Running Toward Danger

Running Toward Danger is a book that will shock you, give you chills, and make you cheer! It is one of the least-known and least-presented major awards offered by the Boy Scouts of America. But similar to the Eagle Scout medal, it also is highly celebrated--perhaps more. It's the Honor Medal for Lifesaving. In its various forms, it embodies the Medal of Merit for saving a life, the Honor Medal for doing so at personal risk, and the Honor Medal with crossed palms for extreme personal risk--all that has made Scouting an honored American icon for over a century. During those decades, a little more than a thousand of the highest medals have been awarded to Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorers, Venturers, Varsity Scouts, and adult volunteers. And every one of those rescues is an unforgettable story. Featuring a remarkably unique and cutting edge layout with original Marvel-style imagery, Running Toward Danger is the first book that tells the extraordinary saga of Scouting's Honor Medal recipients and how the award itself transformed American life. It is the product of extensive original research into the BSA's national archives, vintage newspaper accounts, and interviews of recent recipients. The narrative includes more than 150 accounts of the most remarkable and hair-raising Honor Medal rescues of the last century. Also, it uncovers the crisis in the early days of the award that ultimately changed the direction of Scouting and brought intensive first aid, lifesaving, and safety training to the nation's youth. Running Toward Danger is filled with extraordinary characters. First among equals is the buckskinned sophisticate, co-founder of Scouting, and friend of U. S. presidents, Daniel Carter Beard, who created the Honor Medal and then nearly drove it to disaster. But there also are hundreds of young men and women who find themselves in the most terrifying situations imaginable, fly into action, and not only survive but also save others in the process. It is a narrative that swings from a lonely, lightning-scorched mountain top to an isolated farmhouse, to crowded urban neighborhoods, to shark-filled waters-- each story presenting its own dangers that demands a clear-minded and smart strategy, requiring an abundance of bravery from its young rescuers. For Scouts and their families these stories are the best lessons imaginable on what makes Scouting great and what the character-building training programs of the Boy Scouts of America develop in young people. But this also is a book for all Americans that celebrates the courage and resourcefulness of our nation's youth. You never will forget these remarkable stories of young people who, when met with the ultimate challenge, don't hesitate to run toward danger to help others. Running Toward Danger is a landmark testament within the story of the American Scouting movement and is a worthy companion to author Michael S. Malone's award-winning history of Eagle Scouting, Four Percent.