The Boy Scout Handbook
The Boy Scout Handbook is the official handbook of the Boy Scouts of America. It is a descendant of Baden-Powell's original handbook,
Scouting for Boys, which has been the basis for Scout handbooks in many countries, with some variations to the text of the book depending on each
country's codes and customs.
The original edition of the handbook was based on Baden-Powell's work. Ernest Thompson Seton combined his Woodcraft manual, the Birch Bark Rolls, with
Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys. Subsequent works were done by other authors. William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt wrote the 6th, 7th, and 9th editions.
Frederick L. Hines wrote the 8th, and Robert Birkby the 10th and 11th editions.
1910 original edition Handbook
The first Official Handbook, subtitled A Handbook of Woodcraft, Scouting, and Life-craft was published from July 1910 until March 1911 and appeared in eight distinct variations. It had once been thought that there was a ninth variation but that was made by one man who supposedly had seen an interleaved version in the National Scout Headquarters many years ago. The BSA National Archives has no record of that variation ever existing. t was written by Ernest Seton and drew greatly on Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys, it included information on the organization of Scouting, signs and signaling, and camping, as well as Scouting games and a description of several Scouting honors. Notably, this book did not place emphasis on first aid, knife and axe use, or map and compass work, as later editions would. Because this edition of was intended solely as a temporary guide until an authoritative handbook could be made, it is now known as the 1910 Original Edition Handbook. The cover art was an illustration by Baden-Powell. There were about 28,000 copies printed not 68,900 as previously thought.
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1st and 2nd Editions—The Official Handbook for Boys (1911-1927)
1st Edition cover artwork by Gordon Grant, line drawing of a Scout in front of a campsite waving his campaign hat, beckoning to the reader. Printings 1-3 had an olive drab background, and the 2nd printing reprint plus printings 4-10 had a maroon background. There apparently were also some "special" printings with orange or light green covers. All back covers were the same color as the front, with a First Class badge.
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2nd Edition cover artwork by J. C. Leyendecker, painting of a pair of Scouts (wearing red neckerchiefs) signaling in semaphore. The
original picture was a Saturday Evening Post magazine cover and had the Scouts using Morse code flags to send a non-existent semaphore letter. Both
mistakes were eventually corrected by BSA artists; also, artists updated the equipment pictured on the Scouts at least once. There are three main
variants of the Leyendecker painting, and five different background colors:
Grey First 4 printings of 2nd Edition
Rose 15th printing
Red 16th printing
Pale Green printings 17-22
Olive Green printings 23-37
Back covers were the same color as the front cover. Through the 23rd printing, the back cover was blank; from the 24th printing on, the back cover had
a Trooped States Bicycle Tire Ad.
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The 1st Edition reflected the newly-standardized American Program. Although an improvement on the Original Edition, the 1st Edition
contains many weak descriptions and errors, and it shows a lack of logical organization.
The publicity surrounding the introduction of the new Handbook showed the effective promotional skills of Chief Scout Executive West. In June, 1911,
he took the unprecedented step of sending out 4500 proof copies to educators for comment. Since the Handbook was published two months later, it is
doubtful that the BSA received any significant amount of feedback in time to change the galleys, but the exercise was effective in promoting the book
and the young Scouting organization.
The 1st Edition is illustrated both with line drawings and with many poorly-reproduced black-and-white photographs. In the 2nd Edition, line drawings
were made from the photographs. No other Handbook until the 10th Edition has used photographs (though all editions of the Scoutmaster Handbook used
photographs until 1972).
Comparing a number of printings of these two editions shows the long-time BSA policy of making gradual revisions, corrections, additions, and deletions.
The successive printings change only gradually; at no time can one say that a major change has occurred. Many changes were made with printing 11 (1914),
but the greatest change in content occurred with printing 14 (1916), when all of the many sections written by BSA co-founder Ernest Thompson Seton were
removed. (The subjects remained in the Handbook, usually in the same order and with the same chapter titles; they were rewritten by different authors).
