Scouting for Boys

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Cover of second part of Scouting for Boys, January 1908

Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship is the first book on the Scout Movement, published in 1908. It was written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell, its founder. It is based on his boyhood experiences, his experience with the Mafeking Cadet Corps during the Second Boer War at the Siege of Mafeking, and on his experimental camp on Brownsea Island, England.

1 History
2 Editions
3 Contents
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The book Scouting for Boys (1908) is Baden-Powell's rewrite of his earlier military books Reconnaissance and Scouting (1884) and Aids to Scouting for NCO's and Men (1899). These earlier books were military manuals used by the British Army to train its scouts. At Mafeking, Baden-Powell recruited and trained boys aged 12-15 as scouts -- essentially child soldiers to free up the men for the actual fighting. Upon his return to England, immediately following the Boer War, Baden-Powell learned that British schools had been using his books to teach boys lessons on observation and deduction. He decided to revise his military publications into a book for boys. Several friends supported Baden-Powell in this idea, including Sir William Alexander Smith, founder of the Boys' Brigade, and Cyril Arthur Pearson, who owned several newspapers and printing presses.^[1] In 1906 and 1907 Baden-Powell spent a lot of his time writing Scouting for Boys and advancing his ideas about the Boy Scouts Scheme. These were tested in a camp on Brownsea Island in the summer of 1907, where Pearson's literary editor Percy Everett assisted.

Scouting for Boys was first published in six two-weekly instalments of approximately 70 pages each, from January to March 1908. They were produced by Pearson's printer, Horace Cox. These six publications were a success, and as planned were issued in book form on 1908-05-01. Scouting for Boys has been translated into many languages. In 1948, the book was still selling 50 000 copies annually. Only in 1967 was a decline noted by the publisher, and in the last decades of the twentieth century, even by the Scout movement, the book came to be seen as a period curiosity.^[1]

[edit] Editions

(January–March 1908) Scouting for Boys, First publication (in English), London, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.C.: Horace Cox (printer for C.A. Pearson), six instalments of approx 70 pages each.
(1908-05-01) Scouting for Boys, 1st edition in bookform, cloth-bound (in English), London, Henrietta Street: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, 288 pages.
(June 1909) Scouting for Boys, 2nd revised edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.
(July 1910) Scouting for Boys, 3rd enlarged edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.
(October 1911) Scouting for Boys, 4th enlarged and revised edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.
(November 1912) Scouting for Boys, 5th edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.
(April 1913) Scouting for Boys, 6th edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.
(December 1913) Scouting for Boys, 7th edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.
(January 1916) Scouting for Boys, 8th edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, 352 pages.
(May 1918) Scouting for Boys, 9th edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, 334 pages, plus My Views on "Pelmanism".
(1924) Scouting for Boys, 11th edition (in English), London, Tower House: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, 338 pages.
(1926) Scouting for Boys, 12th edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, 338 pages.
(1944) Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys, Memorial 22nd edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, 328 pages.
(1944) in Jan Schaap (editor): Het verkennen voor jongens, 5th edition, Canadian gift to Dutch Scouting, cloth bound (in Dutch), 's-Gravenhage: De Nederlandsche Padvinders, 269 pages.
(1946) Scouting for Boys in India, 1st Indian edition (in English), General Headquarters of the Boy Scout Association in India, 316 pages.
(1946) Scouting for Boys, World Brotherhood Edition (in English), Boy Scouts of America for and on behalf of the Boy Scouts International Bureau, 328 pages.
(approx 1950) Het verkennen voor jongens, 6th edition, hard cover (in Dutch), 's-Gravenhage: Nationale Padvindersraad, 395 pages.
(1957) Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys, 30th edition (in English), London: C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, 328 pages.
(1963) Scouting for Boys, Scouts edition (abridged) (in English), London: The Boy Scouts Association, 182 pages.
(1973) Scouting for Boys (in English). Boy Scouts of Canada, 331 pages.
(1973) in Mir Mohammad Mohsin: Scouting brā'ē tiflān (in Urdu). Islamabad: National Book Foundation.
(1977) in Theo P.M. Palstra (editor): Verkennen voor jeugd, 10th edition, paperback (in Dutch), Amersfoort: Scouting Nederland, 301 pages.
(1978) in Fausto Catani: Scoutismo per ragazzi (in Italian). Milan: Ancora, 438 pages.
(1982) Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys, Brownsea jubilee edition (in English), Boy Scouts of America. ISBN 0-8395-3591-0.
(1982) in P. V. Paulose: Skauttingu-kuttikalkku (in Malayalam). Bharat scouts and guides, 456 pages.
(1983) Pfadfinder: ein Handbuch der Erziehung, 13th edition (in German), Bern: Pfadfinder-Materialbüro, 315 pages.
(1983) in Frithiof Dahlby: Scouting for boys (in Swedish). Stockholm: Scoutförl., 192 pages.
(1986) in Paula Koho: Partiopojan kirja, 3rd edition (in Finnish), Helsinki: Patiokirja, 350 pages.
(1990) in Stanisław Kapiszewski: Skauting dla chłopców : wychowanie dobrego obywatela metodą puszczańską (in Polish). Warsaw: Oficyna Przeglądu Powszechnego, 375 pages.
(1994) Cserkészet fiúknak: kézikönyv a jó állampolgár neveléséhez az erdőjárás révén (in Hungarian). Budapest: M. Cserkészcsapatok Szövets, 277 pages.
(1995) in José Francisco dos Santos: Escutismo para rapazes (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Corpo Nacional de Escutas, 310 pages.
(1996) in Peter Bleeser: Pfadfinder, 3rd edition (in German), Neuss: Georgs-Verlag, 309 pages.
(1998) Scouting for Boys, paperback (in English), The Scout Association. ISBN 0-85165-247-6.
(2000) in R. Chandrasekharan: Bālakarigāgi skauting (in Kannada). Bangalore: Navakarnataka, 321 pages.
(2004) in Elleke Boehmer (editor): Scouting for Boys, hard cover (in English), Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280547-9.
(2004) in Kevin Y.L. Tan (editor): Scouting for Boys (Singapore - Malaysia Edition), paperback (in English), Singapore: Brownsea Singapore. ISBN 981-05-1831-5.
(2004) in Kevin Y.L. Tan (editor): Scouting for Boys (Singapore - Malaysia Edition), hard cover (in English), Singapore: Brownsea Singapore. ISBN 981-05-1830-7.
(June 2005) in Elleke Boehmer (editor): Scouting for Boys, paperback (in English), Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 448 pages. ISBN 0-19-280246-1.

