Equal parts droll and gorgeous nostalgia book and heartfelt plea for a renewed sense of adventure in the lives of boys and men, Conn and Hal Iggulden's The Dangerous Book for Boys became a mammoth bestseller in the United Kingdom in 2006. Adapted, in moderation, for American customs in this edition (cricket is gone, rugby remains; conkers are out, Navajo Code Talkers in), The Dangerous Book is a guide book for dads as well as their sons, as a reminder of lore and technique that have not yet been completely lost to the digital age. Recall the adventures of Scott of the Antarctic and the Battle of the Somme, relearn how to palm a coin, tan a skin, and, most charmingly, wrap a package in brown paper and string. The book's ambitions are both modest and winningly optimistic: you get the sense that by learning how to place a splint or write in invisible ink, a boy might be prepared for anything, even girls (which warrant a small but wise chapter of their own).

Inside The Dangerous Book for Boys

Figure 8 Knot

Sheet Bend Knot

The Battle of Waterloo

Questions for Conn Iggulden

Conn and Hal Iggulden are two brothers who have not forgotten what it was like to be boys. Conn taught for many years before becoming one of the most admired and popular young historical novelists with his Emperor series, based on the life of Julius Caesar, and his newly embarked series on Genghis Khan, while Hal is a theater director. We asked Conn about their collaboration.

Amazon.com: It's difficult to describe what a phenomenon The Dangerous Book for Boys was in the UK last year. When I would check the bestseller list on our sister site, Amazon.co.uk, there would be, along with your book, which spent much of the year at the top of the list, a half-dozen apparent knockoff books of similar boy knowledge. Clearly, you tapped into something big. What do you think it was?

Iggulden: In a word, fathers. I am one myself and I think we've become aware that the whole "health and safety" overprotective culture isn't doing our sons any favors. Boys need to learn about risk. They need to fall off things occasionally, or—and this is the important bit—they—they'll take worse risks on their own. If we do away with challenging playgrounds and cancel school trips for fear of being sued, we don't end up with safer boys—we end up with them walking on train tracks. In the long run, it's not safe at all to keep our boys in the house with a Playstation. It's not good for their health or their safety.

You only have to push a boy on a swing to see how much enjoys the thrill of danger. It's hard-wired. Remove any opportunity to test his courage and they'll find ways to test themselves that will be seriously dangerous for everyone around them. I think of it like playing the lottery—someone has to say "Look, you won't win—and your children won't be hurt. Relax. It won't be you."

I think that's the core of the book's success. It isn't just a collection of things to do. The heroic stories alone are something we haven't had for too long. It isn't about climbing Everest, but it is an attitude, a philosophy for fathers and sons. Our institutions are too wrapped up in terror over being sued—so we have to do things with them ourselves. This book isn't a bad place to start.

As for knockoff books—great. They'll give my son something to read that doesn't involve him learning a dull moral lesson of some kind—just enjoying an adventure or learning skills and crafts so that he has a feeling of competence and confidence—just as we have.

Amazon.com: You made some changes for the U.S. edition, and I for one am sorry that you have removed the section on conkers, if only because it's such a lovely and mysterious word. What are (or what is) conkers?

Iggulden: Horse chestnuts strung on a shoelace and knocked against one another until they shatter. In the entire history of the world, no one has ever been hurt by a conker, but it's still been banned by some British schools, just in case. Another school banned paper airplanes. Honestly, it's enough to make you weep, if I did that sort of thing, which I try not to. Reading Jane Austen is still allowed, however.

Amazon.com: What knowledge did you decide was important to add for American boys? I notice in both editions you have an excellent and useful section on table football, as played with coins. Is paper football strictly an American pastime? I'm not sure I could have gotten through the fourth grade without it.

Iggulden: I like knowing the details of battles, so Gettysburg and the Alamo had to go in, along with the Gettysburg address, stickball, state capitals, U.S. mountains, American trees, insects, U.S. historical timelines, and a lot of others. Navajo code talkers of WWII is a great chapter. It probably helps that I am a huge fan of America. It was only while rewriting for the U.S. that I realized how many positive references there already are. You have NASA and NASA trumps almost anything.

As for paper football, ever since I thought of putting the book together, people keep saying things like "You have rockets in there, yes? Everyone loves rockets!" Paper football is the first American one, but there will be many others. No book in the world is long enough to put them all in—unless we do a sequel, of course.

Amazon.com: Do you think The Dangerous Book for Boys is being read by actual boys, or only by nostalgic adults? Have you seen boys getting up from their Xboxes to go outside and perform first aid or tan animal skins or build go-carts?

Iggulden: I've had a lot of emails and letters from boys who loved the book—as well as fathers. I've had responses from kids as young as ten and an old man of 87, who pointed out a problem with the shadow stick that we've since changed. The thing to remember is that we may be older and more cynical every year, but boys simply aren't. If they are given the chance to make a go-cart with their dad, they jump at it. Mine did. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to know the book is being used with fathers and sons together, trying things out. Nothing is more valuable to a boy than time with his dad, learning something fun—or something difficult. That's part of the attitude too. If it's hard, you don't make it easy, you grab it by the throat and hang on for as long as it takes.

The book is often bought by fathers, of course. Their sons don't know Scott of the Antarctic is a great adventure story. How could they if it isn't taught any more? Good, heroic stories don't appear much in modern school curriculums—and then we wonder why boys don't seem interested.

Amazon.com: And finally, on to the important questions: Should Pluto still be a planet? And what was the best dinosaur?

