The Dangerous Book for Boys
by Conn and Hal Iggulden
Published by Harper Collins 2007
Reviewed by Troy L Parrish, MA LCPC

        Wow, if you have boys you should get them this book.  This book has been by far the most enjoyable book that I have reviewed for this site.  The title implies that the content will talk about things that are dangerous, but far from it.  The title is designed to engage boys initially, or in otherwords, to get them to pick it up.  It even has a skull and cross bones flag on the inside leaf to raise the appeal.

        I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover (with the exception of the small section on grammar).  This book is full of fun things to try, from building electromagnets and batteries to the making of a bow.  We actually tried making a bow, the two we tried broke but we learned some things in the process about making bows and the value of a good bow and the importance of the compound bow.  We also learned that we were trying to move too quickly in our attempt and agreed to make the next one with a little more patience.  The instructions for making things at times are not clear enough or specific enough for you to really understand what you need to do to make some of the things in the book.  But if you really want to make the things in the book you can do a little research to fill in the gaps.  More importantly, as you can see, the willingness to learn and try something new is sparked by a book, and it has nothing to do with a computer or a game system and often involves skills and craft from the past.  Consequently, the book is a mavelous success in spuring you to both read and to learn.

        Not only are there cool things to make, but the book also has some really interesting historical stories in it.  Do you know the date and the nature of the battle of Hastings (I do after reading this book and reading G A Henty's book Wolfe the Saxon!).  Do you know the history behind the poem Charge of the Light Brigade  by Tennyson or the real story behind the recent movie The Three Hundred Spartans? Read this book and you will.  The book not only includes cool things to build and try but it also includes a great deal of information of some merit and value.  And it is not all historical battles, but also includes historical stories, science and literature as well.  The mix is between cool things to build and try, historical battles, scientific information that most boys will be interested in and some information that boys may not necessarily read if the book were soley about those topics (such as grammar or literature).  Your boy will be exposed to Shakespeare and latin as well as the Ten Commandments among other pieces of great information. 

        Each chapter is short and self contained making for a book that is appealing to read, even to those that do not particularly like to read.  It also is ideal for those who like to read a little at a time or do not have time to sit and read for several hours.  Because the chapters are short, the information can be sketchy at times but then again, the purpose is to prompt some general learning and to encourage further investigation.  Because of these goals, the short chapters work very well.  The short chapters are very informative and engaging.

        There is a lot of redeeming qualities to this book and I highly recommend this book, as the title suggest, for every boy from eight to eighty. 

Read a good book for boys lately and would you like to tell others about it?  Contact the Editor and let us know and we will work to get your review on this site!