The 1st Edition omits a number of standard Scouting topics: map and compass, conservation, poison plants, knife and axe, description of Troop Leader
Positions, the Scout Handclasp, when to wear the Uniform. All of these were added in the 2nd Edition. The omission of knife and axe seems particularly
careless since the Handbook lists proper use of knife and axe as a Second Class requirement. Although Seton's Original Edition had recommended the
international left-handed Scout handclasp invented by Baden-Powell, the BSA chose to invent their own (left handed, but with three fingers instead of
the full hand), which the 2nd Edition shows. [The BSA did not change to the international handclasp until 1972].
Although poisonous snakebites in the US are rare and seldom fatal (many more people die from bee stings each year), the Scout Handbook has always
discussed their treatment. The 1st and 2nd Editions contain two separate and contradictory treatments, one in the section describing reptiles and the
other in the first aid section (each section was written by a different expert). Both explanations are vaguely written, and the recommended treatments
were probably more dangerous to the victim than the actual bite.
Both editions evidence considerable carelessness in preparation, and most of the problems were never corrected through 42 printings over 16 years. One
example is the contradictory treatments for poisonous snakebite. Another is contradictory information about coffee. The index has two references under
coffee. One tells the Scout not to drink coffee at all ("Growing Boys especially should have nothing to do with tea, coffee, or any stimulant") while
the other tells the Scout exactly how to prepare coffee while out on the trail.
The US history section contains several factual errors about the Mexican War. One date is wrong by a year, the books stretch the war from two years to
three, and the sequence of key war events is reversed.
Throughout these editions, the editors seem to have paid scant attention to any logical sequencing or arrangement of the subjects, and they exercised
little editorial control over individual authors. For example, the books cover first aid skills in a haphazard order, with minor and major problems
intermixed. Perhaps this general carelessness is best summed up by looking at the most obvious part of the 2nd Edition, the cover. The original
Leyendecker painting (which first appeared as a Saturday Evening Post cover) contains several errors. The Scout is sending a non-existent semaphore
letter (of the 28 possible semaphore arm Positions, Leyendecker had the bad luck to pick one of only two that do not signify a letter in
English-language semaphore). Also, the Scouts' Patrol colors are on the wrong sleeve, the Scout badge is missing the knot hanging from the scroll, and
the signal flags are Morse rather than semaphore flags. After five printings, the BSA corrected all but the last error in 1916 by the expedient of
reversing the picture (even though this meant the Scouts' shirts and flies would be buttoned backwards). The Morse flags were changed to semaphore in
1921, after 14 printings.
Although the Original Edition contains the modern International (Continental) Morse code, the 1st Edition contains only the already-obsolete American
(Overland) Morse code. The 2nd Edition restores the International version. Other types of signaling covered in these editions are Myer code (a form of
wigwag), Indian signs (written signs), and Ardois (a system using four red and white lights), also whistle signals and bugle calls.
Early printings taught a Scout not only how to build a radio receiver, but also how to make a sending Troop (radio was an exciting new invention at this
time). The 1st Edition contains instructions on how to find one's latitude using the North Star. Unfortunately, even an Adult would have difficulty
following the explanation (written by Seton) found in early printings; it is sloppy writing and takes too much for granted. Later printings contain a
much improved explanation by a different author. On the other hand, Seton's discussion of wild animals is much more modern and neutral than that of his
conservation successor, William Hornaday. Although Hornaday was in the forefront of the conservation movement in his day and advocated absolute
protection for "valuable" animals, he showed a disregard for the potential extinction of "pest" animals. For example, he refers to the coyote as a
"petty thief" and writes that "the Coyote simply will not give up, and so the war upon him must be unceasing." Hornaday also condoned the extermination
of the gray wolf.
Right from the start, Scouting led most other Youth organizations in recognizing that puberty is a major hurdle for adolescents. But the early
Handbooks provided information that was too often just as inaccurate as what a Boy might hear from his buddies. The first three editions call their
puberty section "Conservation", and primarily serve up the myth that masturbation (they of course do not use this word) will seriously weaken a Boy's
strength and make him less able to resist disease (hence the title "Conservation"). The word "puberty" has yet to appear in any Scout Handbook
(although several later editions do use the terms "masturbation" and "nocturnal emission or wet dream"). The first two editions do not discuss wet
dreams. They refer to the sex act (and its undesirability before marriage) only in the most roundabout way.
