Playing the Game

by Robert Baden-Powell, Mario Sica (Editor)

2007 saw the centenary of scouting and the 150th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Robert Baden-Powell. Playing the Game examines the long-lasting legacy of the movement and its forefather. Drawing on Baden-Powell's extensive archive, it is a rich and evocative selection of his writings, on peace?a major theme throughout his career, on his own life?drawing from his wonderful idiosyncratic anecdotal autobiography, and including a healthy sprinkling of some of Baden-Powell's more memorable aphorisms, such as "I don’t mind confessing I have a weakness for hippos," and "The man who holds the average boy’s attention for more than seven minutes is a genius," not to mention "Knowledge without character is mere pie-crust." Imbued with a strong sense of the splendor and the old-school Empire feel of Baden-Powell’s work, Playing the Game offers a dazzling window into a world that’s gone, but whose legacy remains alive, not least in the 28 million members of the Scouts Association.

Genres: Nonfiction

356 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell , British general and first baron Baden-Powell, founded the Boy Scouts in 1908 and with his sister Agnes Baden-Powell founded the Girl Guides in 1910.

This also known lord and lieutenant in the Army wrote of the movement.

Charterhouse school educated Baden-Powell, who afterward from 1876 served in the Army in India and Africa until 1910. In 1899 during the second Boer War in South Africa, Baden-Powell successfully defended the besieged city of Mafeking. He wrote several also read military books for reconnaissance and training in his African years. Based on those earlier books, he wrote Scouting for Boys , which Pearson published in 1908 for youth readership. During writing, he tested his ideas on Brownsea island through a camping trip that began on 1 August 1907, now seen as the beginning.

Baden-Powell and notably Olave Saint Clair Soames, his wife, after their marriage actively gave the movement. Baden-Powell lived his last years in Nyeri, Kenya, where he died.

Reviews

[Xavi]

Muy bueno para tener una amplia perspectiva de lo que es el Movimiento Scout, ¿porqué surgió? ¿cómo? ¿qué finalidad tiene?

Baden-Powell escribió más de 2o libros, dio discursos, publicó en revistas, etc. En esta recopilación se reúnen sus mejores textos, dónde relucen las ideas brillantes de este gran hombre y su fuerte personalidad.

El libro se divide en tres partes: la primera es la vida de Baden-Powell antes de los Scouts, las campañas militares en las que participó, cómo fue aprendiendo sobre la exploración y la vida en el campo y cómo su fama fue creciendo por todo el Imperio Británico. La segunda trata del inicio del Movimiento Scout, cómo surgió casi sin que él se diese cuenta y se expandió rápidamente por todo el mundo, también trata de los principios que subyacen a la educación scout. Y finalmente, aunque poco conocida por la gente, se muestra su faceta de pacifista, sus numerosos textos animando a la paz mundial y alentando a todos los scouts del mundo a ser ejemplo de hermandad y amistad (fue nominado al Nobel de la Paz).

Me ha parecido un libro muy bueno para entender qué se esconde detrás de la vida Scout, pero que para nada puede sustituir la experiencia de esa vida, solo hay un modo real de comprender lo que es ser Scout, y es saliendo a la aventura, viendo y sintiendo.

[Grant Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well collated book that gives a sense of Baden-Powell the person and where his concept of scouting came from. Reading his letters and articles from the 20's and 30's made me realise how much his ideas are still relevant and needed even more today. Everything has changed but nothing has changed.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read for those into Scouting and its history. Actually I think all Scouts and leaders (Girl, Boy, even other scouting-based organizations) should read some of his writings to get a better feel for where scouting came from, and what it was intended to be by its founder. This is a good survey of his writings on the subject, and a little more. You'll enjoy some of his stories from scouting in the field in his military days abroad, as well as quotes on scouting after the movement started and he was the Chief Scout of the World, which is good as some of his published works are no longer widely available. What a character he was! Once I got toward the end of the book I had to read it in spurts, more than long sessions like I was able to do in the beginning, as there were more philosophical quotes/passages than stories. Still good info though.

[Tim Corke · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone brought up within a Scouting family and passed through Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, Playing the Game has been an insightful and fascinating account of Sir Robert Baden-Powell's military career that in turn developed the Scout Movement. Anecdotes from various accounts, speeches and books that BP wrote have all been pulled together to provide a deeper guide for individuals based on the fundamental principles of Scouting.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scouters should read. Many quotes.

[Tamara Epps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow.