On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America

by Kim Christensen

Pulitzer Prize winner Kim Christensen charts the dramatic rise and fall of an American institution.


Since its founding in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has been the nation’s premier youth organization, espousing self-reliance and honor. More than 100 million Americans have been Boy Scouts, from Bill Gates to Martin Luther King Jr. Today, however, Scouting faces an existential threat of its own more than 82,000 former Scouts have filed claims alleging they were sexually abused—seven times the number of similar allegations that rocked the Catholic Church two decades ago.
 
The Scouts’ indefensible practices remained all but hidden until 2012, when Kim Christensen and his colleague published a series of explosive articles for the LA Times, blowing up a century of secrecy. Now, continuing his decades-long investigation, On My Honor untangles the full story of the Boy Scouts of America, tracking its creation, growth, influence, and the massive generational trauma it has caused. Using the iconic institution to tell a story of American values over the last century, the book grapples with America’s changing understanding of what it means to “make men.”        

This riveting story of power and abuse, religion and politics, scandal and justice, is brought to life by groundbreaking research and an unforgettable cast of characters.

 
 

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Abuse, Crime, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

Published February 11, 2025

Reviews

[Traci Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book but it was just medium for me. I think if you know a lot about Boy Scouts you might appreciate it more. It just felt like it dragged a lot or didn't quite capture the balance between reporting, history, and personal stories in the way a book like this can to really make it stick. I also really did not care for the audiobook narrator and he might have impacted my reading of the book in a negative way.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark book that highlights a problem in our society we don’t want to talk about - fairly good history of the BSA from inception to current day. My only beef with the book is it’s that new style of revisionist history where all heros are villains with no nuance - by this books telling the founders of Scouting were all charlatans and racists out to crush competition and make money. I have a hard time believing there’s not more nuance - for example they say Boyce (founder of US scouting) was a white supremacist, but never explain that allegation besides a citation that gives no context and points to another book. Yet on founding one of the key things he insisted on is that Scouting by open to all races? That seems like an interesting contradiction to dig into yet the author just moves along as if that’s not interesting.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story made me want to crawl out of my skin. It’s just beyond sickening what lengths people will go to cover up the depravity of others. And the length the cover up went on is even worse. I still can’t wrap my head around it all, an organization that’s supposed to protect your child and goes the opposite and does untold harm.

[Chris Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the lens of investigator journalist Kim Christensen, we uncover the background, backlash, and breakthrough moment of the child sex abuse in the Boys Scouts of America. It details harrowing stories of child sexual abuse and how the organization meant to nurture youth didn’t protect them. A very interesting book about institutions power and problems that arise from it

[Kaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read from start to finish. How Boy Scouts started and where it has now landed is eye-opening. It makes me rethink any youth group where any adult could be alone with children, and honestly scares me. My heart goes out to all the people willing to tell their story and join the case against the Boy Scouts of America.

[Cher Meng · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the initial formation (or more so a piecemeal exercise) to the ultimate nation wide sphere of influence, the author does a good job marking important milestones of the organization and providing cultural context on WHY there was a collective push to create this youth organization to help boys be more “manly.”

And I digress here briefly, but I recommend reading Jesus and John Wayne in parallel.

This book was particularly enlightening for a few factors:

1) I’ve never learned of the Boy Scout scandal … and I have a handful of friends who are Eagle scouts, and
2) I also had not known the connection between Mormon, Catholic and Baptist churches with the Boy Scout organizations …
3) lastly, the political influence of this organization in lobbying legislation (ex: statue of limitation on crimes …)

And now I know so much more.

The nature of story itself is very gruesome … as expected for a book that shed lights on sexual abuse of minors. But the scale, the unapologetic nature of the organization is a very tough pill to swallow.

What’s particularly disturbing is at each node of prevention or protection for the children, the organization opted not to … the had a very comprehensive list, but didn’t publish it; they had millions of revenue from dues and merchandise, and they didn’t want to use background checks, they kept losing lawsuits and had to settle enormous sums for settlement with victims and … decided to do nothing. It’s just unbelievable.

