The Dangerous Book of Heroes by Conn Iggulden and David Iggulden
Oh, how I wanted to be able to recommend this book!
Published in 2010 by William Morris
As a history teacher I often decry the politically and factually correct, but dreadfully dry and boring history textbooks. I was hoping that this book, The Dangerous Book of Heroes, could be a popular antidote and a return to the famous Landmark books series that I grew up reading. Mostly, The Dangerous Book of Heroes is just that - a collection of biographies - some just a few pages, some longer. They are illustrated with the same kind of line drawings that I remember from the Landmark books.
But, this book does have a danger to it, and not the tongue-in-cheek kind suggested by the title. The publisher markets this as a book for children with the phrase "here are amazing stories of heroism that parents can share with their children."
One of the authors claims it is aimed at 14 year olds and above. That may be so, but the series is promoted for pre-teens and some of the topics discussed are just not appropriate for the great majority of elementary school students, especially in the story about "Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton."
Due to the Burton biography, I recommend the book for 14 years and older, like the author recommends. The Burton entry is full of references to drug experimentation, frequenting prostitutes, male and female brothels, spousal murder, the Kama Sutra - unnecessary references in a biography that was already so laden full of facts that it had bogged down and became an endless list, much like a bad PowerPoint presentation with an endless supply of bullet point entries.
Note, I am not squeamish when it comes to teaching kids history. When I teach world history, we discuss, among other things, facts like Alexander the Great's sexual orientation(s), how Nero kicked his wife to death, slave owners abusing their female slaves in America (and throughout time) and the slaughtering of thousands in the fall of Jerusalem and Constantinople. But, there is context in that presentation. In this book, it seems to glorify the negatives of Burton's personality - he's a hero so let's look at everything he did and celebrate all of it, the good and especially the bad.
Other issues that really are small compared to the issue of the Burton entry:
-These heroes are all part of Western Civilization, and heavily centered on Great Britain. Most of these choices are great choices, but it could use a bit of diversity.
-Multiple references to the "sneak attack" on the "small British garrisons at Lexington and Concord." The way it is worded seems to imply that the Colonial militia attacked 2 forts rather than noting that 700 British regulars secretly marched out of Boston to take the munitions depot of the Colonial militia in Concord and were turned back by militia who were informed by spies (like Paul Revere) that the British army was on the move.
-He incorrectly notes that the Indians remained Loyalist and neutral in the Revolutionary War. Loyalist is a questionable concept - they were not pro-British so much as they were in favor of the British policy of not developing the Ohio River valley. For the Igguldens to comment that Indians did not work in conjunction with the British in the George Washington entry is to disagree with their own article on Daniel Boone. For those that doubt that the British worked in concert with Indians in the Ohio River Valley, read about Henry Hamilton the "Hair Buyer" Lt. Governor of Detroit who was believed to have paid bounties for white scalps in an effort to destroy the settlements in Kentucky.
-The "Forks of the Ohio" near Louisville were actually the "Falls of the Ohio". They are no longer there due to flood control dams.
-The atomic bombing of Japan was actually done with atomic bombs, not hydrogen bombs. Hydrogen bombs are much bigger than the atomic bombs and, more importantly, hydrogen bombs were not even tested until 7 years after World War II ended.
I rate this book 2 stars out of 5 - too many factual errors, the entry about Francis Burton, and the decision to only include heroes from Western Civilization.
Reviewed on February 26, 2011. Edited on January 25, 2025.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Dangerous Book of Heroes by Conn Iggulden and David Iggulden.
But, this book does have a danger to it, and not the tongue-in-cheek kind suggested by the title. The publisher markets this as a book for children with the phrase "here are amazing stories of heroism that parents can share with their children."
 |
| Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) |
Due to the Burton biography, I recommend the book for 14 years and older, like the author recommends. The Burton entry is full of references to drug experimentation, frequenting prostitutes, male and female brothels, spousal murder, the Kama Sutra - unnecessary references in a biography that was already so laden full of facts that it had bogged down and became an endless list, much like a bad PowerPoint presentation with an endless supply of bullet point entries.
Note, I am not squeamish when it comes to teaching kids history. When I teach world history, we discuss, among other things, facts like Alexander the Great's sexual orientation(s), how Nero kicked his wife to death, slave owners abusing their female slaves in America (and throughout time) and the slaughtering of thousands in the fall of Jerusalem and Constantinople. But, there is context in that presentation. In this book, it seems to glorify the negatives of Burton's personality - he's a hero so let's look at everything he did and celebrate all of it, the good and especially the bad.
Other issues that really are small compared to the issue of the Burton entry:
-These heroes are all part of Western Civilization, and heavily centered on Great Britain. Most of these choices are great choices, but it could use a bit of diversity.
-Multiple references to the "sneak attack" on the "small British garrisons at Lexington and Concord." The way it is worded seems to imply that the Colonial militia attacked 2 forts rather than noting that 700 British regulars secretly marched out of Boston to take the munitions depot of the Colonial militia in Concord and were turned back by militia who were informed by spies (like Paul Revere) that the British army was on the move.
-He incorrectly notes that the Indians remained Loyalist and neutral in the Revolutionary War. Loyalist is a questionable concept - they were not pro-British so much as they were in favor of the British policy of not developing the Ohio River valley. For the Igguldens to comment that Indians did not work in conjunction with the British in the George Washington entry is to disagree with their own article on Daniel Boone. For those that doubt that the British worked in concert with Indians in the Ohio River Valley, read about Henry Hamilton the "Hair Buyer" Lt. Governor of Detroit who was believed to have paid bounties for white scalps in an effort to destroy the settlements in Kentucky.
-The "Forks of the Ohio" near Louisville were actually the "Falls of the Ohio". They are no longer there due to flood control dams.
-The atomic bombing of Japan was actually done with atomic bombs, not hydrogen bombs. Hydrogen bombs are much bigger than the atomic bombs and, more importantly, hydrogen bombs were not even tested until 7 years after World War II ended.
I rate this book 2 stars out of 5 - too many factual errors, the entry about Francis Burton, and the decision to only include heroes from Western Civilization.
Reviewed on February 26, 2011. Edited on January 25, 2025.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Dangerous Book of Heroes by Conn Iggulden and David Iggulden.
Thank you for leaving a comment on my review on my blog. Thank goodness I'm not the only one. I have that review on Amazon.com. YOu should put yours there as a customer review also.
ReplyDeleteSad they used the title from the series which was read by elementary and middle school kids. Marketing gone wrong.
I posted it there as well. I saw your review and was interested in the comments from the author (I referenced them and linked them in my own review)
ReplyDelete