Over 31 million copies of the
Official Handbook for Boys
have been distributed since this first edition was published in 1911. The original Boy Scout Handbook standardized American scouting and emphasized the virtues and qualifications for scouting—delineating what the American Boy Scouts declared was needed to be a well-developed, well-informed boy. The book includes information on the origin of scouting, notes on the identification of natural specimen—from toadstools, trees and plants, to insects, birds and fish—and advise on everything from assembling a proper camp, to building a log cabin. Scouts past and present will be fascinated to see how scouting has changed in the ensuing years, and how it has stayed the same.