THE Book that inspired a lifetime of outdoor adventure and happiness

The book that inspired and motivated me to “get outside!”

The Official Boy Scout Handbook, William Hillcourt, 1979

For those of us who grew up in the Boy Scouts in the 1980s, who could forget this gem?

Where did most of my knowledge, skills, and experience come from? Right here in the pages of this classic manual! When I was a boy, I had no idea that this book would have such a profound impact upon my life.

The 1979 edition is my favorite and most cherished book I have ever owned. Although it covers, in depth, the three aims of Scouting; building character, fostering citizenship, and developing physical fitness; a large portion covers basic camping, cooking, first aid, and survival skills. This book and the scouting program was my introduction to the outdoors and how to function and survive in the wilderness. I still have my copy, and I go back to it often with it’s doodles, notes, and tattered pages.