EVERY TIME I POST ABOUT THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS, I get loads more email, which makes me think that there’s a genuine cultural moment going on here. That makes me wonder if one of the various political candidates won’t try to capitalize on it somehow, but it’s not clear to me just what they could do. Any thoughts?

UPDATE: Reader Don Spoon emails:

While growing up in the late 1940s and early 1950s, I ran across a used book from one of my uncles called “The Boy’s Book”, which became my bible until I joined the Boy Scouts. I am EXTREMELY glad to see a replacement for it! My grandson will benefit from it just like I did. I am saddened that my sons didn’t have a reference like this!

You see similar sentiments in the reader reviews, too. Check out the one that quotes G.K. Chesterton.

ANOTHER UPDATE: In a related vein, reader Charles Vinod emails regarding my earlier post about hands-on toys:

I bought the Radio Shack Electronics kit 101 for my six year old son this week on the occasion of his kindergarten “graduation”. Needless to say, he loved it and has not asked to watch TV or play video games since receiving the kit. Most interesting of all, even at this age, he just doesn’t want to build the circuits; he wants to know the reason “why” each one works differently. This point especially makes his scientist dad proud.

And rightly so! So why don’t schools use things like this?