Dangerous Book for Boys - Pocket Version - Diverting Miscellany (The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do - Conn Iggulden)

Member Name: Hishyeness

Product:	The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do - Conn Iggulden
Date:	14/06/09 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to dip in and out of. Well written. Good "little room" reading.

Disadvantages: A little too big and heavy to be a true "pocket" sized book.

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INTRODUCTION
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As a fan of Conn Iggulden's writing - having read his excellent "Emperor" and "Conqueror" series of historic novels - I was a little surprised to learn that he and his brother, Hal, had branched out into the genre of miscellany. I was therefore quite pleased when my brother-in-law bought me "The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do" as a Christmas stocking filler.

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BARE FACTS
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The book comes in a sturdy, textured green hard cover. In the introduction, the Iggulden brothers state that the purpose of the book is to provide a smaller, more portable version of their bigger work - "The Dangerous Book for Boys" - but given that it measures around 6.5 by 5 inches and runs to rather hefty 200 pages, it barely merits the description of "pocket sized". That said, its rugged construction and size does lends itself to being tucked into a rucksack or a bigger coat-sized pocket.

There are three other books available in the series: (a) Things to Know; (b) Wonders of the World; and (c) Facts, Figures and Fun. All of them, including "Things to Do" are available on Amazon with an RRP of £8.99, but are currently offered between £5 and £6. My copy of "Things to Do" was published by Harper Collins in 2007.

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LAYOUT & CONTENTS
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The book consists entirely of short, two to five page sections, with simple but effective accompanying illustrations as and where necessary. The brothers cover a very diverse range of subjects - all with the common theme of "things to do" and aimed at a target audience of boys aged "eight to eighty". The instructions provided are well-written, uncomplicated, simple to follow, and most importantly the activities appear to be reasonably achievable.

That said, some of the activities will definitely require younger readers to be supervised - it's not called the "Dangerous Book for Boys" for nothing. For example, activities range from parental eyebrow-raising entries such as "Making a Bow and Arrow", "Garden Rocket" and "Catapults" to the more benign "Pen and Paper Games", "Skimming Stones" and "Making Paper Hats". There are also one or two quite labour-intensive suggestions, which would be perfect for father and son to do together - "Building a Tree House" and "Making a Go-Kart" chief amongst them.

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IMPRESSIONS
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The book is nostalgic tribute to the sorts of things imaginative small boys in shorts would get up to in the "good old days" before the proliferation of the internet and computer games. In fact, there are several things included in the book which I clearly remember trying out as a lad, with various degrees of success. It's an excellent little resource for inquisitive, if somewhat mischievous boys, and I can see how this book would have broad appeal - it speaks to the "little boy" in all of us.

For those of us who prefer the comforts of the house to the rugged outdoors, the book is the perfect size and format for squirreling away in the smallest room in the house - a ready resource which is quite easy to dip in and out of while, <ahem> attending to other matters.

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VERDICT
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I wasn't sure what to expect, so it was a very pleasant surprise. The book falls into the same genre of miscellany as "Why Don't Penguin's Feet Freeze", "Eats Shoots and Leaves", and other similar titles which seem to have a natural place on a window-sill or small shelf in "that room".

The book makes a perfect age-agnostic present, but I don't think I would have gone out of my way to buy it for myself. It's just not that kind of book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through it, although I must confess to having tried only one or two of the ideas set out in the book. That said, I have derived much pleasure waxing nostalgic and just thinking about undertaking some of the more intriguing activities. "Secret Inks" anyone?

© Hishyeness 2009 - previously published on ciao.co.uk under the same user name

Summary: A diverting little book to dip in and out of while taking care of business...