Under "Outdoor Athletic Standards" in the 1st Edition, the books gives recommendations for standards in various events, based on a Boy's weight (a Boy
under 125 pounds should be able to do 13 pushups and run 100 yards in 13 seconds). It is a little amusing that the book recommends that Boys under 110
pounds "should not attempt" the 100-yard dash, and that Boys under 90 pounds "should not attempt" pushups either.
Cover artwork modified from Baden-Powell, line drawing of a Scout holding a US flag on a staff (taken from B-P's Scouting for Boys, with the original
British flag replaced with a US flag). [For comparison, the Baden-Powell original is to the right.
![Scouting for Boys, Part V [reproduction]](../../../images/scouts-corner/handbooks/sfb5.gif) |
The BSA calls this Handbook the Original Edition rather than the 1st Edition because it was intended strictly as a temporary Handbook
until they could standardize the Program and publish a permanent Handbook. The cover title is Boy Scouts of America Official Handbook. The title page
says Boy Scouts of America A Handbook of Woodcraft, Scouting, and Life-craft by Ernest Thompson Seton With which is incorporated by arrangement
General Sir Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys. The Original Edition combined the ninth edition of Seton's Birch-Bark Roll and some parts of
Baden-Powell's classic Scouting for Boys, written in 1907.
Ernest Thompson Seton, a famous writer and artist, had founded a loosely-structured Boys' Program called the Woodcraft Indians with the publication of
the first edition of his Birch-Bark Roll manual (1902). Seton had also sent a copy of the Birch-Bark Roll's 1906 fifth edition to Baden-Powell, from
which B-P adapted material for Scouting for Boys.
Seton's introduction to the Original Edition makes it clear that he considered himself to be the real founder of the World Scouting movement: "In 1904,
I went to England to carry on the work [of fostering a "Woodcraft and Scouting movement"] there, and, knowing General R. S. S. Baden-Powell as the
chief advocate of Scouting in the British Army, invited him to cooperate with me, in making the movement popular. Accordingly, in 1908 he organized his
Boy Scout movement, incorporating the principles of the [Woodcraft] Indians with other ethical features bearing on savings banks, fire drills, etc., as
well as by giving it a partly military organization, and a carefully compiled and fascinating book".
When Chicago publisher William Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America in February, 1910, Seton merged his Woodcraft Indians with the new
organization and became the BSA's first Chief Scout. Seton also considered himself the key person in creating an American Scouting Program.
And today's Scouting owes much of its Program and tradition to Seton; indeed, it is difficult to imagine what our Program would be like without Seton's
contributions. Seton left the BSA in 1916 after an extended power struggle with James West, our strong-willed first Chief Scout Executive (1911-1943).
Officially, Seton departed because of the then-new rule requiring all registered Scouters to be American citizens or intending to become so (Seton was
a Canadian citizen, though he later became a US citizen; he died in 1946 in Santa Fe, New Mexico).
The Original Edition has no index and contains no information about: knife and axe, mapping and map use, hiking, conservation, poison plants, poisonous
snakes, alcohol and tobacco, or when to wear the Uniform. Its information on physical fitness and health is weak. The book has a chapter on first aid,
but it doesn't explain any first aid; it just gives a detailed description of how to get a course and take the exam through the YMCA. Similarly in the
section on puberty (called "Continence"), Seton refers the reader to another source for information.
The book contains the International Morse code, along with a nearly worthless memory mnemonic that is supposed to allow the reader to learn the code
in less than an hour [those of us who have had to memorize the Morse code only wish it could have been that easy]! Each letter is illustrated with a
drawing of an object starting with that letter designed to remind the reader of the dot-dash code for that letter. One is even racist—the mnemonic for
the letter N is "Nimble Nig" and shows a crocodile chasing a man! This remained in the Handbook through the early printings of the 2nd Edition.
The Original Edition's section on knots illustrates both the square knot and the sheet bend incorrectly! In both cases, it reverses one line's standing
and free parts. While this is not too critical on the sheet bend, it is vital on the square knot because the knot shown (a variant of the square knot
often called the Thief's Knot) easily pulls out and does not hold under tension.
