There are currently two editions of the Scouts BSA Handbook, one for girls and one for boys, but other than photographs, the content is essentially the same.

Ernest Thompson Seton combined his Woodcraft manual, the Birch Bark Rolls, with Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys.

Notably, this book did not place emphasis on first aid, knife and axe use, or map and compass work, as later editions would.

As with the Original Edition, many now-standard Scouting skills were passed over, including knife and axe use and map and compass work.

The board of directors wanted to make sure that male and female scouts alike would see themselves within the pages of the Handbook.

The text however is identical in both version including the requirements and program elements remaining unchanged from the 13th edition.

Starting at the end of the 7th edition, the cheaper perfect binding was used where each page is glued to the spin (as in a paper pad).

The following subjects were first addressed in the following editions:[22] From 1911 to 1964, advertising was found in the Handbook and helped subsidize the cost of production.

[22] Advertising was provided by companies primarily focused on categories that appealed to boys including camping-related goods, sports equipment, clothing and food products.

Food products included chewing gum, canned sardines, pancakes, shredded wheat, chocolate,and baked beans.

Among well-known brands that advertised in the handbook were Coca-Cola, Life Savers, Mercurochrome, Kodak, Wrigley Gum, Harley-Davidson and Aunt Jemima.