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Abook that eschews (keeps away from) 21st-century gadgets in favour of the 'Boy's Own Adventure' delights of making tree houses, dealing with creepy-crawlies and using secret ink has become a bestseller.
The Dangerous Book for Boys is the brainwave of Conn Iggulden, the author of the successful "Emperor" novels based on the life of Julius Caesar, and his brother Hal, who made it their mission to create the perfect handbook for boys and dads.
PlayStations, iPods and DVDs are replaced by the type of activities that conjure (bring to mind) an age of adventure and innocence. Since its publication in May, it has soared to number five in Amazon.co.uk's Hot 100 charts, with sales leaping by 700 per cent.
Chapters range from "The Daring Dad" - teaching how to build a treehouse, and relating the antics of famous heroes including Scott of the Antarctic and Nelson - to "The Office Idler", which imparts (gives) the important skills of making and using secret inks and even periscopes (tube with mirrors through which a person can see things which otherwise may be out of sight,e.g. in submarines).
"We are delighted it's doing so well - we are told there hasn't been a book like this for 50 years", said Iggulden, (35) from his home in Hertfordshire, UK.
"Hal and I had often spoken about writing a book containing all the things we had wanted to know as children." He added: "There is a danger of thinking that children are more sophisticated than they are".
Together, he and his brother set aside six months for the project, testing each activity in a shed.
A window to Nobel laureates
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The exhibition on the Nobel Prize, the world's most prestigious prize instituted by Alfred Nobel, is now on a worldwide tour to tell the 100-year history of honouring those who have done outstanding research, invented ground-breaking techniques or made outstanding contributions to society.
A centennial (100-year) exhibition on this prestigious honour is now in the city of Bangalore, India, thanks to Nobel Museum of Sweden and mobile handset and equipment manufacturer Ericsson.
The three-month exhibition, which began at Visveshvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, showcases photographs of as many as 780 Nobel laureates (those honoured with the prize), their personal belongings, replicas of Alfred Nobel's will, his personal items and a film on winners of the award. The exhibition, the first of its kind in India, attempts to showcase the philosophy behind the Nobel Prize and give information about Nobel laureates in all categories.
The exhibition, titled 'Cultures of creativity', will also throw light on the life, times and transformation of its founder Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, industrialist and inventor of dynamite.
Speaking after inaugurating the exhibition, Nobel Foundation Executive Director Michael Sohiman said, the exhibition, launched in 2001 to commemorate 100 years of establishment of the Nobel Prize, had so far toured 11 countries.
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