Customer Reviews

The Way of the Scout: A Native American Path to Finding Spiritual Meaning in a Physical World

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Like most of Tom Brown's books (especially The Journey, The Vision, and The Quest), there is a wealth of information between the lines. While The Way Of The Scout is not a blow-by-blow how-to book like Awakening Spirits was, it gives insights on the world that is the scout's. The skills are within access of anyone who wants to learn them, but more importantly, the mentality of the scout is the true changer of people.

The scout always put those other than him/herself first. This also extends to the environment, the surroundings. Will taking something from the land in the end benefit it? How can I help those who are depending on me? The scout was a supreme naturalist, healer, tracker, hunter, and protector. How many non-scouts can say that?

Anyone reading this can become a scout. It's also a level I hope to attain one day, and am planning on attending the Scout class offered by Tom Brown's school in the near future.

This book is categorized under religion/spirituality and the cover tells us that Brown "shares timeless secrets of self-discovery". It should be categorized as adventure. I was looking for a challenging book but found the book simplistic, suitable for reading on an airplane trip and not remotely in the category of Casteneda's books (to which Brown's works have been compared).

Attempts at profundity occur but are not followed up with anything meaningful to back them up beyond endlessly detailed exploits that do not explore a foundation for living differently. Characters are simplistically portrayed as open books before the razor sharp gaze of the Scout. This book is too in love with the hi-jinx that certain skills make possible and not with the spiritual concepts that alter the view of the world. Once the view is attained the skills become un-necessary, they are training aides on the way to a transformation of being, not ends in themselves.

It's enjoyable to sit with friends and swap stories from the teenage years, each one trying to outdo the exploits of the others and all having fun in the process. Brown claims to offer more but doesn't deliver.

Brown speaks of principles to live by then contradicts them in his accounts. Repeatedly he says the right things - that one should never injury or destroy, that one should be humble, that one should never assume. But this is followed by exploits in which there is way too much delight in the gratuitous humiliation of others and a feeling of superiority that reduces others to pathetic creatures under the gaze of the all-knowing superior being. When Brown does things that he thinks might be in error, he rationalizes them away or finds that Grandfather sees that what he did was right after all. Doubt, if momentarily present, is quickly put to rest. This book shows no inkling of human psychological frailty or depth. Straw men pop up continually but soon everything is clear to our hero and events fall into place, with some unexpected but easily cleared hurdles, just as he would have them. Does a Scout make any serious mistakes?

I've no doubt of Brown's good intentions; to help others to see life differently and become aware of the real world of which most are so unconscious. I have no doubt of his skill. But he speaks of never assuming and never harming. Then, he substitutes the beer of a known guzzler with the same beer can filled with toxic waste. He watches as the victim drinks from the can but assures us that he doesn't swallow. Did he assume he wouldn't? How did he know he wouldn't in the face of clear evidence that the man guzzled beer? There is too much of this in the book. I sense too much contempt for others who are ignorant of the Way of the Scout, too much pride and self justification. This is no different from the computer hacker whose undeniable skills lead him to adventures in which he alone is the judge of what should be done. Deliver us from those who might pursue the Way of the Scout with bad intent. I haven't read his other books so perhaps this one departs from the deeper reflection that I would need to see in order to believe that practicing Way of the Scout holds any hope for a better world in the future.

This book is fiction, even though it is not listed as such. Boring, unrealistic, childish fiction.

Tom Brown's over-the-top lies get more and more ridiculous with each chapter, as he tries progressively harder with each of his tales, to try to make himself look like some sort of superhero. Anybody who has spent any time out in the woods, and doesn't spend all of their time watching Rambo will immediately see through these childish stories ... Tom Brown is a complete fool: don't make this fake richer by spending your money on his trashy fiction novels.

If you actually want to learn about tracking -- I'd recommend the following books:

"Tracking and The Art of Seeing" by Paul Rezendes
"Mammal Tracks And Sign" by Mark Elbroch
"Tracking: Signs of Man, Signs of Hope" by David Diaz

These are three of the most high quality tracking books you'll find, and you won't feel like you've been scammed after receiving them.