As the BSA standardized its Program in 1910-1911, it dropped or altered a number of the Program recommendations contained in the Original Edition. One
of these was Seton's complex system of "Honors," in which a Boy (or man) could earn either "Honors" or "High Honors" for varying levels of attainment
in a number of fields. "Red Honors" included heroism, horse riding, athletics, mountain climbing, target shooting, big-game hunting. "White Honors"
included camper craft, archery, fishing. "Blue Honors" included nature study, geology, photography. The book spells out in considerable detail what
level of achievement is required and warns the reader that he may not change any requirement. For example, to earn Honors under big-game hunting, some
of the animals a Scout could kill included black bear, gray wolf (assisted by dogs), or a 14-foot crocodile! To earn High Honors, the list included
elephant, gorilla, gray wolf (without dogs), or a grizzly bear!
3rd and 4th Editions—Revised Handbook for Boys (1927-1948)
3rd Edition cover art by Norman Rockwell, 1929 Brown and Bigelow Scout calendar painting, entitled "Spirit of America" (painted in 1927). It featured the profile of a Scout in campaign hat and red neckerchief against a blue background containing the profiles of American heroes (Lincoln, Washington, Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, a frontiersman, an Indian, and Charles Lindbergh, who had just completed his famous flight). Lindbergh replaced a conquistador between the initial sketching and final painting. The silver cover appeared on about 5000 copies of the 21st printing to commemorate the five-millionth copy of the Handbook. The back cover had a US Tire ad in printings 1-5, 12, and 14-32. The back cover for printings 6-11 and 13 had no ad, but a First Class badge.
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4th Edition cover art by Norman Rockwell, 1939 Brown and Bigelow Scout calendar painting, "The Scouting Trail," featuring a Cub Scout, Boy Scout with pack (and red neckerchief), and Sea Scout against a green background. All back covers had a US Tire Ad.
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This truly revised handbook was the first major rewriting of the Handbook and was a massive improvement over the earlier editions. It
could be called the first modern Handbook and does not differ too much in layout or content from recent editions, except for the lack of color
printing. Many collectors consider all printings of the Revised Handbook to be a single edition. Others consider the last seven printings to be a
separate edition, because the 1940 handbook had a new cover and contained major revisions.
The early printings are the only Handbooks ever to discuss and recommend military drill for Scouts (the Handbook for Scoutmasters of this era devotes
an entire chapter to it and recommends drill according to the US Army Infantry Drill Regulations for "five or ten minutes ... each Meeting ... to keep
up the morale of the Troop"). Scouts of this period were supposed to learn 17 individual commands and 25 Patrol and Troop movements, all of which were
deemed essential to good order, not only during Meetings and in parades, but even on hikes. Ironically, Baden-Powell, Scouting's founder and a retired
army General, strongly recommended against military drill for Scouts.
The later printings of the 3rd Edition are the first to tell Scouts how to wear a neckerchief properly (neckerchiefs were optional until about the
early 1920s). The 3rd Edition for some reason does not discuss lost procedures (the 8th Edition also omits procedures for being lost in the woods).
Both the 3rd and 4th Editions list only eight planets in our solar system; although Pluto was discovered in 1930, it took the BSA several printings and
more than a decade to add it to the Handbook's planet table.
The later printings of the 3rd Edition finally correct the misinformation about puberty discussed above; at the same time, the book adds a brief
discussion of wet dreams. About this time, the BSA changed the explanation about alcohol. Early 3rd Edition printings correctly label alcohol a
depressant, but later ones, along with all 4th Edition printings, call it a stimulant, which, in spite of appearances, it is not.
5th Edition—Handbook for Boys (1948-1959)
5th Edition cover art by Don Ross. First two printings (upper pair of pictures)—painting of a Patrol of Scouts hiking down a wooded
trail, wearing campaign hats and red neckerchiefs. This painting is flat and lacks the detail and depth of other Handbook covers.