I just felt so bad after the booked, the victims continued to be fucked over in many ways
1) by some lawyers who wanted to skim on 40% of the settlement award
2) bankruptcy mumbo jumbo, with all the expenses (millions and millions) first paying the long drawn out expenses

I just can’t imagine what it would be like to experience those horrors. Kim narrates the journey of some of the victims and it’s very very clear how these early childhood trauma left such a scar, commonly led to drug or alcohol abuse, trust/communication issues with spouse and kids, anger management. And the list can go on and on.

The most hard breaking parts are when the victims become the abuser in the next cycle.

For what it’s worth, i do think a youth organization is helpful and has value. But the way this one was ran was unacceptable; they only cared about brand and reputation and left so many children in harms way at a very vulnerable impressionable time in their lives.

And now this organization is trying to rebrand as “scouting America” to shed this dark past.
But this cannot be erased, it’s an ugly tattoo that has been scorched into the skin and it should not be forgotten.

[Ben Savage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn. Am I rating this book based on my viceseral reaction to it, or am I reacting to how the book was written?
3.5 to 4.

This book needs to be written, and to be fair, it is objective. Not the book or authors fault that the subject matter is horrendous. It's not sensationalist like some of the later chapters and actual printed statements by the organization.

I believe in the local aspect of the organization known now as Scouting America. Do I also think that they have not only shot themselves in the foot but obliterated it with a shotgun? Yup. Do I think we squandered the cities youth participation in Massachusetts and still attempting to make up the gains decades later? Do I have adjacent experience to what is covered in the book? Yeah, I was in during the seismic upheavals. For ****s sake I have a fleur de li tattooed on my arm and a gay member had to directly ask me if I thought he deserved to be in the same organization because of who he chose to love.

Did I fail people?
I can only hope not.
We had the direct reporting procedures outlined in this book and I know so many people whos lives were enriched by this program.

But the Boy Scouts of America failed as an institution, failed its members, and grieviously failed the plaintiffs.

I can't be mad because the author is pretty good about being objective. He has very little personal stance and " just the facts, ma'am". But it is weird to take pride in an organization defined by rot.

On another level that book clearly started as a series of articles. Perhaps not as definitive as the thousands of articles that defined Spotlight but again, similar in scope and size. Chronologically he focuses from start to finish. I questioned why the drama of the founders was mentioned but it did an admirable job of setting up the institutional pettiness and self preservation, as well as the latent christianity underlying the program. We took pride in the last segment of the Scout Law, not realizing it served to exclude so many. Some of the transitions were needlessly choppy and abrupt. Some of the set ups were similar.

Overall a book to read if you are interested in the subject matter.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book! It’s third book I’ve recently read on the subject and it’s definitely the most well researched. The author goes into great detail about the history of the organization, the social and political influences they had, and the scandals surrounding them. It can be a bit tedious to get through at times, but I still found it to be very interesting information.

I really feel for the boys and their families that were victimized by being a part of this organization. It’s very scary to think about, especially having a young son of my own! I’m glad people are able to share experiences and hopefully gain some kind of closure from doing that. I hope we can find ways to prevent the past from repeating itself.

If you are interested in well researched nonfiction books, then I recommend grabbing a copy of this book!

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A depressing but important read. Having a chapter that consisted of solely victim letters was very powerful, and helpful for me as a Catholic to read as a reminder that this is not just a Boy Scout problem. One thing I found odd is that the author hinted at their frustration at the Boy Scouts not allowing atheists/agnostics into the organization, but never drilled down into this -- as far as I know, the requirement in Scouting for believing in a higher power is rather flexible and not inherently Judeo-Christian.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye-opening history of the Boy Scout organization, from earliest beginnings to just a couple of years ago. While not denying the many good outcomes that millions of boys have had in scouting, Christensen shines an unforgiving light on the decades of carefully coordinated work to hide the thousands of abusive scout leaders, many of whom molested young boys in the dozens in each place they moved to re-enter scout leading. At the writing of this book, the future of the Boy Scouts of America seems to be in doubt, and they may never recover from these revelations.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly heavy read. Just going to say…whatever you have in your mind about the BSA, I promise it’s worse.