Iggulden: Pluto is a planet. I know there are scientists who say it isn't, but it's big enough to be round and it has a moon, for crying out loud. Of course it's a planet. Give it ten years and they'll be agreeing with me again.

As for the best dinosaur, it depends what you mean by best. For sheer perfection, it probably has to be the shark and the crocodile. Modern ones are smaller but their record for sheer survival is pretty impressive. I only hope humanity can do as well. The only thing that will stop us is worrying too much.

There is a growing company of God-seekers, discontent with words about God, hungry for an experience with God. It is for these cravers of God that this collection of devotional writings is gathered. Serving as meditations for the hungry soul, this collection is only a starting point. Each revelation will only whet the appetite and leave the reader wanting more.

Written by forty contributing authors, Deeper Walk's five sections cover the myriad of manifestations of God in a Christian's walk: God of the Desert, God of Mercy, God of Greatness, and God of Relationship. Bonus material includes the essays on living out true faith and impacting culture like "God Isn't Fair,""Christianity Is for Losers," and "Getting Out of the Faith Ghetto."

Few of us are natural-born leaders, according to John C. Maxwell, author of Developing the Leader Within You. Fortunately though, "the traits that are the raw material of leadership can be acquired," he promises. "Link them up with desire and nothing can keep you from becoming a leader. This book will supply the leadership principles. You must supply the desire." True to his words, Maxwell offers a detailed and inspiring primer on becoming a leader. Even the Table of Contents reads like a motivational poster.

Maxwell (The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader), who is the founder of INJOY, a Christian-based leadership program, debunks the myth that strong leaders must have big egos and spend all their time harnessing personal power. Instead, he elevates leadership to a spiritual act of service: "The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." Maxwell relies on real-life anecdotes, short paragraphs, charts, and numerous lists to make his wisdom accessible. As a result, his writing often seems simplistic, with a self-help tone. Nonetheless, in teaching readers how to bring out the best in themselves as well as others, Maxwell offers a worthwhile life lesson that extends far beyond the workplace. —Gail Hudson

In the Developing the Leader Within You Workbook, John Maxwell examines the differences between leadership styles, outlines specific ways each reader can apply principles for inspiring, motivating, and influencing others. These principles can be used in any organization to foster integrity and self-discipline and bring a positive change.

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In this companion to the bestseller, John Maxwell shows readers how to develop the vision, value, influence, and motivation required of successful leaders.

Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight and I. Howard Marshall, this reference work encompasses everything relating to Jesus and the Gospels.

The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters is a one-of-a-kind reference work. Following the format of its hightly successful companion volume, the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, this Dictionary is designed to bring students, teachers, ministers and laypople abreast the established conclusions and significant recent developments in Pauline scholarship.No other single reference work presents as much information focused exclusively on Pauline theology, literature, background and scholarship. In a field that recently has undergone significant shirts in perspective, the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters offers a summa of Paul and Pauline studies. In-depth articles focus on individual theological themes (such as law, resurrection and Son of God), broad theological topics (such as Christology, eschatology and the death of Christ), methods of interpretation (such as rhetorical criticism and social-scientific approaches), background topics (such as apocalypticism, Hellenism and Qumran) and various other subjects specifically related to the scholarly study of Pauline theology and literature (such as early catholicism, the center of Paul's theology, and Paul and his interpreters since F. C. Baur). Separate articles are also devoted to each of the Pauline letters to hermeneutics and to preaching Paul today.The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters takes its place alongside the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels in presenting the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century—commited to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialogue with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.

Discover how to maximize ministry to preteens as they make the difficult transition from childhood to adolescence. The authors offer solid, practical and comprehensive understanding on how to build an effective, real-life ministry to reach this vital age group. Both children's and youth workers will better understand the mind and emotions of 10- to 14-year olds, "bridge the gap" between children's ministry and youth ministry, and strengthen existing programs with recommended activities. This book provides an excellent foundation for any preteen ministry!

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Each for the Other offers hope and invaluable instruction for married and engaged couples and for counselors and pastors who desire to promote healthy, grace-filled families. Bryan Chapell illustrates clearly how offering Christs unconditional love to a mate can transform an individual and build a spiritual foundation that binds partners together as one.

Most people understand that self-sacrifice promotes healthy relationships, but Chapell gently uncovers the biblical motivation for sacrificially serving your marriage partner as Christ chose to serve the church. Male or female, youll discover that Each for the Other isnt your typical how-to guide or fix-it manual. Chapell writes, As we live for each other, we re-enact the story of Jesus sacrifice that lifts us from the bottomless pit of self-indulgence to a purposeful life with God.

Churches are noticing less and less emerging generations in their midst. The Emerging Church, winner of the 2004 Christianity Today Book Award, explores the cultural changes impacting churches and offers practical advice of how they can creatively reach emerging generations. Some of the "spiritual" things that were removed from churches are the very things that post-Christian generations are connecting with and find attractive in a church.

Drawing from his many best-selling books and years of experience mentoring, John Maxwell offers Equipping 101, a concise collection of time-tested principles on how to equip those around you for service. In his trademark, straightforward style, this reference book is a "best of the best" from Maxwell on the subject. The pocket-size format delivers practical, timeless information in a convenient, take-along volume. Topics include: Why Do I Need to Equip Others?Why Is Equipping a Win-Win?What Does a Potential Leader Look Like?How Can I Invest in the Team for the Long Haul?