[edit] Contents

All parts have the title Scouting for Boys in big capitals. With a listed price of '4d. net', it was affordable to many boys (many of whom would have been at work, as the school-leaving age was 14). Authorship is clearly attributed: 'by B-P (Lieut. Gen. Baden Powell C.B.)' (sic).

Most chapters start with hints to instructors. All chapters have camp fire yarns, appealing to boys, most contain sections with games and activities, and they close with recommendations for books to read.

[edit] Part I. Scoutcraft

The first instalment contains pages 3 to 70. It provides the basic details of scouting.

1	Mafeking boy scouts, Scouts' work, "Kim", Books
2	Summary of scout's course of instruction, the Elsdon murder
3	Boy scouts' organization, the scout's oath, Scout's salute and secret sign, scout's uniform, scout's war songs, patrol signs
4	scout law, scouting games, scout's play Pocahontas

[edit] Part II. Tracking, Woodcraft

The second part covers pages 71 to 142. It contains chapter II on tracking and chapter III on woodcraft, each with three camp fire yarns.

5	Observation of "sign", Noticing sign, Details of people, Signs round a dead body, Details in the country, Using your eyes, Books to read on observation, hints to instructors, Games in observation
6	Spooring, Men's tracks, hints to spooring, hints to instructors, Tracking games, Books to read on spooring
7	Reading "sign" or deduction, Instances of deduction, Hints to instructors, Example of practice in deduction, Books to read
8	Stalking, How to hide yourself, How to teach stalking, Games in stalking, Books on stalking
9	Animals, Birds, Reptiles and fishes, Insects, Hints for instructor, Honours, Lion hunting, Books to read, Play
10	Plants, Trees, Hints for instructor, Games, Books to read, Play

[edit] Part III. Camp life, Campaigning

The third part covers pages 143 to 206. It contains chapter IV Camp life, and chapter V Campaigning.

11	Pioneering, Hut building, Felling trees, How to make bridges, Self measures, the scout is always a handy-man, Hints to instructors, Books to read
12	Camping, Comfort in camp, Camp fires-the right way of making them, Tidiness, Hints to instructors
13	Camp life, Cooking, Bread making, Cattle-driving and slaughtering, Cleanliness, Water, Hints to instructors, Camp games, Book to read
14	Life in the open, Exploration, Boat cruising, Watermanship, Mountaineering, Patrolling, Night work, Weather wisdom, Hints to instructors, Games, Books on life in the open
15	Pathfinding, Judging heights and distances, Finding the North, Hints to instructors, Games in pathfinding, Books to read
16	Information by signal, Signalling, Whistle and flag signals, Practices in signalling, Hints to instructors, Marks towards badges of honour in campaigning, Dispatch running, Display