About this item
The bestselling book - more than 1.5 million copies sold - for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age old question of what the big deal with girls is - now a Prime Original Series created by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Greg Mottola (Superbad) .In this digital age, there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities. The brothers Conn and Hal have put together a wonderful collection of all things that make being young or young at heart fun - building go-carts and electromagnets, identifying insects and spiders, and flying the worlds best paper airplanes.Skills covered include: The Greatest Paper Airplane in the WorldThe Seven Wonders of the Ancient WorldThe Five Knots Every Boy Should KnowStickballSlingshotsFossilsBuilding a Treehouse*Making a Bow and ArrowFishing (revised with US Fish) Timers and TripwiresBaseballs "Most Valuable Players"Famous Battles-Including Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, and Gettysburg Spies-Codes and CiphersMaking a Go-CartNavajo Code Talkers DictionaryGirlsCloud FormationsThe States of the U.S. Mountains of the U.S.NavigationThe Declaration of Independence Skimming StonesMaking a PeriscopeThe Ten CommandmentsCommon US TreesTimeline of American History
About the Author
I was born in the normal way in 1971, and vaguely remember half-pennies and sixpences. I have written for as long as I can remember: poetry, short stories and novels. It's what I always wanted to do and read English at London University with writing in mind. I taught English for seven years and was Head of English at St. Gregory's RC High School in London by the end of that period. I have enormous respect for those who still labour at the chalk-face. In truth, I can't find it in me to miss the grind of paperwork and initiatives. I do miss the camaraderie of the smokers' room, as well as the lessons where their faces lit up as they understood what I was wittering on about. My mother is Irish and from an early age she told me history as an exciting series of stories - with dates. My great-grandfather was a Seannachie, so I suppose story-telling is in the genes somewhere. My father flew in Bomber Command in WWII, then taught maths and science. Perhaps crucially, he also loved poetry and cracking good tales. Though it seems a dated idea now, I began teaching when boys were told only girls were good at English, despite the great names that must spring to mind after that statement. My father loved working with wood and equations, but he also recited 'Vitai Lampada' with a gleam in his eye and that matters, frankly. I've always loved historical fiction as a genre and cut my teeth on Hornblower and Tai-Pan, Flashman, Sharpe and Jack Aubrey. I still remember the sheer joy of reading my first Patrick O'Brian book and discovering there were nineteen more in the series. I love just about anything by David Gemmell, or Peter F. Hamilton or Wilbur Smith. I suppose the one thing that links all those is the love of a good tale.That's about it for the moment. If you'd like to get in touch with me leave a comment in the forum or you can tweet me @Conn_Iggulden. I'll leave it there for the moment. If you've read my books, you know an awful lot about the way I think already. There's no point overdoing it.Conn Iggulden
