Customer Reviews

To Do My Best: James E. West and the History of the Boy Scouts of America

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James E. West verily "ruled" over the Boy Scouts of America for most all of it's first 30 years - yet there is scarce little to be read about him. West GAVE us the BSA vision (e.g., High-Adventure, Outdoor Skills, Good Citizenship, Cleanliness & Reverence), even if he himself may not have BEEN that vision.

After reading this book, take a look at the cover art for the Boys' Life magazines that West edited in the 1920's & 30's, and I think you will agree that James E. West was a major force in creating both the organizational structure and the image that made the BSA truly as "American as Mom & Apple Pie" for most all of the 20th Century.

Those of you who love scouting will find this book to be a wealth of information on those early formative years of the scouting movement that today is sadly too often just taken for granted.

Every Professional Scouter should be required to read this book. It is the key that unlocks the door to why the movement operates the way that it does. Provides valuable insight as to why programs did or did not occur and the timing of their adoption into the approved program. The fact that James E. West hired a stenographer to record his every act is a wonderful piece of history coupled with his personal habits away from the public eye provided a foundation for the acceptable habits of BSA executives of today.

Wonderful explanation of where the BSA came from, and the citizen lawyer who made it great. Warning: The book does not suggest that James E. West was as a perfect Boy Scout. He knew what he thought a Boy Scout should be, and he set out to create a program to support it. In the process, he created what has become one of the finest youth programs the world has ever known. For those who are life-long Scouters, this book will reveal the foundations of our program. For those who are not, probably a history book of little interest.

With the US Centennial of Scouting coming up, this was a great source of the early years of the BSA. We sometimes get lost in B-P starting the "movement" and forget that forces such as West, Boyce and others had in getting the Scouting movement off the ground in the US. If you are into Scouting and history, this is a must read. West set precedent for so many things that are still an important part of the BSA today.

Dr. Rowan has written an excellent book about the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. As a Cub Scout in the 1950's, I remember his stern portratit, the one on the cover, hanging in our Scout Hut. As an adult and a researcher of Scouting history, I've often wondered why he wasn't memorialized more than he has been. This book provides the answer: He was the man needed to do the job that had to be done but nobody wanted any more Chief Scout Executives like him!

The book is sympathetic to West and explains why he was the kind of man he was without either lionizing or demonizing him. Rowan includes fascinating insights into the relationship between Ernest Thompson Seton, Daniel Carter Beard and James E. West.

Anyone seriously interested in the history of the B.S.A. or just organizations in general should enjoy this book.

This is a good history of James E. West and his impact (significant) on the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. West molded to organization in his image. While he ruffled numerous feathers, he had the best intentions at heart.

The book is an engaging read. Recommended if you want to know why BSA works the way it does.

Being involved in Scouting since the early 1940's, I was well aware of the impact of James E. West on the BSA. In fact I briefly met him at the Greater NY Councils offices. This book answered questions that have been puzzling me and filled in some gaps in what I was not aware of. After reading, I passed the book on to Scouting friends and their feedback has been positive. I highly recommend it to all those interested in the history of the Boy Scouts.

I throughly enjoyed the book and found the histroy very interesting.

Excellent reference for history of Boy Scouting