Monday, October 21, 2019

The Seven-Day Book Cover Challenge, Day Seven: the official Boy Scout Handbook

The 7th edition, the one on the left, is from when I was a boy. The 9th edition, the one on the right, is from when I was a Scoutmaster and a Boy Scout dad. I have seen other editions, and IMHO these two are the most solid, most useful, and best written, but my bias is clear.

The journalist and author Peter Applebome wrote a book, Scout's Honor, about his experiences as a Boy Scout dad. Being a reporter and a problem-solver at heart, he takes a long, hard look at what Scouting could be (and should be), compares it to what it is, and makes several really good recommendations for fixing Scouting. 

One of the most interesting things he says is that the Scout Oath and the Scout Law, the moral foundations for Scouting (in the U.S.A.), are rock-solid and it would be a very good thing if all boys (and men!) lived by those tenets. He also says (either himself, or quoting someone) that the Boy Scout Handbook, any edition, is just the kind of "advice to boys" that people have been longing to give to boys today.

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