Description
Book Synopsis''A scout must always be prepared at any moment to do his duty, and to face danger in order to help his fellow-men.''A startling amalgam of Zulu war-cry and imperial and urban myth, of borrowed tips on health and hygiene, and object lessons in woodcraft, Robert Baden-Powell''s Scouting for Boys (1908) is the original blueprint and ''self-instructor'' of the Boy Scout Movement. One of the all-time bestsellers in the English-speaking world, this primer of ''yarns and pictures'' constitutes probably the most influential manual for youth ever published. Yet the book is at the same time a roughly composed hodge-podge of jingoist lore and tracker legend, padded with lengthy quotations from adventure fiction and Baden-Powell''s own autobiography, and seamed through with the multiple anxieties of its time: fears of degeneration, concerns about masculinity and self-restraint, invasion paranoia. Elleke Boehmer''s edition of Scouting for Boys reprints the original text and illustrations, and her
Trade Reviewvery good fun * Max Hastings, Sunday Telegraph *
the value of Elleke Boehmer's well-annotated text of the original edition is to show us the anxieties, contradictions and excitements of the Boy Scout movement at its inception * Alan Hollinghurst, Guardian *
Elleke Boehmer's erudite introduction makes you wish she would get around to writing a full-length biogaphy of the first Chief Scout * William Cook, New Statesman *
this fascinating volume tells us a lot about Baden-Powell, his movement and even to some extent the particular point in time when scouting was born' * Washington Times *
Baden-Powell's work is well worth reading and re-reading, and that researchers with various interests and theoretical persuasions may find in its pages a great deal of interesting and rewarding material. * Thomas Kullman, Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen *
a gripping read * The Oldie *