Remaining ten printings of two Scouts (red neckerchiefs) and an Explorer, all in overseas caps, sitting around a campfire with the smoke forming an
Indian behind them. (The cover picture was changed because of the Boy Scouts of America's switch from campaign hats to overseas caps. Similar changes
were made to the cover and inside illustrations of the Handbook for Scoutmasters. This occurred even though the campaign hat remained optional. The
change may also have been motivated in part by complaints about the first cover.) This painting was of much better quality than Ross' earlier cover.
All back covers had a US Bike Tire Ad.
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In 1948, the BSA lowered its entry age from 12 to 11 and changed the Advancement requirements, necessitating a new Handbook.
The 5th Edition offered many changes from the previous Handbook. It drops the chapter on games and the extensive sections on animals, birds, insects,
trees, fishes, which had appeared in all Handbooks until that time. In place of the wildlife descriptions, it groups flora and fauna in several
drawings of various habitats (seashore, forest, etc.); the amount of wildlife content and discussion, however, is greatly reduced and remains so until
the 9th Edition. The 5th Edition also contains a minimal discussion of puberty and not a hint of sex. Again, not until the 9th Edition would a Handbook
contain any guidance on sex. Along with the Original Edition, the 5th Edition omits any mention of alcohol or tobacco or of poisonous snakes.
The 5th Edition is the first Handbook to show the taut line hitch, so useful on tent lines, and it is the first to include lashings. It is also the
first Handbook to include edible wild plants and the Scout Slogan ("Do a Good Turn Daily"). It has a much more complete discussion of fire building
than heretofore. In addition to other information on conservation, it is the first book to contain a "Conservation Pledge" ("I give my pledge as an
American to save and faithfully to defend from waste the natural resources of my Country — its soil and minerals, its forests, water and wildlife").
Later printings expand this pledge and reword it as our present "Outdoor Code" ("As an American, I will do my best to — be clean in my outdoor manners,
be careful with fire, be considerate in the outdoors, and be conservation-minded").
It is ironic that the printing where the Conservation Pledge first appears
contains an advertisement advocating species extermination.
The 5th Edition is the last Handbook written by a number of experts, the last of the small-size Handbooks, and the last printed exclusively in black
and white (other than the cover).
6th and 7th Editions—Boy Scout Handbook (1959-1972)
The 6th Edition cover art by Norman Rockwell, painting of a Scout with pack, walking by and waving. The Scout is wearing a red
neckerchief as usual, overseas cap, and leggings (for many years in the '50s and '60s, the BSA promoted leggings through their artwork, though these
were seldom worn by Scouts outside of the handbooks and catalogs). An interesting error, never detected in seven printings, is the Scout's belt—which
is backwards.
Due to lack of time, Rockwell painted only the figure itself, someone else filled in the background scene of Scouts hiking and in camp. This is the
only Rockwell painting specifically done as a Handbook cover, in honor of the BSA's 50th Anniversary. The back cover continues the scene from the
front cover background.
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7th Edition cover art by Dom Lupo, painting of Scouts in various hats and neckerchiefs, wearing backpacks and smiling. The background is a camp scene very similar to that of the 6th Edition, also continued onto the back cover.
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The 6th Edition brought in the modern age of Scout Handbooks, although much has changed since that first multi-colored handbook
celebrated the BSA's 50th Anniversary.
For the first time, a Scout Handbook has a single author throughout. For this duty, the BSA selected William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt, who had
written every Handbook for Scoutmasters since 1936 and every Handbook for Patrol Leaders the BSA had ever had up to that time (the BSA had no guidebook
for Patrol Leaders until 1929).
The 7th Edition resulted from a BSA revision of the Advancement requirements, but the changes in the Handbook's text and arrangement were minimal. The
combined 6th and 7th Editions have the most copies in print of all Handbooks (8.2 million).
These editions are easily distinguished from earlier ones by their larger size and especially by the attractive, full-color artwork throughout. They
reintroduce rowing and canoeing, alcohol and tobacco, coffee and tea. The section on lifesaving is reduced to elementary rescues. Early printings have
little star information and nothing about poisonous snakes. There is no longer any discussion of tent-making or weather or handicrafts. The 6th Edition
as only one illustration of the taut line hitch with no instructions on how to tie it; all other knots are grouped together in another section of the
book. The 6th and 7th Editions are the first Handbooks not to contain a listing of the requirements for all Merit Badges.
