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Praise for ‘The Dangerous Book of Heroes’
'Entertaining, and stripped down to the interesting bits, it is a great read about those that put the Great into Britain. An inspiring read for lads and their dads, history pupils - and pub quiz fans'
News of the World
'It should have a powerful and instructive effect on the children who read it'
Telegraph
‘Just the ticket to real-life derring-do…A summer treat that will raise a gasp and a chuckle long after the last grain of sand has fallen from its pages’
The Times
Review
Praise for 'The Dangerous Book of Heroes' 'Entertaining, and stripped down to the interesting bits, it is a great read about those that put the Great into Britain. An inspiring read for lads and their dads, history pupils - and pub quiz fans' News of the World 'It should have a powerful and instructive effect on the children who read it' Telegraph 'Just the ticket to real-life derring-do!A summer treat that will raise a gasp and a chuckle long after the last grain of sand has fallen from its pages' The Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
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??
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??
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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!
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!
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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
Well done.
John Everatt
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Short-sighted glorified Imperial story-telling
Having just read Fox's We Were There and Weir's History's Worst Decisions, two jewels among recent English publications whose refreshing eye on historical events is a delight for... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Giannopoulos George
Great
This book is not at all what I thought when I bought it for my husband. I bought thinking it was about superheroes, but its actually about heroes like Ralph Feinnes. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2010 by Tika MacPhee
Excellent Buy
This was bought as a Christmas present for a friend who tells me he is thoroughly engrossed in it.
He has learnt a lot about individuals from history that he never realised... Read more
He has learnt a lot about individuals from history that he never realised... Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2010 by E. Goode
An inspiring read
I have seldom encountered such a rewarding read as The Dangerous Book of Heroes. A perfect read for a busy person as the Chapters are concise and riveting. Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2010 by Mr. D. Skitt
Absolute tripe
This book was given to my son as a gift. At first I thought it was a Pythonesque send-up: the design, layout and tone of voice are so much in the spirit of Michael Palin's Ripping... Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2009 by G. M. Johnson
HEROIC PUBLICATION
I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY FATHER FOR HIS 84TH BIRTHDAY AS HE HAS A GREAT INTEREST IN HISTORY AND HISTORICAL NOVELS AND HAS READ MANY A BIOGRAPHY. Read more
Published on 24 July 2009 by Gregory E. Hinton
Dangerous book for Conn
Whilst we're fans of Conn Iggulden's fiction and we enjoyed his Dangerous book for Boys we did wonder what exactly was being done with this book of heroes. Read more
Published on 12 July 2009 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
An interesting book
An interesting book, one you can dip in and out of. Each hero has a separate chapter, so you can pick out which ones interest you the most and start with those. Read more
Published on 5 July 2009 by Sheila E. Cross
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