Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking [Paperback]

Tom Brown (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 15, 1986 | Series: Field Guide

Utilizing the ancient lore of Native Americans, Tom Brown passes on a timeless tradition that connects humankind to Earth. This unique volume teaches us the basics of sight, smell, and taste; it shows us how to become one with nature, and how to receive all the signs and signals of the multitude of living creatures with whom we share the beauty and bounty of the wilderness.

* How to restore to our senses all the amazing powers stolen away by civilization
* How to move as silently as the Native American scouts
* How to spot and identify the tracks of a vast variety of animals
* How to find humas lost in the wilderness

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Brown, Jr. began to learn hunting and tracking at the age of eight under the tutelage of an Apache elder, medicine man, and scout in Toms River, New Jersey, and is the author of 16 books on nature. Recently, he was the technical advisor on The Hunted, a major motion picture starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benecio Del Toro.   In 1978, Tom founded the Tracker School in the New Jersey Pine Barrens where he offers more than 25 classes about wilderness survival and environmental protection.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reissue edition (October 15, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425099660
• ISBN-13: 978-0425099667
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable guide to outer and inner awareness January 3, 2003

By kaioatey

Format:Paperback

This is an unusual book in which hard core tracking tips are blended with instructions on cultivation of the inner silence. As opposed to other stories about tracking which border the domain of fiction (e.g., "The Way of the Scout"), Brown gives us in this Field Guide practical advice on reading animal tracks, constructing shelters etc. The tips on "Nature Observation" in this field guide are unsurpassed by any other tracking book I know. TB provides us with priceless descriptions of what happens the moment we enter the forest - that is, how the alarm signal spreads from the birds to mammals and how long it takes for it to subside. The forest he is talking about is a living entity, where everything is connected and where one can plug into the circuits of the information flow by learning to listen to the sounds, by studying the terrain and the wind and by knowing how to camouflage and mask one's smell. The book provides useful info on various types of walking/stalking in the woods. Finally, there is deep reverence for nature something which occurs when one has learnt to be silent amidst the whispering trees (no mean trick for the Westerner who tends to function through the head). Tom Brown has learnt the inner silence tricks from his Apache teacher ("the Grandfather") and trackers might find this book useful for learning more about Native American attitudes toward nature. A similar approach to nature is encountered in some of Paul Rezendes' books (which i also recommend). In short, this book will be useful to those who are interested in approaching nature on its own terms. It will inspire the beginners in tracking and complement knowledge of hard core SAR UTS trackers (:)

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Hiking and Camping September 19, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book guides you to a deeper communion and awareness of nature not possible through the ordinary outdoor pursuits most authors write about. Here you will learn the basics of camouflage, observation, and movement which opens the door to seeing more in the outdoors then you thought possible. After reading this book for the first time, I took Brown's advice and simply sat down in the woods. Within fifteen minutes a woodchuck came blithely walking by totally oblivious to my presence. That was more wildlife than I had seen on a dozen previous hikes or camping trips. It was the starting point of twenty years of exploration and discovery and the end of mindlessly walking along trails and missing everything along the way. In this book Brown takes you beyond the "veneer" most other tracking guides cover. He helps you learn how to age tracks, identify the animal's sex, and read the animal's movements and emotions from the shapes and forms found around the track. Brown teaches through stories and experiences that brings tracking to life. This is in stark contrast to the dull didactic recitation of measurements and readings most other books provide. If you ever wondered if Native Americans could really track like the Apache in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the answer is here because Brown learnt everything he knows from an Apache Native American. Are you tired of returning from long hikes or camping trips only to feel that you somehow missed something? then get this book and welcome to Tom Brown's incredible world of adventure and discovery. Keep one thing in mind however, this book is only the beginning. It's up to you to decide how far along this path you want to walk.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Exiting!!!!!!! October 15, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book gave me a renewed enthusiasm for nature and an urgent need to be outdoors, I wanted to do everything he was teaching as I was reading it. I went right out and practiced his techniques as soon as possible during and after reading this book. I've never seen so much wildlife as I do now. It has made me a better outdoorsman and has given more meaning to my time spent outdoors. I can't wait to share it with my father who taught me some basics of tracking when I was a boy. This book taught me all the stuff I wished I had learned long ago, now i must make up for lost time I spent with my eyes closed to the things that connect me with the earth.