The 7th Edition deletes how to measure heights and distances (since these had been removed from the Advancement requirements), and it is the first
Handbook to state that a saw is a useful tool (only the axe is included in earlier editions). The 7th Edition is also the first Handbook to show
non-white faces (the BSA permitted its chartered Scout Councils to operate racially segregated Districts and Troops as late as 1971).
8th Edition—Scout Handbook (1972-1979)
The first three printings (upper pair of pictures)—two-tone green cover (the Scoutmaster Handbook, Patrol and Troop Leadership book,
Leadership Corps book, Troop Committee Guidebook, and other manuals of this era all had the same boring two-tone green cover). The Scout Handbook has a
color sketch in the upper right corner of four Scouts in blue neckerchiefs and red berets looking through a telescope at the moon. This was the first
and only Scout Handbook not to have a complete cover picture. Artist unknown. The back cover has a brief paragraph about the handbook.
Last two printings Joseph Csatari painting, "All Out for Scouting," 1976, featuring Scouts walking across the white cover dressed and equipped for
Scout-like Activities (backpacking, burro-packing, skin diving, archery, canoeing, fishing, cooking, rappelling, map and compass). This picture also
appears inside the 9th Edition. The back cover continues the picture.
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This edition represents the most radical change in Handbook content the BSA ever made. It introduced more new concepts and deleted more
traditional subjects than any other edition. The drastic Program changes it presented were a disastrous failure for Scouting. From September 1, 1972,
through the end of 1977, the "Improved Scouting Program" de-emphasized camping by making outdoor skills optional in the lower three Ranks and by
eliminating outdoor Merit Badges from the required list for the higher three Ranks (the Eagle list dropped Camping, Cooking, Nature, Swimming,
Lifesaving).
The new Program also extended inner-city Programming to ALL of Scouting. (The Handbook's entire section on "Lost" shows a drawing of a Boy talking to a
policeman, with the text: "Ask for directions to find the way."). The Scouting Program represented by this Handbook stands in sharp contrast to
Scouting before 1972 or since 1978.
The 8th Edition leaves out a lot of other traditional Handbook information: how to wear a neckerchief, when to wear the Uniform, lashings, stars, fire
without matches, tracking/trailing, silent signals, semaphore and Morse signaling, edible wild plants, finding directions without a compass.
Until 1972, Scouts working on the first three Ranks had to complete a long list of basic skills to earn each Rank. The 8th Edition groups the skills
into 12 "skill awards" (Camping, Citizenship, Communications, Community Living, Conservation, Cooking, Environment, Family Living, First Aid, Hiking,
Physical Fitness, Swimming), each represented by a metal loop to be worn on the belt. These provided "instant recognition" as Scouts worked toward
Ranks. The BSA discontinued skill awards and returned to the previous system at the end of 1989.
The 8th Edition is the first Scout Handbook to discuss ethnic groups. Non-white Scouts are obviously in evidence throughout the book, not just a few
background characters as in the 7th Edition. The discussion of amusable drugs is extensive; earlier editions barely mention them. The Handbook adds
sections on general communication (in lieu of signaling), family living, and community living. It contains all the Merit Badge requirements for the
first time in 14 years.
The book finally adds modern conservation emphases long overdue. It de-emphasizes pioneering and advocates modern knife and axe practices; this is the
first Handbook not to include information on the destructive and unnecessary practice of tent ditching. This Handbook also adopts the international
Scout handclasp as recommended by Baden-Powell (standard handshake with the left hand). Previously, the BSA had used a left handshake with three
fingers extended.
This edition contains new wording for the explanatory part of the Scout Law, the first such change since the Law was written more than 60 years before
(although this wording has been slightly altered a couple times since). The BSA said that this was done to bring the reading level of the material down
to the Sixth Grade level (although the wording for Loyal only confuses this point with Trustworthy in a Boy's mind: "A Scout is true to his friends
,...")
