Hello Dear Reader
As you will be aware a from my earlier post I was asked by the good people of Random House Childrens Books to review their new book A Complete Guide to Scouting Skills.
I am one of a number of bloggers who blog about Scouting in the UK who have been asked to review this book – you will also find reviews by Nick (Nicks Ramblings) and by Adam (Woggleknot).
Overview
At first glance of this book on a book display you will see a book full of bright photos and bold colours, with a forward by the UK Chief Scout Bear Grylls and the Scout Logo on the front. This book will do a lot to raise the profile of the Scout Association.
The aim of this book is not to be a book you read from cover to cover but a reference guide for people of all ages and experience to dip into to learn a new skill, remind them of a technique or find a new way of teaching that knot you tie in your sleep.
It is broken down into nine chapters covering everything from Being Prepared (chapter 1) to In an Emergency (chapter 9) all of which are easily referenced with colour coded sections.
The book retails at £14.99 but it can be found on Scout Shops or Amazon for £9.99 (or Free if you enter the Jabbering Scouting Skill Competition).
Content
The content of the book seems to be bang up to date, it is always a shame when a book of this type talk about rucksacks and put a picture of an old metal framed rucksack that nobody ever uses any more.
The book is not all paragraphs and pictures either; the little safety checks and tips scattered throughout the book break up the pages and give the reader a little more information to develop their skills.
Tips like:
- Test your stove to make sure it is working properly before setting off
- Dry wood shavings also make great tinder
- It can be useful to carry a small bag or tin of dry tinder with you
- Use your local street map to find bearings in your area and walk to them using a compass.
I felt the language of the book was a little young at times, however it must have been difficult to provide the information in a way that is suitable for a 7 year old Beaver and a 17 year old Explorer.
I did manage to find a couple of areas where I disagree with the content of the book for example:
- When talking about what threatens the countryside the book states that “we kill wildlife through hunting, trapping and over fishing” – well in most parts of the country hunting is used to control wildlife within the countryside, e.g to manage deer populations so they don’t destroy moorland with their constant grazing. I think illegal hunting might have been a better term.
- When talking about cooking and using wood fires in prefernce to stoves the book does not identify that it is referring to small camp stoves. The large two ring burners that run off gas bottles are great for large groups and static camps.
On the whole the content of the book was informative and clear, taking the reader through simple steps to reach their end conclusion such as measuring distance using a piece of paper. The book also uses pictures and graphics to support the text in making it easy for the reader to understand.
I am very impressed with the section at the back which looks to encourage readers who are not already members of the Scout Association to take up ”the challenge of a lifetime” and become a scout or scout leader. (Remember it is only two hours a week)
And I love the Quick Tips Section at the back of the book and I feel I will be making Jammy Campfire Doughnuts at my next Camp.
Would I Recommend this Book?
I would say this question can be broken down into two parts
Yes I would recommend it you a Young Person
I feel it is an informative book that any young person would find interesting should they receive it in a Christmas stocking or as a Birthday Present. I also feel it promotes Scouting in a good light and would wet the appetite of any young person to establish contact with their local scout troop to expand their adventures.
Yes I would recommend it to an Adult
This book would provide any adult scout leader with great visual guides and simple terminology which we sometimes lack when trying to teach and explain scouting skills. I think even the seasoned Scout Leader would find something in this book that would remind them of a knot they had forgotten or give a tip that may prove beneficial.
Like the ingenious use of a film canister – I am not saying any more you will need to read the book to find out.
It would also be a useful book to be kept in a troop camp library and used for reference.
If you would like to preview some pages of the book you can here
____________________________
I think that just about covers it,
I would like to thank Random House Childrens Books for giving me the chance to review the book and also as previously mentioned I have been given the opportunity, by them, to run a competition in which the prize will be a copy of the book.
I hope to launch that competition in the next day or so, so watch this space.
