The Scoutmaster's Other Handbook

Great book. Practical expert advice. Being independent makes it even better.

Here's my quick review of this book:Overall, I found this book to be very well written. Mr. Ray provides tons of information and plenty of examples and bullet points to support his experiences and research. At the end of each chapter he also provides resources to much of his information.Although I am not our Troop's Scoutmaster yet, I plan to reference this book plenty in the next few years. Furthermore, when I think about it a little bit deeper, our Troop has probably done many of the things mentioned in this book. Mr. Ray has found a medium to expand upon those activities and ideas in an attempt to keep our young leaders interested in the Scouting movement for years to come. And, he gives both the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) and the Scoutmaster another tool to use in which to do it.Although this is not an official BSA publication, I would recommend this book to anyone who is considering becoming a Scoutmaster of a Troop, large or small.

I'm an old scout who suddenly finds himself being asked to be a scoutmaster. I have a year to intern under the departing scoutmaster but I have found that there is a world of difference between being a happy go lucky scout and being an adult leader. I've taken the training and read what BSA has to offer but I felt like I was just skimming the surface of what I need to know. This book goes into detail, giving you background, ideas and potential pitfalls to most a leader will encounter. It also is full of ideas on what to do. I can't recommend this book enough.P.S. I've been bringing up many of the ideas in this book and my troop committee thinks I'm better than I really am.

As a first time Assistant Scoutmaster I found this book to be a good resource. There are a number of items offered as suggestions that are more common sense than anything else, but it is still a good tool for the first-timer. One thing that differentiates this resource is the list of places to contact or websites to visit at the end of each section. These are the nuggets of information you continually write on the back of business cards and napkins to you can find them in the future. Ray has included these tidbits in an easy to find topical sections.I would recommend this to my peers. It is a quick read, easy review of what we learn in training. The author is down-to-earth in the presentation of the materials and I would think this should be one of the tools in every Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster toolbox.

As a Scoutmaster of a successful Troop for over 16 years, I am always looking for fresh ideas. My own ideas have ofetn been used by others to build their programs, but the author gives a whole new perspective to common problems in Troop operations.I read this book during a day and a half at Summer Camp and found myself noting new ideas to implement in my own Troop. In other areas, I found myself getting confirmation that the subtle changes I have made in our Troop were being suggested by someone else.I consider this book to be an essential addition to your Scouting library to join the official publications of the Boy Scouts. You will see a different method to deliver a high-quality program to youth.

I recommend this book to all and any scouters that are privileged enough to work as a Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster. The advice is great, the anecdotes and examples are very useful, and the guidance is timeless! "The patrol system is not one method in which Scouting for boys can be carried on. It is the only method." —Lord Baden-Powell, Scouting's founder

This has a hundred great tips for Scout leaders (not just the Scoutmaster). I'm an ASM and it's given me lots of new ideas about how to get our troop moving better and more-efficiently, as well as growing and having more fun.I've finished reading it once, now I'm about to re-read and create a ToDo list from it.The only thing I think would improve it would be more links to website references. There are a number in this edition, but a new edition should have more.

As a long time Scouter but new Scoutmaster, this book was recommended to me by a great friend. I've read it cover to cover a couple of times now and gave encorporated many of his ideas and recommendations. If you are a new Scoutmaster or an old Scoutmaster looking for some fresh ideas, this book is for you.