The Dangerous Book for Boys

I haven't had a good kid book to review in a while, so I wandered through the book store a couple days ago. I ran across the newly-published Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden.

The Dangerous Book claims to be "The perfect book for every boy from eight to eighty." In its 250+ broad, colorful pages are all the things that a growing boy ought to know about. Some of my favorite lessons:

*Timers and Tripwires
*Making a Go-Cart
*Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary
*Making Cloth Fireproof
*How to Play Poker

Between the lessons about tree houses and table football, Iggulden has interlaced stories about famous explorers, battles, etc... bite-sized history lessons full of testosterone. He also answers "Questions about the World" (How far away are the stars?).

The premise of the book is really cool, and it's very well-done. My favorite thing about it, though, is how it looks-- it looks like something a Boy Scout would carry. The cover is red with old fashioned gold letters, and photographs (the common wasp! Rocky Mountain National Park!) are faded and antiqued. Much of it is hand-drawn (examples of pirate flags, the Brachiosaurus).

All these things come together to create a very accessible book for boys who might otherwise be holed up in front of their computer all summer (notice there was nothing about web navigation or hotkeys?). Very cool and worth checking out.

[update] I found the book's British site, if you want to explore the book more!