The Dangerous Book of Heroes [Hardcover]

Having read Dangerous Book for Boys & the Emperor & Conqueror series, I was greatly pleased to see this book coming out (being as it is a combination of the bite-size format of the Dangerous series with the narrative structure of Iggulden's fiction.) In spite of this, I had one caveat: that it would follow the Ad Nauseam tendencies of series such as 'Best at Everything' and be a washed-out self-paradying version of a once-interesting series.

Luckily this book is well written & easy to get into. As Iggulden states in the video, there was actually too much material for this book so, far from suffering from a lack of material, there is actually an abundant and rich variety of Heroes.

From the eccentric playboy Richard Francis Burton to Gertrude Bell, the book contains quite a few unknown heroes of Imperial days. Many was the time I thought 'Oh no, here's a boring tale about a long forgotten fuddy-duddy' when actually the story was insightful & revealing. 'Men of Bristol' (towards the end) falls especially into this pattern (given that it has a boring title but is the most revelatory story of all!)

Of course, there are the more 'normal' stories such as Churchill, Nelson & Wellington. But even these are given fresh twists and reveal things that go beneath the obvious. For instance Nelson & Wellington had a meeting before Trafalgar, profoundly effecting the latter, and Churchill offered Northern Ireland for the use of Ireland's ports in the war.

There are only two downsides that I can find. The first is that most of the Heroes are selected from England (as opposed to Britain), then the rest from the Empire. This omits tales of foreign heroism, such as the Samurai of Japan fighting off Kublai Khan, which would add to the richness of the book and help us all learn new things.

Second, on a more niggling point, I found the author's distaste for Napoleon came over far too strong. He even goes to the Godwin's law level of comparing him to Hitler. (In the words of one historian: "nothing could be more degrading to the former and more flattering to the latter.") Also, Cochrane (one of the Heroes) was in favour of making Napoleon ruler of all South America...

These points aside, I found this book a gripping read - the type that you will throw other books aside to read! The stories benefit from both a story writer's excellence & the skill of a good researcher. Truly I commend this book as one to be read over the summer to take away the tawdriness of modern life & to make the credit crunch melt away in an afternoon of adventures.

P.S. Btw, does anyone know what happened to Conn's co-author Hal??

I received this book as a gift from my Wife and, quite simply, it is one of the best presents that I have ever received. Although I acknowledge the limitations that other reviewers have commented on I think it's important that Britain as a nation takes the time to recognise the great men and women that have forged our history. I particularly enjoyed the obvious ones such as Nelson, Wellington and Churchill but all are fascinating. Personally I enjoyed the story of Captain Scott and the Unknown Soldier. Although different tales I find the themes of courage, sacrifice and humility to be inspiring.

We live in a Country run by morally bankrupt politicians funded by an equally corrupt financial system and it is truly refreshing to be reminded that Britain is a great Country and that we should take pride in what we have accomplished.

Overall a fantastic book and a great present for just about anyone with even a passing interest in history, or badly in need of a history lesson!

Having only today received this book I applaud the writers on a very interesting and pocket history of each hero depicted and is a book that you do not want to put down. This is a must read for everyone from teens to mature persons, and is an imformative and interesting book.
Well done.

John Everatt