[Books Amongst Friends · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book/Research: 5/5
Narration/Audiobook: 3.5/5

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A difficult but important read. The depth of research that went into sharing just some of the stories behind over 82k sexual assault survivors is remarkable. There are detailed analyses of confidential documents, heart-wrenching firsthand accounts from just a few of the countless victims, and a detailed history of the Boy Scouts of America that makes you wonder how they were able to continue operating in the first place. It's a heavy one.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a well researched exposé of the Boy Scouts organization. It came off a bit dry and got bogged down in some of the early background chapters detailing the formation of the group, but once you get past that it became an interesting read. As you might expect from the many scandals, it’s a fairly heavy read with so many heartbreaking stories from the victims. The writing style is not the most approachable, but the information was clearly well researched and I applaud the author for giving a voice to so many of the victims.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On My Honor was an interesting read, and I thought the author did a great job highlighting the growth of the organization as well as cultural context as to why it was so incredibly popular for so many years. However, there was a dark side to it, one that hid many secrets to protect itself rather than protect the people it served, and while I don't think the book quite highlights the entirety of the horror that happened or the full context of the agendas by those who tried to keep it all hidden, it does serve as a good read to get an understanding of the corruption that can happen in such a society and the steps that need to be taken to prevent this from happening in the future.

The nature of the sexual crimes is very gruesome, but for me, it was definitely the unapologetic nature of the BSA that set my teeth on edge throughout the book. Here's an interesting quote from the book that seems to sum up what the victims felt throughout the process,

""There's a real feeling of 'I was abused as part of a bad system,' and here I find myself in another system - a system that is set up to accommodate or look after the needs of the Boy Scouts, not the survivors,"...After the first public bankruptcy hearing, in which the judge said that the primary goal was to preserve the Boy Scouts' mission, Kennedy said his phone had exploded with calls from exasperated survivors...'Why is the judge so concerned with them and their mission?'...So again, it's this feeling among myself and [other] survivors of just 'Here we are, getting abused by another system.'"

What's particularly disturbing is the reluctance of the BSA to admit culpability in what happened, to admit they failed to protect the children under their care, and to be more concerned with the state of the organization itself rather than the children who were abused. The BSA had a comprehensive list of abusers they kept secret and repeatedly mentioned how worthless the list is for the public. Holy wow! A list of abusers, their offenses, why they should be banned from the organization, and they thought it was worthless? They kept losing lawsuits and finally declared bankruptcy to protect themselves.

The author added several personal stories to his research, enough to get an idea how bad the abuse could be and included the life-long effects this abuse had on their life, their marriage, their personal relationships, some of whom committed suicide, fell into drugs and alcohol abuse, or even became abusers themselves. Reading their stories was heartbreaking. And for it to be dismissed so callously by an organization that was supposed to protect them breaks my heart.

That being said, I was also not a fan of the lawyers involved in the scandal, taking advantage of the victims, looking for a huge payout themselves, charging exhorbitant fees, like sharks. Not all the lawyers were like this, but some wanted 40% of the awards victims received.

On My Honor was an interesting read, but I am left with a bad taste in my mouth. Until the organization actually accepts responsibility for what happened and takes real steps to ensure this doesn't happen in the future, I think there will always be a black mark on their association and people will not be able to trust them. And just to be clear, the author is not against these types of organizations; in fact, when run well they are definitely beneficial for children to be part of something like this as there are not a lot of opportunities for these kinds of activities any more. But, the BSA needs to do more than rebrand, in my opinion, they need to tear itself apart and really examine what got them into this mess in the first place so they can build on that and rebuild trust. It should not just be brushed under the rug. I tend to agree with Doug Kennedy, a former scout, when he says, "...the BSA has faced too little scrutiny for its handling of a sexual abuse problem that has devastated so many lives...'There has to be an investigation to find out who knew what, who's at fault and why didn't they do anything about it,...' I concur on that.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Brit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kim Christensen's On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America largely focuses on the organization's sex abuse scandal. Similar to other institutions, the Boy Scouts of America knew about sexual abusers in the organization and repeatedly covered up sex abuse cases. They did not report sex offenders to law enforcement and usually allowed them to quietly resign without mentioning the sex abuse to families and the community. Very commonly, the sex offenders would leave one troop and then rejoin the Boy Scouts in a different troop/area. The Boy Scouts kept a list of sex offenders, but only for internal use.

