The Dangerous Book for Boys

The Dangerous Book for Boys arrived today. Steve told me he'd ordered a copy for David, based on a review he read in World Magazine. I've read various reviews of the book on the internet, and thought it sounded good, so I was very happy that Steve wanted to buy it.

From the forward - preface? - at any rate, it's from the front of the book:

"In this age of video games and cell phones, there must still be a place for knots, tree houses, and stories of incredible courage...

"How do latitude and longitude work? How do you make secret ink, or send the cipher that Julius Caesar used with his generals? You'll find the answer inside. It was written by two men who would have given away the cat to get this book when they were young. It wasn't a particularly nice cat. Why did we write it now? Because these things are important still and we wished we knew them better. There are few things as satisfying as tying a decent bowline knot when someone needs a loop, or simply knowing what happened at Gettysburg and the Alamo. The tales must be told and retold, or the memories slowly die...

"When you're a man, you realize that everything changes, but when you're a boy, you know different. The camp you make today will be there forever. You want to learn coin tricks and how to play poker because you never know when the skills will come in handy. You want to be self-sufficient and find your way by the stars. Perhaps for those who come after us, you want to reach them. Well, why not? Why not?"