The Dangerous Book for Boys, by Conn and Hal Iggulden, is a
guidebookGUIdebook is a website that contains screenshots of computer software.It shows a visual history of the software's user interface. It includes operating systems like Mac OS and Windows, desktop environments like GNOME and KDE, portable operating systems like Newton OS and Windows CE, and...
published by
HarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company. The worldwide CEO of HarperCollins is Brian Murray...
, aimed at boys "from eight to eighty." It covers around eighty topics, including how to build a
treehouseA treehouse, tree house, or treefort is a habitable structure built in trees. "Treehouse" may also refer to:*Tree House, Crawley, a listed 14th-century building in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom; originally the manor house....
, grow a crystal, or tell direction with a watch. Also included are famous quotes, stories, battles, and phrases that "every boy should know." It was published in the UK on 5 June 2006, and reached number one in the UK non-fiction charts several times, selling over half a million copies.
Some reviewers have criticized it for encouraging its young readers to injure themselves, although there is a liability warning below the copyright information, but others have praised it for helping to counter the "PlayStation Culture".
The Dangerous Book for Boys, by Conn and Hal Iggulden, is a
guidebookGUIdebook is a website that contains screenshots of computer software.It shows a visual history of the software's user interface. It includes operating systems like Mac OS and Windows, desktop environments like GNOME and KDE, portable operating systems like Newton OS and Windows CE, and...
published by
HarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company. The worldwide CEO of HarperCollins is Brian Murray...
, aimed at boys "from eight to eighty." It covers around eighty topics, including how to build a
treehouseA treehouse, tree house, or treefort is a habitable structure built in trees. "Treehouse" may also refer to:*Tree House, Crawley, a listed 14th-century building in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom; originally the manor house....
, grow a crystal, or tell direction with a watch. Also included are famous quotes, stories, battles, and phrases that "every boy should know." It was published in the UK on 5 June 2006, and reached number one in the UK non-fiction charts several times, selling over half a million copies.
Some reviewers have criticized it for encouraging its young readers to injure themselves, although there is a liability warning below the copyright information, but others have praised it for helping to counter the "PlayStation Culture". Conn Iggulden also published a book,
Wolf of the Plains, about
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
, which, along with
The Dangerous Book for Boys, allowed Iggulden to be the first author to reach the number one spot in both the fiction and non-fiction charts.
It also won the
Book of the YearThe British Book of the Year Award is given annually and promoted by the UK publishing industry trade journal Publishing News, one of the British Book Awards.-Winners:*1994 - Jung Chang - Wild Swans*1995 - Alan Bennett -, Writing Home...
award at the 2007 Galaxy
British Book AwardsThe British Book Awards are given annually and promoted by the UK publishing industry trade journal Publishing News. They are also known as the Nibbies because of the golden nib-shaped trophy given to winners.-Current Awards:...
, the Nibbies, and also won various industry awards including the Stora Enso Design and Production Award at the British Book Industry Awards for the design and production team of
Andrew AshtonAndrew Ashton is a book designer and illustrator. He is a Philosophy graduate and joined Mensa International in 1992. He began his career in publishing at Kogan Page, the leading UK independent business publisher, in the early nineties. At the turn of the century he moved to HarperCollins...
and Nicole Abel.
Within the first week of its US publication on May 1, 2007, it reached number two on the Amazon.com bestselling book lists, being outsold only by
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Other people who contributed to the success of the book include the editorial team at the time, which consisted of Katie Espiner and Clare Hey, and Helen Johnstone, who won the 2007 British Book Industry Award for best publicity campaign. Linde Hardaker did the typesetting, Richard Horne most of the illustrations (although only as black and white; the color was added later), and Lee Motley was involved with the cover. Matthew Benjamin was the editor of the subsequent U.S. edition, of which about a third of the content was altered from the original UK edition.
The Sharpe Company, Inc. of Manhattan Beach, CA is the licensing/promotions agent for The Dangerous Book for Boys in North America and Rocket Licensing handles licensing in the UK and Europe. Products soon available include a Dangerous Book for Boys board game from Hasbro as well as calendars, science and chemistry kits, magic and illusion games and much more. The
Times produced a series of free fold-up posters displaying extracts of the book which it ran for a week. There are some publicity materials floating around, which include badges used for the UK version of the website and samplers which were produced to give a taste of the book before publication. The Dangerous Pocket Book had its own publicity material which included three different postcards which featured individual face cards from the poker card section of the Pocket Book.
Editions
The original edition of this book has a cover based on the cover of the
Boy's Own PaperBoy's Own Paper was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967.-Publishing history:The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society as a means to encourage younger children to read and also instill Christian morals during...
.
In June 2007, the
Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do was published in the UK by HarperCollins. A small green book with gold lettering, it takes activities from the much larger
Dangerous Book for Boys and makes them available in a much more portable format. There are a few new activities as well, such as the Garden Rocket, and all the illustrations have been redone by two new illustrators (Andrew Ashton and Joy Gosney).
Dangerous Book for Boys Yearbook came out in September 2007 in the UK, and has historical facts, seasonal activities and space to note your own adventures and with a blue cover with gold lettering. In June 2008, the
Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to know, was released and it has a yellow cover. US editions of these three will come out in summer/fall of 2008. Canadian edition of the book was released in October 20th 2008.
Also in 2007, an Australian edition of the book was published. It features Australian content such as Prime Ministers of Australia with pictures for each in color and the rules of
Australian Rules FootballAustralian football, also commonly referred to as Australian rules football, football, or Aussie rules, colloquially as footy, and historically as Australasian football or Victorian football, is a variant of football played between two teams of 18 players, plus four interchange players, outdoors on...
.
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
also published its own version also including national content, including a chapter on
Monteiro LobatoJosé Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Yellow Woodpecker Ranch but he had been previously a prolific writer of fiction, a translator and an art critic...
instead of Shakespeare. There is also a Portuguese edition.
A sequel targeted at girls,
The Daring Book for Girls, was published in late October, 2007. It was written by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz.
The Dangerous Book for Boys has partnered with science kit publisher
Thames & KosmosThames & Kosmos is a publisher of over 60 science kits for kids of all ages, which cover topics such as biology, physics, astronomy, and alternative energy. It places an emphasis on teaching real-world issues and practical skills through hands-on experimentation and comprehensive reading materials...
, which will release two kits licensed under The Dangerous Book for Boys in fall, 2009.
Similar books
- "The Boy's Own Annual Paper" (1879)
- The American Boy's Handy Book
The American Boy's Handy Book is a handbook of activities intended for boys, written by a founder of the Boy Scouts of America, Daniel Carter Beard. It is divided into seasonal sections, with activities appropriate for each season in their respective sections...
(1890)
- The Big Book of Boy Stuff (2004)
- 50 Things Every Guy Should Know How to Do
- The Boy Mechanic: 200 Classic Things to Build
- The Daring Book for Girls
- The Outdoor Book for Adventurous Boys
The Outdoor Book For Adventurous Boys is a fun, retro mixture of useful outdoor skills, recreational activities, and "forbidden knowledge" that will be enjoyable for children while reminding adults of a simpler time....
- The Dastardly Book for Dogs
- The Devious Book for Cats
- Kailin Gow's Gifted Girls Activities Guide for 365 Days of the Year
Film
In August 2007 it was reported that Disney will begin the production of a movie based on the book.
External links