Obviously, the topic of this book is very important and upsetting. However, I think Christensen only provides an overview of the topic. I was expecting a more detailed examination of the organization, its attempts to cover-up its sex abuse problems, and the aftermath of the scandal becoming public. Christensen covers all three areas, but it felt cursory. For example, he glosses over the 1980s in the history section by simply writing the Boy Scouts enjoyed a resurgence with Reaganism. Later, however, he also writes how some of the big sexual abuse cases happened and or continued in the 1980s. Patrick Boyle's book, Scout's Honor: Sexual Abuse in America's Most Trusted Institution, was published in 1995. I would think there was more happening within the organization in the 1980s to examine. The later part of the book also jumps around chronologically. Finally, Christensen's coverage of letting gay boys and men into the Boy Scouts and the inclusion of girls into the organization felt extraneous to the main subject of the sex abuse scandal. I'm sure it was related, but I don't think Christensen did a good job of showing how.

Christensen uses primary sources such as interviews with survivors, lawyers, and Boy Scout leadership (ex: Mike Johnson, BSA's Director of Youth Protection). He also studied 1,900 of the more than 5,000 sex offender files (aka Ineligible Volunteer files) from the Boy Scouts.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an overview of the Boy Scouts and its sex abuse scandal.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally focused on the Boy Scouts from the first court cases that opened up the world to knowing about the perversion files and the subsequent jockeying in court, under bankruptcy, and trying to save their reputation, it isn't necessarily about the Boy Scouts of America but the dishonorable secret keeping of abusers in the ranks of volunteers with young boys. I would have liked a little more balance about the beginning history of the BSA (that you get in drips and drabs from their oath and what they argued in court) but not as solid a foundation as I would have liked.

Having a brother who became an Eagle Scout I really don't know too much other than the activities that I was privy to, not the "day-to-day" type understanding of the BSA, but their ridiculous handling of abusers (similar to the Catholic Church) is a stain on their existence and an affront to the thousands of men who told no one about the abuse, suffering in silence.

It was mediocre as mentioned, only because I didn't think it laid a strong foundation before moving into the accusations. If the book was titled or subtitled "the cases that changed the BSA" I wouldn't have felt as disorganized about the content delivered.

[Karen Bullock · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense and detail oriented read that focuses on one of the most well known and still popular today, organizations that began in 1910.
The sole purpose was to teach boys to become men; but as with all organizations and too many powerful leaders in charge, things became muddled along the way.
The contents in this piece handle issues of scandal, sexual abuse allegations, abuse of power and corruption and really burrow deep on the inner workings of an organization that has had more dark members then the world knows and understands.
Heavily researched is the really noticeable lengthy histories of all involved, rules and oaths and the darkness beyond; keeping the reader engrossed to the end.
This non fiction telling of history, organizations and the thousands of mistreated and abused, at the hands of men who were supposed to be leaders, instructors is truly heartbreaking.
Will justice prevail?

I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing for this arc and the chance to review, as always, all opinions are my own.

[Larry H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disturbing expose that is littered with spectacular ironies and most likely keep your blood at boiling temperature coupled with an avalanche and flurry of dark thoughts that will flood your mind (mostly directed at the tossers). On My Honor, talks about an organization that was supposed to "bring manliness back" to softened males and ended up being a haven for pedophiles. Even more disturbing was how this somewhat downplayed, which in turn only enabled FURTHER bad behaviour and increased the tally of victims. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) spent hundreds of thousands in legal costs witchhunting and keeping gay members from the ranks, but spared no effort in putting a very well maintained legal firewall to protect their well documented files on those that were known pedophiles in their ranks. Yes, you read right about them having an excellent filing system on the guilty in their ranks, but wasn't so willing to "share" with law enforcement. In the end it damaged the organization, and the lives of many young men. Fascinating yet disturbing read.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of stuff I already knew relating to "the scandal" but tons of stuff I didn't know related to everything else. Scouting takes up a ton of space in my head and a fair amount of time in my life now and I think the last couple years have been an interesting time to come into the organization.

