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42 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ON my Honor, April 9, 2008
This review is from: On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting for (Hardcover)
On My Honor Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For is a great book about the Boy Scouts of America. The author Rick Perry, Governor of Texas and an Eagle Scout is donating the proceeds to the Boy Scouts of America legal fund. The book begins with the history of Scouting. The chance meeting of an American businessman in London, England with a British Scout started the chain of events that lead to the founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.
The scouts have been under attack for many years. Rick Perry said the first concentrated effort started in 1970. The attacks are in the form of law suits and court challenges which fall under four different topics. These categories are girls seeking membership in the BSA, duty to God, duty to be morally straight and access to government forums.
The author writes about each example of these attacks and their outcome. One of the cases went to the Supreme Court which the Boy Scouts won. The Boy Scouts usually win, but at a great cost in attorney fees and loss of future donations. The latest attacks are designed to cut off funding and reduce meeting locations.
On the values side of Scouting, the Rick Perry goes into many examples of successful Scouts and how Scouting has helped them. There are statistics that show the effect on a boy's life when he enters and stays with the Scouting program compared to a non-scout. The numbers will surprise you. The author points out that the Scouting handbook is the roadmap for a young boy growing up. Rick Perry writes that single parents in need of a male mentor for their son(s) see the Boy Scouts as an answer.
As you read the book the question comes to mind, Why do so many groups attack the Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have a set of rules much like our military and society, and looks for the greater good of the community. The last question, will Scouting survive? Rick Perry believes it will and I think all 100 million boys who have been Scouts will say strongly agree.
On a personal note Scouting, I am an Eagle Scout and a Cubmaster of Pack 136 and the scouting motto of Be Prepared served me well in Mosul, Iraq. Boy Scouts of America will be 100 years old in 2010 and many celebrations will be held. Let's hope scouting will be around for another 100 years. I am proud of my father an Eagle Scout my mother was a Cub Scout den leader, my wife also was Cub Scout den leader, and my two boys are Boy Scouts. I know the Boy Scouts is worth fighting for.
On My Honor Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For is well worth reading whether you are involved in Boy Scouts or for those that want to learn more about the values and program of Boys Scouts of America.
Be Prepared
MAJ (ret) NJARNG
Eric Shuler
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46 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well written book, but flawed by misinformation and the authors biases/views, May 2, 2008
This review is from: On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting for (Hardcover)
EDITED REVIEW.
As a long time scout and scouter, I have delved into the scouting movement and its history and have a large personal library of both BSA works and books about the BSA.
While this work is well written (much better then Hans Zieger's work), it is flawed by the misinformation given, and to a degree the author's beliefs and biases. The author is entitled to his views, but the misinformation is more problematic. THIS REVIEW DEALS ONLY WITH THE FACTUAL ERRORS OF HIS BOOK, not the 'truths' (his views) that he puts forth.
Some examples.
* Baden-Powell did NOT create scouting to train future soldiers. He created scouting to create better individuals and citizens. As an officer, he was very different from the stereotype of the british solder. His military scouting program was different from the typical drilling/boot camp type of training. In it, small groups of men learned self reliance and independence thru activities and games. B-P thought military training was inappropriate for youth ("drilling is not scouting") and spent a lot of time adapting his scouting program to be appropriate for youth. Even after he established scouting, some critics claimed he was trying to create future soldiers, and formed rival groups like the "Peace Scouts". Other critized B-P for failing to create future soldiers and formed rival groups like the "Empire Scouts".
* William Boyce did not get lost in the fog of London, that is a myth created by James West. Boyce was lost in London (but no fog) and was helped by a scout and later taken to scout HQ. But he did not meet B-P or the like. That's all embellishments and such added by West. Furthermore, Boyce had little involvement with the BSA after it was incorporated. It was others who got involved and saved the org and brought on board James West.
* the information on page 49-50 on the senior scouting programs is full of errors. I've researched this area extensively and have a website on it.
* B-P's wife Olave did NOT start Girl Guides. B-P did before he was married, then turned the program over to his sister Agnes. Olave got involved later. Juliet Low had been involved with the Girl Guides in the UK and brought it to the states, renaming it the Girl Scouts of the USA.
I did like it for its celebration of scouting and its positive values. But I am always annoyed by misinformation given about scouting.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cutting against the grain, July 12, 2009
This review is from: On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting for (Hardcover)
I caveat this commentary my mentioning that I am a current adult Scout leader, and my son is involved in a local Troop. I progressed through Cub Scouts to Bear rank, but did not go beyond that level.
I'm going to go against the grain and give this book a three-star rating, for the reasons explained below:
1. If you are involved in Boy Scouts of America, you are already going to agree with the basic premise of the book at least 80% of the time.
2. The most enlightening sections of the book are those that deal with the legal assault on the BSA. While this information is helpful and insightful, it's also shallow and doesn't address the full depth of this assault. I learned more about the legal assault on the BSA by reading the Wikipedia pages dedicated to this subject, which is very unfortunate.
3. Many of the pages in the book are 'filler' material... photo pages, a long list of colleges that have scholarships for Boy Scouts, etc. Close to 30% of the book is comprised of photos, the appendix on higher education institutions with Scouting-related scholarships, and the index.
4. Chapter 10 is dedicated to a survey that Governor Perry maintains demonstrates that scouting makes a difference in terms of the general attitudes that Scouts/former Scout have with regard to socially-conservative values. The survey does show a difference, but only slightly (often around a 5% difference). I would argue that Scouting does make a difference, but this survey shows that we (as adult leaders) are not doing enough to make a difference if the survey only shows (in many cases) only a 5% difference.
I recommend reading this book, but recommend checking out a library copy or borrowing one. If you send me postage, I will mail my copy to you. Seriously. I'm a bookworm and love my collection of books, but this one is really not worth hanging on to. It's not worth the purchase price, however.
The best thing about the book is that 100% of the profits are donated to BSA (according to the back jacket), otherwise, my rating would be lower.
Sorry, Governor Perry, I support your political position on many issues, but I can't recommend buying this book -- though it's good to skim for anyone interested in the BSA. Even so, it's probably going to reinforce what you already know more that it will provide new information to you.
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