The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Know

ISBN-13: 9780061649936

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date: 10-28-2008

Pages: 255

Product Dimensions: 5.20(w) x 6.90(h) x 1.00(d)

Born in London, Conn Iggulden read English at London University and worked as a teacher for seven years before becoming a full-time writer. Married with three children, he lives in Hertfordshire. Since publication of 'The Gates of Rome', Conn has written a further thirteen books including the wildly successful 'The Dangerous Book for Boys'. Hal Iggulden is the artistic director of the Holdfast Theatre Company in Leicester, England.

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The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Know

Chapter One

Anthems

At any ballgame or large gathering it can be really annoying when the crowd starts to sing and you can't join in because you don't know the words. To save you from this embarrassment, here are some of the most important national and popular songs in North America. If you take the time to learn them, they will give you immense pleasure in the years to come.

The Star-Spangled Banner

The words to the national anthem of the United States were written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. The War of 1812 saw the British burn the White House and the Capitol in Washington, D.C. On the night of September 12, 1814, Key watched the British attack Fort McHenry in the port of Baltimore, Maryland. Late at night on the 13th, the British suddenly stopped shelling the port, and as the sun began to rise Key was able to see clearly the huge flag of the United States, still proudly flying. The fort had survived the attack, and Key composed this poem, which described Key's pride and relief that the symbol of the United States had withstood the attack. The music to Key's poem may have been written by an English composer, Thomas Arne, who incidentally also composed the tune to "Rule Brittania." An act of Congress in 1931 officially designated "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States.

Oh, say, can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight;
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming.
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? <