Hunter S. Fulghum’s “Don’t Try This at Home” offers a zany twist to the self-help genre, mixing a Bob Vila-esque instructional with James Bond-like stunts. It follows a setup similar to that popularized by “The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook” but is considerably less practical. The majority of the subjects Fulghum covers (such as breaking into Fort Knox, and short-sheeting the Prince of Wales’ bed via parachute) require specialized training and equipment, not to mention criminal insanity.
That being said, Fulghum outlines his scenarios intelligently. For the most part, they are idiot-proof, as they should be, since you’d have to be an idiot to attempt them in the first place. If one were rich enough to have the resources his helpful hijinks require — Apache helicopters, a medieval suit of armor, one bottle good champagne and bail money, and eccentric enough to follow instructions such as “create a distraction,” “rig explosives” and “look nonchalant and celebrate your continued life,” then Fulghum’s guide may hold the answers.
Still, Fulghum’s “Don’t Try This” has quite a few competitors, one being “The Worst-Case Scenario” series which has had an enormous part in starting the Self-Help/ Humor craze, with books on survival, travel, dating and golf. Generally, the “Worst-Case Scenario” series tends to be more realistic and believable than “Don’t Try This,” with a documented list of sources for the myriad of different skills they claim will save your life. Why the new interest in adventure and the dangers of the world outside our own door?
Partially it is a response to living in an uncertain world. Pocket survival guide or no, there is little one can do to avert life’s daily risks. But this kind of reading, such as “Don’t Try This at Home” and “Worst-Case Scenario” makes us feel like in command again, if only for the few seconds while daydreaming about starting our own independent country (on that note, look for Edward Luttwak’s “Coup D’Etat” (1969), which is now out of print). Though most of us will never smuggle top-secret documents or jump from moving trains and land unscathed, it’s enjoyable to believe we could if we wanted to. So while it isn’t recommended to attempt any of the antics within this book (even the title of the book concedes this), exploring this new genre is one thing you should try at home, or anywhere you find yourself.
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