The Tracker [Mass Market Paperback]

Tom Brown (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Books (October 15, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425101339
• ISBN-13: 978-0425101339
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Outdoors & Nature > Reference
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Outdoors & Nature > Hiking & Camping > Instructional
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Sports > General

More About the Author

Tom Brown, Jr is America's most acclaimed outdoorsman, and a renowned tracker, teacher, and author. When Tom was only seven, Stalking Wolf (Grandfather), an Apache elder, shaman and scout, began coyote teaching Tom in the skills of tracking, wilderness survival, and awareness. After Stalking Wolf's final walk, Tom spent the next ten years wandering the wilderness throughout the America's with no manufactured tools--in most cases not even a knife--perfecting Grandfathers skills and teachings. Tom came back to "civilization" and began looking for people interested in all that he had learned, but found none. He felt lost and confused until a local sheriff who knew Tom called him in to track a lost person. Tom found the missing person and, in the process, found his Vision.
Over the next few years Tom earned his reputation as "The Tracker" by finding lost people, and fugitives. He has since worked with many law enforcement agencies, throughout the United States and internationally, on cases involving abducted children, lost hunters and hikers, and fugitives. He wrote about his experiences in a book titled The Tracker, which was published in 1978. Soon after, Reader's Digest ran a condensed version of Tom's story and included information on the Tracker School. That was over thirty years ago, and today Tom Brown Jr's Tracker School http://www.trackerschool.com is teaching people from all over the world and from all walks of life. Since the success of The Tracker, Tom has authored 16 books on tracking, awareness, nature observation and survival, including, Grandfather, The Vision, The Way of the Scout and a series of field guides, which have sold well over a million copies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe a little "lterary license" but, by and large, true!, June 23, 2003

By 

"willbiv1" (lexington, ky. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tracker (Audio Cassette)

Having read some of the earlier reviews I thought that it might be enlightening to provide a little bit of background for "The Tracker" and its author, Tom Brown, Jr.
I have hunted and fished and loved the outdoors all of my life. When I first read "The Tracker" I was immediately fascinated with the thought that there still might be a master tracker and survivalist somewhere in the world and that if even 50% of "The Tracker" was true, I had to find this guy!!! First of all, though, I searched out and read everything I could by Tom Brown and began to realize just how little I knew about the "real" world. I finally contacted the publisher of "The Tracker" and was directed to a P.O. Box number in New Jersey. I wrote to Tom about the possibility of learning from him and was rewarded by being informed that he operated an outdoors school. I began to attend classes there and judged for myself if Tom was the person he claimed. My conclusion is-- that he can do everything he claims (and I have seen him do some stuff that just leaves you shaking your head). Countless newspaper stories in New Jersey and elsewhere documenting his ability to find lost people (some of whom didn't necessarily want to be found) attest to his tracking ability. His favorite phrase seems to be, "Prove me wrong!". He is confident of his ability and genuinely wants you to be able to do the same things he does. Don't let the fact that our lives are pretty much consumed by the day to day struggle to survive blind you to the fact that there is a fantastic world out there and try to remember that you once knew about it when you were young and your mind was open. "The Tracker" is a great read that you can take as fiction OR fact and enjoy equally!! Be careful, though, because it may have the same effect as the little pill in "The Matrix" and you may "wake up". In any case, it will at least remind you of how life used to be when you were young and everything was fascinating!!!

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars thumbs up, December 22, 2004

By 

Paul Bridges (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tracker (Mass Market Paperback)

As other reviewers have noted, a rational mind will naturally wonder if there isn't some amount of exaggeration going on in Tom Brown's (admittedly wonderful) books. During the week-long course that I took from him, there were just a few moments during field work when his claim that, for example, a "female juvenile mountain lion with a full bladder" had made those faint compressions in the ground debris challenged my belief system. And his.. uhm.. somewhat loudmouth persona would be consistent with a bit of literary license. There are also some claims on the internet that there was no actual "Grandfather" or "Rick" per se, but who knows and frankly who cares. His technical information is accurate (tracking, shelter, etc.), his story is moving, I have real appreciation for Tom Brown and the work he does, and found his warmth, humor, energy and dedication very irresistable.

You will notice that Carlos Castaneda, Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior), Marlo Morgan (Mutant Msg Down Under) and others have likewise been accused of using various amounts of fiction in their "factual" books, but I found their books instructional and inspirational also.

So, armed with that caveat, I would say go buy this book. I highly recommend it.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great starting point, August 17, 2000

By 

Urban Medic - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tracker (Mass Market Paperback)

I actually read this book almost a year after taking Tom's Standard Class at his Tracking, Nature, and Wilderness Survival School. Because of this, I noticed subtle things, written on a level that would pique a reader's interest in the wilderness, but would confirm other things to anyone who has learned under Brown or one of his students.

If there is one thing the book emphasizes, it is that nature need not be mysterious, dangerous, or foreboding. Once a person works in harmony with nature, all the fear vanishes, and the only mystery is discovering new and exciting things that one had previously missed. Many resources exist outside of Brown's school, many of which can be found here on Amazon, and while self-education can be long and arduous, you will find no better education than learning about nature.