Dangerous occasions

[fgoodwin]

Dangerous occasions

 

http://www.theage.com.au/news/books/dangerous-occasions/2006/08/03/1154198267699.html

http://tinyurl.com/oaq6r

 

August 6, 2006

 

The Iggulden brothers' instructions make short work of children's fears. By Frances Atkinson.

 

It's a miracle the Iggulden brothers survived their very "dangerous" childhood. First Conn fell through the garage roof, then he made his little brother, Hal, jump off it. Moments before take-off, Conn told him, "If you yell out, 'Fly like an eagle,' when you jump - it won't hurt."

 

"It was a lie, of course," says Conn talking from his London home. "But it did teach him about fear and a bit about not trusting his older brother quite so much."

 

Growing up in the north London suburb of Eastcote, the pair pretended they were the children from Swallows and Amazons or the more mischievous William Brown, of Just William fame, a Ginger Meggs-like character who was always getting into trouble.

 

Now in their 30s, with limbs still intact and their eyes in good working order, Conn and Hal were more than qualified to write their book, The Dangerous Book for Boys. "We would have loved this when we were kids."

 

They're not the only ones. The first print run sold out in early June and the book jumped straight into bestseller lists in Britain, where it's been a fixture. They are hoping for the same success in Australia.

 

A handsome, red hardback, with gold-embossed lettering, the book is based on the Boy's Own annuals popular in the 1950s. It's full of How To diagrams, historical feats and facts, stories of courage, survival and instructions on how to build a treehouse, juggle or make a periscope, scientific projects, astronomy, the rules of football and even a bit on girls.

 

"Rule number one of the book was that we had to make everything properly. If we couldn't make something work, then it couldn't go in the book."

 

The Igguldens had six months to write 82 chapters, which included building everything from scratch and making sure experiments such as Making Crystals actually worked.

 

"Basically, we worked from dawn to dusk. We'd make it during the day and write it up at night, but we survived," Conn Iggulden says with pride. "We didn't even come to blows."

 

The construction of the treehouse was almost their un-doing. It took them 72 hours to build and Conn had to enlist his brother-in-law's help. "It was bloomin' hard work! We had to tie each other to the tree to stop us from falling out."

 

Not quite so dangerous were test runs for Wrapping a Parcel in Brown Paper and String, a chapter Conn enjoyed enormously.

 

"That's the whole point - you can't be fantastic at every single thing, but you can be competent at a lot of things."

 

A former teacher and bestselling author of historical fiction about the life of Julius Caesar (The Gates of Rome, The Death of Kings, The Field of Swords, The Gods of War), Conn enjoyed researching stories of brave deeds and battles.

 

"I can't believe these stories aren't taught in schools, but they're not. How the hell can anyone make history dull? God knows, they do." Both brothers hope The Dangerous Book for Boys will encourage fathers and sons to spend more time together, bonding over projects. Conn also wants the book to teach children a little bit about fear.

 

"There's a school around here that's banned children from making paper planes - just in case someone loses an eye. People are so terrified of the world. The safest place for a child is a cage - but what sort of an adult would they turn into?"

 

Speaking of fear, there's one subject in the book that doesn't get a very big entry.

 

"I'll be honest, we put everything we knew about girls and it came to a page. We decided to stick with what we knew, instead of going off into the wilds. I think it's good advice. Keep clean and don't be vulgar."

 

Both brothers agree that there's something almost magical and, at the same time, intrinsically nerdy about some of the old-fashioned skills featured in the book, but Conn adds, "At the end of the day it's healthier than sitting in front of a PlayStation."

 

But then again, computer games are less dangerous than another story about Conn's boyhood hijinks.

 

"I did shoot Hal once with an air rifle." He'd asked Hal to hold up a piece of the garage roof (the same roof Conn had already fallen through) and took aim, accidentally shooting Hal in the shoulder.

 

"I know, I know," he says with little regret. "I look back and still have a laugh. Hal - he doesn't."

 

The Dangerous Books for Boys by Conn Iggulden & Hal Iggulden is published by HarperCollins.