I found it extremely coincidental and distracting that I listened to this book right after listening to the first third of Abundance and they use the exact same excerpt from a 1958 book The Affluent Society, even though the books are about very different things. I also didn't realize that both books were published this year, I assumed this book had been out for a while.

[Heather O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the history of the Boy Scouts of America. It mostly details the sexual assaults and coverups of the group. The beginning of the book starts out with how it got started and I found that part to be very interesting. Then it gets into the sexual abuse that happens. It is crazy that they never really did anything about it and covered it up. I listened to the book and the narrator annoyed me at times and you could tell when there were times that they must have stopped recording and picked up later or rerecorded a bit because it didn't flow as well. I think that it is a very interesting book to read. It will make you angry at all of the covering up that they did. They talk about the BSA in current times and it does seem like it is a much safer organization now, but I'm still not sure how much I would trust it.

I give this book 4.5 stars

[jana]

this book was a heartbreaking and angering indictment of the BSA and the repeated failures of trusted institutions. it’s graphic and horrifying to read these stories but so incredibly important because thousands of victims continue to live with the effects of their violent trauma and have yet to receive a modicum of justice.

the book was factually informative though the author appears to lack the empathy or emotional understanding necessary considering his acknowledgement thanked a rape victim and then almost immediately thanked his rapist. that is a fucking abhorrent and confounding decision from a man who spent years understanding the wide ranging and inhumane actions and consequences that stem from this abuse. his shitty three lines to a journalist do not undo the atrocities he committed and for his name to be one of the last mentioned is despicable.

[Richard Wade · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very thoroughly researched book, but it could have bene much better. There were several misspellings. The major issue I had came on the first sentence of page 90. The author stated that someone had "won" their Eagle Scout award in June 1988. Eagle Scout Awards are not something you can win. You "EARN" this after doing a service project for your community, in addition to earning the required merit badges. This sentence might be insignificant to the normal reader of this book, but I caught it right away. As an Eagle Scout myself, the lack of basic research seems like a slap in the face.

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book truly angered me! The story is a true account of The Boy Scouts of America and how they hide the truth about reported sexual crimes regarding children. For decades, they had a list of scout leaders that were reported to have committed these crimes. Never turning them in to the police. For decades this occurred and when taken to court by the survivors of this abuse, The Boy Scouts of America turned their backs on them and robbed them of the money they were suing for. I am so glad I never put my son in the scouts. I highly recommend this book!

[Monsterninjareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a deeply unsettling exposé that delves into the harrowing history of sexual abuse within the Boy Scouts organization. Christensen meticulously uncovers how the institution’s wholesome image concealed decades of misconduct, leading to massive generational trauma. While the subject matter is profoundly disturbing, Christensen’s groundbreaking research and compelling narrative shed necessary light on these injustices. This book is well-suited for readers interested in social justice and historical accountability.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, well written history of the Boy Scouts which portrayed itself as an institution that transformed boys into men while it secretly hid child molesters among its ranks. Thousands of boys were sexually abused and lawsuits followed. The research of these atrocities has been thoroughly written in this book.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifyingly illuminating, especially when 2/3rds of the way through the book someone who was incredibly instrumental in the field I work in name popped up as an abuser, along with quotes from people in my field who knew him that I personally know. Pretty horrifying, frankly, to know how close to home this can hit.

[Jay Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one who profited tremendously from his scouting experience, reading about the horrible molestations that took place was horrible to read. I felt sorry for the young men and boys who suffered, but I also felt sorry for the far majority of scouts who will loose out if the BSA is driven into the ground

[Sally Kenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boy Scouts are definitely the worst so far with both numbers of harmed people and institutional betrayal and add into the list of injustices the complete pathology of the bankrupcy proceedings in corrrupt Delaware so that all money goes to lawyers and not victims. No institutional learning or responsibility! Crushing.

[Emg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, frustrating, genuine anger and so very disillusioning. Behind the BSA facade of character buiding, skills development, honor, duty, loyalty stands a greedy, corporate monster looking only to preserve its bottom line. Where's the intergrity? I certainly couldn't find it despite the PR and blah, blah.