Some 8th Edition printings are printed on cheap recycled paper, which gives those books a drab look in spite of the color artwork. This was the first
Handbook bound with a "perfect" binding (like a pad of paper). It is too bad that economics have dictated the change to the "perfect" binding. Few of
today's Scouts will be able to carry their first Handbook into Adulthood without missing pages, covers, and even entire sections.
9th Edition—Official Boy Scout Handbook (1979-1990)
Cover artwork by Norman Rockwell, 1970 Brown and Bigelow Scout calendar painting, "Come and Get It," featuring a scene at Schiff Scout Reservation (former BSA National Training Center in New Jersey) of Scouts (in yellow neckerchiefs) cooking and canoeing. The 9th Edition will probably be the last Handbook to have a Norman Rockwell cover. Because Rockwell painted his last Scout picture before the BSA redesigned the Scout Uniform in 1981, modern Scouts will tend to think of the Scouts in Rockwell's paintings as old-fashioned, much the way most of us probably think when we see earlier Rockwell paintings showing Scouts in knickers and campaign hats. The back cover has a quick reference tab and a table of contents.
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William Hillcourt came out of retirement and donated a year of his life to write the 9th Edition, which represented a return to the
traditional Scouting Program after the disastrous Membership losses suffered by the 1970s Program. The 9th Edition has a great deal in common with
Hillcourt's earlier Handbooks (6th and 7th Editions); entire paragraphs and pictures are reprinted from the earlier editions.
While preserving many of the 8th Edition's topics (such as family and community living, general communication, information on ethnic groups, the
extensive information about amusable drugs), the 9th Edition restores many traditional subjects missing for several editions: how to wear the
neckerchief, when to wear the Uniform, lashings, rowing and canoeing, stars, fire without matches, measuring heights and distances, Scout games,
tracking/trailing, suggested books to read, weather, silent signals, semaphore, Morse code, Indian signs, manual alphabet for the deaf, sign language
for the deaf, edible wild plants, the extensive information about wildlife. It also adds new subjects never before covered: hypothermia/exposure
(barely mentioned previously), Senior Patrol Leadering, and backpacking. Indeed, it contains extra information on many subjects that is not required
for Advancement but is there for a Scout's use as needed, making this as much a Fieldbook as an Advancement manual.
The puberty discussion is less complete than has been the case for several editions. There is no mention of masturbation or wet dreams. However, there
is good guidance on sex, the first Handbook recognition since the 4th Edition of adolescent problems with sex. This is the first Handbook edition to
state than a small spade is a useful and important camp tool. But it also harks back to the days of heavy-handed pioneering by showing how to cut a
tent peg with an axe (destructive and unnecessary once lightweight aluminum and plastic pegs became widely available).
The book uses the cheap "perfect" binding. This edition drops the Merit Badge requirements; it includes only the requirements for the 14 badges
required for Eagle Scout (it has color drawings of the other Merit Badges). The book's artwork is excellent. In addition, the BSA redrew the artwork
on 75 pages for the 4th printing (1981) to show its newly redesigned Uniform (the first redesign since 1922).
10th Edition—Boy Scout Handbook (1990-1998)
The cover artwork is a glossy cover with three color action photographs (rappelling, camping/hiking, white-water rafting) superimposed on a photograph of a pine branch, compass, Eagle medal, First Class badge, Merit Badge sash, baseball and bat, and carabineer, spread across the front and back cover.
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The 10th Edition differs most obviously from other recent editions by the use of color photographs (over 900 of them) in addition to
numerous color drawings. Even the cover consists of photos (another first). This edition is about a hundred pages longer than the last edition. This
is definitely the heaviest Handbook; at a full inch thick (25 mm), it ties the 8th Edition in bulk, but it has nearly 40% more pages.
The 10th Edition represents a Scouting Program very similar to the Program in use before 1972. The BSA even changed the background colors of most of
its badges to be more similar to the pre-1972 badges, including the return to green bars for Troop offices instead of the silver and gold bars used
from 1972-89.
The Handbook drops the skill awards, but still groups skills by subject rather than by Rank (information for the lower Ranks is flagged with a 'T',
'2', or '1' for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class).