TTFN
©ChrisMeadows2010
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The first thing to say about this book is that is better than nothing! For far too long. Scouting Skills have been ignored in SA books. When I think back to the books we had when I was young – ‘The Patrol Leader’s Handbook’, John Thurman’s seminal pioneering books and all the little scoutcraft publications, this is an area which, in recent years, has been very under-represented – partly lost in a welter of ‘Modules’. So, three cheers for this book.
Having said that, I feel very sad that when compared to ‘The Irish Bible’ – actually, ‘The Scouting Trail’ by Colm Kavanagh, published by the Irish Scout Association, this book comes a very poor second. The Irish book seems, somehow, complete. ‘Scouting Skills’ by comparison seems like a ‘quick taster’ – the shop window rather than the contents of the shop.
Information given in various sections is so sketchy as, in the worst cases, to be dangerous. The section on fungi, for instance, gives me the shivers! Of the eight fungi shown (out of possible thousands) three are marked with a skull and crossbones – quite right, they are deadly. Some of the others say, not recommended eating – too darned right – unless a fortnight in hospital appeals!
As Austin pointed out on Escouts, there is a great misprint in the diagram for the second phase of the Prussic Knot but my real beef is the inclusion of the Sheepshank knot which some of us have campaigned for 40 years and more to keep OUT OF SCOUTING.
Of all the accidents I have seen in my years as a Scout/Venture/Leader the most serious or potentially serious ones can all be traced back to the failure of one or more sheepshank knots. From a bridge which collapsed into a pond to six Scouts hospitalised because they were injured when a patrol tent came down in the night causing injury and mayhem when the very heavy ridge pole crashed onto the sleeping occupants, all were traceable back to failed sheepshank knots used to shorten guys. This knot is a potential killer and I would rather that none of my Scouts even knew of its existance, let alone knew how to tie it! (You won’t find it in ‘The Irish Bible’ doubtless for that very reason!).
After all those years trying to kick this knot out of Scouting, it is so depressing to find it in the newest Scouting Skills book! If there is a ‘second edition’ please, please, please can this knot be given the elbow?
I think this book is a useful and positive step in the right direction. I particularly like the weather, finding the way (associated sections), tents (and associated sections) and protecting the countryside.
I would like to raise the following observations and comments about the book:
*Some of the ID sections such as Identifying Trees, Wild Flowers, Common Fungi, and Butterflies are obvious inclusions but are limited in their usefulness by only having 6 or so pictures to accompany each section (including a rare Swallowtail in the butterfly section!). I appreciate that the scope of this book could never cover every possible inclusion but they seemed a bit light for a Complete Guide.
*In the Building a Shelter section (p038) it needs to say that a shelter should be steeper than 45 degrees.
*In the fires, food and cooking section it states that a strong knife can be used for cutting away turf-This would blunt and damage a blade.
*As mentioned in the above review, the prussic knot diagram 2 isn’t quite right.
* I haven’t checked it out but isn’t it illegal to leave a weighted multi hook fishing line? It states elsewhere that leaving a fishing rod is illegal.
*There are a couple of knife images that look like lock knives (I have two similar designs). I wonder if this may be a bit misleading as lockable blades aren’t legal carry, even if the blade is less than 7.62cm (this also applies to Leathermans and similar if the blade locks).
The one section that I found disappointing was Fire by Friction.
*The more pointed end of the drill goes in the bearing block (the handle), not the baseboard. The blunder end has less surface area that the pointy end and therefore maximises effort.
*It is best, if possible, to collect drill and baseboard wood from the same source as you will know that wear and tear will be similar on both.
*Generally the following woods are used for bow drilling: Willow (which I learned on), Alder, Hazel, Ivy and Sycamore.
*To measure if the bow is big enough it should reach from sternum to fingertip.
*The drill should be on the outside of the bow when in position.
*The usual method of catching the ember is to have something like a piece of bark wedged under the notch which is then transferred to a buffed up tinder bundle (typically dried grass, Clematis bark, Thistle, cat tail, thin Birch bark…).
Most of these are observations from someone who likes Bushcraft so I hope they don’t sound too whingy.
KR,
Austin Lill.
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