Scout Camp, James Renner
Scout Camp, James Renner
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Scout Camp
Sex, Death, and Secret Societies Inside the Boy Scouts of America

Author: James Renner

Narrator: James Renner

Unabridged: 7 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/18/2025


Synopsis

In the summer of 1995, at the largest Boy Scout camp in Ohio, a night of sexual violence ended with one counselor dead and another hospitalized. The death was ruled "accidental." It wouldn't be the last death associated with Seven Ranges Reservation.

James Renner, too, was a counselor at Seven Ranges that year. He was always sure there must be more to the story of Mike Klingler's death, because Renner also knew firsthand that the 900-acre camp was not the safe getaway it was portrayed to be. On Friday nights the boys were ushered into the woods for a frightening ceremony in which they learned the rules for becoming good young men—and, above all, that keeping secrets was a scout's duty. No matter how dark the secrets were.

Determined to face his demons, Renner embarks on a journey back to that tumultuous summer and exposes a clandestine society that left indelible scars on the scouts and the staff who were there. For Renner himself, it meant opening up about his twisted upbringing, his issues with trust and sexuality, and a lifetime of self-medication. The result is a deeply personal, no-holds-barred, and vitally important true crime memoir.

About James Renner

Journalist James Renner is the author of several books, including The Serial Killer's Apprentice, True Crime Addict, The Man from Primrose Lane, and The Great Forgetting. His true crime stories have been published in the Best American Crime Writing and Best Creative Nonfiction anthologies.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on March 04, 2025

James Renner tackles a beloved national organization fraught with scandal and his own personal demons in his latest true-crime book "Scout Camp: Sex, Death, and Secret Societies Inside the Boy Scouts of America", his best book yet. And definitely his most personal and emotionally powerful. Something......more

Goodreads review by Jillian on March 20, 2025

This was a tough read, but absolutely an important one. The author alternates between more journalistic chapters and deeply personal ones to paint a picture of a deeply troubled organization. He recounts his own experience of being sexually abused at Scout camp, and shares the ways that trauma conti......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on March 26, 2025

Wow. Just... wow. I listened to this on audio and I loved his historical context of how BSA came to be. And his telling of his story in the "then" and "now" contexts. It was easy to follow. He respected the privacy and story of those he grew up with. He honored the dead and protected the innocent bu......more

Goodreads review by britt_brooke on April 27, 2025

Less about “sex, death, and secret societies,” and more about this guy’s personal experience. That’s worthwhile, but slap “memoir” on the actual cover. This is not the deep dive, journalistic endeavor, sprinkled with personal account, I’d hoped for.......more

Goodreads review by Linda on October 20, 2024

I was not prepared for this book. James said we would not be prepared and he was right because I was not. I immediately jumped when I saw he had a new book coming out with even reading what it was about. I saw Boy Scouts and thought it would be an expose of the pedos. Which technically it was but it......more