Scouting for Boys: The Original 1908 Edition (Dover Books on Sports and Popular Recreations) - Softcover

Baden-Powell, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486457192 ISBN 13: 9780486457192

Publisher: Dover Publications, 2007

Synopsis

Written by Robert Baden-Powell, Lieutenant General in the British Army and founder of the international Scouting movement, Scouting for Boys is one of the most influential manuals for youth ever published. First printed in 1908, it remains an all-time bestseller in the English-speaking world, second only to the Bible.
The original blueprint and "self-instructor" of the Boy Scout Movement, Scouting for Boys is a fascinating fusion of "yarns and pictures," an irresistible mixture of nationalistic narrative, tracker legend, and quotations from Baden-Powell's own autobiography and the popular adventure fiction of Rudyard Kipling, James Fenimore Cooper, and Alexander Dumas. The book provides practical advice on lighting fires, building boats and stalking animals, alongside proper Victorian-era education on chivalry and manners, self-discipline and improvement, and above all, good citizenship. Expounding upon the topics intrinsic to the life of a scout — tracking, woodcraft, camp life, endurance, patriotism, and more — this classic is essential for anyone interested in popular culture and the history of scouting and youth education. Ninety original diagrams and illustrations enhance the text.

About this title

About the Author:

Elleke Boehmer is Hildred Carlile Professor in English at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is the author of many books and articles on postcolonial writing and theory. She has also written short stories and three novels, most recently Bloodlines.

Review:

"Edited, annotated and introduced by Elleke Boehmer, professor of colonial and post-colonial literature at Nottingham Trent University in England, this fascinating volume tells us alot about Baden-Powell, his movements and even to some extent the particular point in time when scouting was born"--Washington Times "Scouting for Boys was written in the spirit of Peter Pan and Kipling's Kim; the games and plays and campfire stories are full of good ideas and good fun. The chapters on tracking, woodcraft, camp life and chivalry are full of simple (sometimes lifesaving) bits of practical information and exercises that teach children how to be observant, courteous and innovative."--Los Angeles Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0486457192
• ISBN 13: 9780486457192
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432