This Handbook is packed with information about camping, cooking, fire building, and other traditional Scout skills. But the 10th Edition also is filled
with detailed information on low-impact camping, with much emphasis on the need for careful use of the environment. This is the first Handbook to
include a section on the use of backpacking stoves (stoves were widely used in the fragile wilderness for 20 years before they were mentioned in the
Handbook—indeed, for years, the BSA's Philmont Scout Ranch wilderness base trucked wood in to heavily-used campsites rather than require the use of
backpacking stoves).
The Handbook contains chapters on bicycling, canoeing, rowing, the new Venture Scouting and Varsity Scouting options for older Scouts, and the separate
Varsity Scouting Program (which began in 1984).
The 10th Edition has a lengthy chapter on prevention of child abuse and molesting, as well as drug abuse. Along with later 9th Edition printings, it
also contains a tear-out insert for Parents discussing prevention of drug/alcohol abuse and child abuse/molesting. The 10th Edition has a good
discussion on sexual responsibility, but no discussion at all about puberty.
This edition slightly modifies the explanatory wording for the Scout Law.
The artwork and photos in this Handbook are interesting also because the full Scout Uniform ("field Uniform") is rarely seen. Instead, the BSA tried
to promote its new (and expensive) "Activities Uniform" option by showing it in almost every photo and drawing. This optional Uniform didn't replace
the standard Uniform, it was in addition to it. It required not only a separate polo-style shirt, but also different shorts from the standard Scout
shorts. Most Troops continued to do what Troops have done for decades—they designed their own Troop T-shirt (or used one of the standard ones in the
Scout catalog), which could be worn with the regular Scout shorts.
The 10th Edition contains only the requirements for the 14 Eagle Merit Badges and color pictures of all the other Merit Badges. It uses the "perfect"
binding. Like the 9th Edition, this is as much a Fieldbook as an Advancement manual.
11th Edition—Boy Scout Handbook (1998-Today)
Cover art is photograph of two Scouts hiking with a snow-capped mountain in background, with photos of a bald eagle and green oak leaf superimposed. Back cover shows photos of a Scout campsite, a Scout kayaking, some colorful pebbles, and a tiger salamander.
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The 11th Edition is a logical continuation of the 10th Edition, continuing trends but not changing anything significantly. The
Advancement requirements were updated effective April 1, 1999, but the changes were minimal. More cooking was placed in Tenderfoot, and the Eagle
required Merit Badge list dropped Safety and Sports, made Personal Fitness mandatory (it had been optional), and added Hiking and Cycling as options
for those who prefer not to earn Swimming. The book also makes slight adjustments to the explanatory wording of the Scout Law.
The book is organized by Rank (most requirements for each Rank are covered in that Rank's chapter), but also has extensive chapters on skills such as
first aid, hiking, camping, cooking, citizenship.
This is the first Handbook to mention GPS (global Positioning system), but it still recommends learning map and compass. It also adds BSA's new "Leave
No Trace" (low impact camping) outdoor ethic. There is more information on water filters, information and guidance on using the Internet, guidance on
being home along and on babysitting ("caring for younger children"), and new first aid precautions (need for goggles, mouth barrier, and latex gloves
as part of any first aid kit).
Besides the need for water filters, this Handbook emphasizes stove use even more than the last Edition, and strongly de-emphasizes fire building.
There are no Merit Badge requirements, but only pictures of the Eagle badges, and a listing of all other Merit Badges (complete requirements are
contained in a separate requirements booklet).
Much of the Fieldbook-type information in recent editions has been removed to reduce the massive size of the previous edition (the information is still
available in the Fieldbook). Poisonous snakes are not identified in this Handbook (though treatment for poisonous snakebite is covered). There is no
stars information except a brief section on finding your way by using the North Star.
Drug abuse and child abuse information is similar to that in the 10th Edition. This Handbook mentions AIDS and STDs (sexually-transmitted diseases),
and expressly states that there should be no sex before marriage, much as in the previous Edition.
The pages are brighter than the previous edition, and the paper is thicker and nicer.
Like the 10th Edition, and unlike all previous Handbooks, the cover artwork does not show any Scouts in full Uniform (rather they are shown wearing
what many Troops call "Class B" Uniform).