Healthful Sports for Boys: The American Boy?s Ultimate Guide to Building Confidence, Strength and Good Moral Character Through Sports, Games, Camping, ... Sledding, Sleight of Hand Magic and More! [Paperback]

Alfred Rochefort (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 2007

Originally published in 1910, Alfred Rochefort's HEALTHFUL SPORTS FOR BOYS is an optimistic "Can Do!" prescription for the kind of vigorous, competitive, yet thoroughly wholesome boyhood that for more than two centuries has reliably bred great American men of character, courage and good common sense. In our 21st Century, "post-modern" era of video games, virtual reality and "couch potato kids," Rochefort's vision of active boys creating fun with their own minds and muscles is a reminder of everything great about boys and about America, and a Clarion Call to a new generation to "get up and get great!" -- Before it's too late!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This book of outdoor games for boys will make better boys, and they'll get a lot more joy out of life and be the better men in time for having read it and carried out its rules as to wholesome, honest sport.

The boy who plays an honest game will do an honest business, and he'll win over "the sneak."

If you are "a grown-up," read this book, and in doing so live over again the joyous, gladsome days of your boyhood, and you will sigh, as we do while writing this: "Would I were a boy again!"... -- [From the Introduction]

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Better Days Books (November 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897454457
• ISBN-13: 978-1897454459
• ASIN: 0615179266
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,393,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Find -- Great Sports Info for Boys, a Great Nostalgia Piece for Grownups, August 26, 2008

By 

Bill Breyer (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healthful Sports for Boys: The American Boy?s Ultimate Guide to Building Confidence, Strength and Good Moral Character Through Sports, Games, Camping, ... Sledding, Sleight of Hand Magic and More! (Paperback)

"Healthful Sports for Boys" is definitely in the same "ballpark" (ha ha, pun intended) as the better know Iggulden brothers' "The Dangerous Book for Boys," and should appeal to anyone who collects (or just loves) old boys books full of cool activities, useful information and good, old fashioned nostalgia for the boyhood of a bygone era. "Healthful Sports for Boys" was first published in 1910, and focuses, not surprisingly, on sports, which to my mind makes it more useful and interesting than "The Dangerous Book," which contains a lot of filler material about the history of ancient battles and such. There are clear instructions here for playing baseball and football, as well as "forgotten" team sports like "cat" and "townball." There are rules for a variety of games involving marbles, tops, etc., and directions for making and flying several styles of kites. In the arena of outdoor sports, camping, fishing, boating, canoeing, swimming, bicycling, golf, and winter sports like ice skating and sledding are all explored. There are even a bunch of easy sleight of hand magic tricks. Buried in the straightforward discussion of various sports, the author inserts moral guidance as well, with admonitions to stand up for smaller kids and to put bullies in their place, to play fair, tell the truth, etc. In the last couple of years I have put together a pretty good collection of old Boy Scout manuals and other books published for boys in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, and this reprint edition of "Healthful Sports for Boys" fits right in, as one of the best. I highly recommend it. Another great boy's book I discovered from this same publisher (Better Days Books) is YOU CAN BE A GREAT AMERICAN!: 39 Steps to True and Lasting Greatness: A Growing Up Great Guide for American Boys And for the Parents and Teachers Who Love Them. Check that one out, too!