Customer Reviews

The SAS Guide to Tracking

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The SAS Guide to Tracking is one of the more thorough guides to tracking available today. It is a thick volume in comparison to similar books but is filled with useful information. It details the more common tracking techniques and gives very informative descriptions not only of what you are looking for but why you should look for particular signs and what they mean. It covers various techniques for various terrain types, surface vegetations and track aging. All in all one of the best books on tracking that you could purchase today. I will warn you that while it covers technique and sign reading it does not cover the tracks of various animals to any significant extent, but then again it would be a much larger book if it did and given the thoroughness of the text perhaps a separate book on animal tracks would be warranted. Unlike most tracking books, it does cover tracking people very well.

The SAS Guide to Tracking, written by Bob Carss is an extremely informative book on the subject of tracking. It does a good job of defining what tracking is and also of explaining its' practical applications in todays world. One of the many highlights of the book is its' cosmopolitan nature, lending itself to be of interest to the hunter, military personnel, law enforcement agent, or casual nature observer. In addition to finding and following sign, there are several chapters that discuss at length skills that are indirectly related to tracking. Chapter 8 explains with the help of many illustrations the importance of observation of individuals. Chapters 10 and 11 discuss stalking techniques and night movement, respectively. One of the most interesting chapters to me was chapter 13 discussing deception tactics and how to counter them. Carss obviously knows what he is talking about and gives very helpful tips on following a trail when the person is jumping from rock to rock, walking backwards, or walking in water to hide their trail. I also enjoyed the chapter dedicated to tracking dogs and their employment with a visual tracker. One critique of this book is the fact that several quality photographs would be better than many of the drawings found. But in general, this book is a good guide for someone wanting to learn to track. Several exercises are outlined to help develop this skill...

This is a very good reference for tracking. I would suggest this book if you are going to do any type of tracking. I use it as a reference for our Search and Rescue Team.

Ted Fisher
Vermilion County Search and Rescue

One of the best books on this subject
This book covers much more than tracking fundamentals, it gives you a clear picture on how to conduct a patrol in hostile territory with lots of detail and fist hand experience. Examples are vivid and realistic; writer has obviously been there and done that. I read some other books on this subject but others are more inclined towards pure military operations. I would recommend this book to a search and rescue teams and trainers as an excellent theoretical base. It also has several chapters on how to train other people with clear and easy to comprehend instructions. Not to forget this book is an easy reader (unlike some other books on this subject). Highly recommended.

Wow, what an interesting book. It's easy to tell that Mr. Carss knows of which he speaks. Although written by a person with a military background the information contained within covers the spectrum of who could benefit from the information and training scenarios. Whether it's mantracking or animal tracking the reader is primarily interested in, the lessons, training and observations are real and proven and usable whatever your arena is. Although there are more persons (Wilderness Search and Rescue)who would prefer to track at night than the book leads you to believe it is definately one that deserves to go on the top shelf......for quick reference.

I bought the SAS Guide to Tracking on the sole purpose of needing a book to read on a long red-eye flight. Instead, this book has changed my whole outlook on the outdoors!

No, this isn't a miracle book that will help you track your prey just like Sam Fisher. However, this book WILL help you to further appreciate the outdoors. This SAS Guide goes into teaching animal prints, outdoor features, and general observations. It'll help you to notice these kind of things. It also covers more in-depth topics, such as how you can tell the gender of a deer by looking at the height of it's tracks in the mud.

The SAS Guide to Tracking is quite an interesting read for anyone interested in the outdoors, animals, or tracking.

For one not in the field, I found Bob Carss' book on tracking clear and informative. It put me in the shoes of someone trying to follow his/her quarry, which was something I needed to know for a book I'm writing. I selected this particular book (as well as several others) because I had considerable confidence ex-SAS member Bob Carss knew what he was talking about. He didn't let me down.

He begins by explaining common terms, such as a "top sign", "pointers", a "conclusive sign", the difference between tracks left by a quarry and false tracks, as well as how a pattern of signs builds into the tracking picture and direction, and motivation of the quarry. He also includes insights into tracking in desert, forest, jungle, marsh, and grassy areas (I needed grassy and desert); interpreting animal, human, and vehicle signs, how to preserve night vision; using time frames to eliminate misleading signs; detecting quarry when they backtrack or circle around; how time and weather affect signs; and how to spot intentionally misleading signs.

He almost had me signing up for a course--but then I had another beer.

Exciting book to read. The information offered in this book is very convincing, and it gives the reader an insight in what it takes to track humans or animals. I haven't practised everything I learnt from reading, but that's the other attractive aspect of this book: it is exciting and interesting just to read as a pastime and learn something more about human and animal behaviour.

The drawings are clear - if a bit crude. A novice will learn and enjoy just flipping through the book. It may take a few hours to digest everything crammed into a single chapter or even a few pages. Carss is a very good communicator, though, so this is an excellent tool for teaching and learning.

In the brief of the book, it states the information was gleaned from FM 7-42, That is incorrect. The five Sgt's that wrote
FM 7-42 are all graduates of the SAS tracking school that Bob is writing about. That information was a result of the SAS trackers during the Borneo and Malaya insurections in the 1950's. FM 7-42 was not written until 1970 and approved in June 1973. I was one of those five Sgt's. David Scott-Donlane, author of Mantracking is also a graduate of that school. I would highly recommend both books if you are interested in tracking an armed enemy.