in my 40's but I want a copy for MYSELF!!! Buy this book...you'll be glad you did. Oh, and go ahead and get that extra copy for yourself while you're at it.

And great for it!

It's dangerous because it brings back values from a time when personal responsibility was assumed, not assumed to be absent. Hunting with airguns is dangerous, but teaches that meat doesn't arrive on Earth wrapped in clear plastic. Anything to do with spies is dangerous, but codes and invisible inks are fun, can be used responsibly, and are an important part of history (n.b. the role of espionage in the American Revolution). Doing things with electricity like making batteries, electromagnets, and pocket lights is dangerous, but teaches some of fundements of the technologies that drive the modern world. Soccer is dangerous, I've seen kids break bones playing it, but it is good healthy fun, and the kids who broke bones openly and loudly resented having to sit out games while they recovered. Girls are dangerous in so many ways, but when treated with respect can make life better. Grammar is dangerous, especially in the hands of an attorney, but creates quite an advantage for those who master it.

All these things and more are discussed, and alternatives to XBox, Gameboy, PlayStation, etc are offered. This book is incredibly dangerous to proponents of a 'managed society' where everyone is protected from everything, and everyone is free and happy in exactly the proscribed fashion. And I'm OK with this. Because "the Dangerous Book for Boys" also encourages responsibility, manners, education, self-reliance, creativity, and a host of other values that receive lip-service but little actual support in mainstream America.

Several reviewers have expressed their displeasure with the phrase "for Boys". Get over it. Get some perspective; if this is the most important thing you can take a stand about, go visit a third world country and watch children walk half a mile for water every day. Who cares what it says on the cover? I bought it with a blond, blue-eyed, [...] girl in mind, and she loves it. If it is such a heartache to you, quit whining and write "The Dangerous Book for Girls" while my daughter reads this one.

For the rest of y'all, get this for any boy or girl of any age. This book is excellent and an investment in the future.

My mom wouldn't let me go to summer camp because she thought I would drown in a lake. Consequently, I couldn't use a power tool until I was twenty-five years old. And I still can't tie a decent knot. If only I'd had this book! Especially the chapter about girls. Absolutely crucial information for any boy and it's written by witty and learned authors. I've already bought a copy for my three-year-old son. N. Smith author of Stolen from Gypsies.

As a mom of two boys (who happened to grow up in a household with three sisters and no brothers), I needed this book. Sometimes I am at a loss over what skills to teach my boys. How to tie knots, play chess, shoot marbles, skim rocks, build a go-cart...it's all in here. With diagrams and sketches, the book feels like a manual you'll return to time and time again. It even includes poems every boy should know, such as Whitman and Frost. Would make a wonderful Mother's Day or Father's Day gift for parents of boys.

I just bought this book for my son, who is 8, after reading a review in the London Times. It is a great book! It covers all the fun things like how to make a paper airplane, build a tree house, and tie knots, as well as things like grammar and history. I read through the book last night; the section on 'Girls' cracked me up! We have the UK edition, so the history bits are British centric, but this may be different in a US edition. Either way, I'd still recommend it. Buy it for your boys, but read it yourself. Those knots may come in useful some day!

I got this book for myself [mom of a girl] because I used to be quite a tomboy as a child and my daughter seems to be heading that way too:) But, I am planning to get this for my dad for Father's Day so he can try some of the skills in this book with my younger brother. Its a great book...in an age where most kids' idea of fun is staying indoors and either being glued to the TV or playing video games, this is a timely reminder that the greatest joy in life is to exercise the mind and hands in healthy, intelligent, adventurous pursuits, preferably outdoors! The skills covered in this book are diverse in levels of difficulty, but all of them are unique and though some may seem quite dated , it is also refreshing to come across a few from my childhood days:) Highly recommended for the young and young-at-heart!And the lovely red cover with illustrations is an added bonus!

I bought the UK version of this amazing book two years ago--and amazing it is! History, sport, battles, nature, girls, grooming, science, knots, magic tricks. . .it may *look* a bit nostalgic, but it's very, very applicable to every boy's life. . .and his mom's and his sister's, too. I loved, loved, loved this book (60 year-old-mother of a daughter here) and would give it 10 stars if allowed! Delight your boy--or girl--young or old--with this thrilling book! On my shelf right next to the Harry Potters and the Enid Blytons!