Let me start by saying I have read THE TRACKER, and my son has attended the Tracker School.
I also have a lifetime ( I'm 65) of outdoor experience. When my son came back from Tracker School bursting with enthusiasm to attend the Scout course ( which is preceeded by a mandatory minimum of 3 other courses @ $700 a pop) I was at first enthused as well. He was 18, had been on numerous wilderness camping and sometimes hunting trips with me., so I took him seriously... big mistake.
I read this book in one evening, making notes as I went.Anyone with a modicum of common sense and outdoor experience would pick out flaw after flaw in this immature pile of plain fiction, covered with a trite layer of "ancient wise Indian" pseudophilosphy.
I am truly suprised, and not a little concerned that the other reviewers,in the main, failed to detect the Hardy Boys/ Tarzan self inflating just plain nonsense in these pages.
Doubters should go straight to the section where he tracks an evil Killer, Survival Expert Black Belt, blah, blah ,blah for 14 days before disabling him. It only takes him another 3 DAYS to miraculously return the Killer to where they started(Hmmmm). There he finds the 2 cops he outdistanced at the beginning patiently waiting ( this is now 17 Days LATER).
Brown doesnt even lie well. My son will NOT be going to SCOUT school

I read this book over a decade ago. It was the final nail in the coffin of all things Tom Brown Jr. for me.

I wanted to like it but it was just too blatantly false.

I remember loving "The Tracker" and yearning for more. That led to Brown's field guides on tracking and survival, which are good but are by no means the best books available on those subjects. Then came "The Search" and I began to suspect that Brown's so called Coyote Teaching was another way of saying Tall Tales.

After that I thumbed through Brown's subsequent books in bookstores and libraries over the years, reading snippets here and there that added to my doubts about Brown's writings. For some reason, in the mid '90s I actually bought "Way of the Scout" and read it all. This removed any lingering doubt I had about Brown and his so called Coyote Teaching.

I don't believe that Brown's stories are factual. Nor do I believe that his stories are something that is analogous to instructing through parables. I think he's just telling big windies.

And what if Brown really IS a skilled naturalist and tracker? Well, then he's a skilled naturalist and tracker who's telling big windies.

You decide if that's the instructor you want.

This is what I believe. This is what many others who apply a modicum of deductive reasoning believe. I can not prove my conclusions beyond a reasonable doubt to everyone's satisfaction. I have not been to the Tracker School. I am a police detective and outdoorsman.

As a final thought: those under the false impression that Brown has impressed all the law enforcement agencies that he's worked for - or found everybody that he's ever tried to track - should read "Incident at Big Sky." Sheriff Johnny France briefly employed Brown to no good effect. Later, Sheriff France captured kidnappers Don and Danny Nichols by himself.

First, the large gulf between 5-star ratings and 1-star ratings should give the reader a clue about the nature of this book. This book is so rife with consistency & continuity errors (not to mention blatant contradictions) that it makes me wonder if his stories are supposed to be allegory or just flat-out false-hoods. (I lean toward the latter.) After some considerable reading about Mr. Brown (from his website, as well as from people that had taken his dubious back-woods courses), a vast majority of his content doesn't hold water. It would be easy to let this man take you for a ride (and empty your wallet in the process), but some careful reading-between-the-lines should expose his racket for what it is: nonsense. I can only conclude that Mr. Brown has little to no content worth teaching, and certainly not for the prices that he charges. I purchased this book as a means to test the water, and I'm glad I was only separated of a few dollars instead of a few hundred.

This book might as well be titled: "Animism for the Gullible". Much of the content in "The Way of the Scout" is stretched thinly enough to be transparent, and I didn't really like what I saw on the other side of that image: a vengeful child that enjoyed telling tall tales, and evidently never really grew up. I'm truly ashamed that he chose such a struggling worldview as Animism (especially appropriating Native American animism to such an extent) to sink his teeth into. If you want a braggarts fictionalized account about how "in touch" or "enlightened" the author claims himself to be, then by all means: this is the book for you. I suggest that readers save their money and try to find this one at the library first. Try looking under the "fiction" section.

For readers looking for actual information on stealth and subterfuge in the field (because this book offers exactly zero points of practical advice), try reading any number of declassified military manuals on the subject - many of them can be found at your local surplus store. The military might not take as "enlightened" an approach to the topic, but then again, neither does Mr. Brown, really.

For readers looking for actual information on Animism or Native American folklore (in which Mr. Brown's legendary "Scout" figure is strangely absent in all accounts -- I'm sure he would tell you that 'they' did that on purpose), try American Indian Myths and Legends, or Animism: Respecting the Living World. Better yet, find your own place in the world, and don't try to appropriate someone else's culture: it's not yours, and you've already stolen enough from them, thank you very much.

though what I think of Casteneda is another story.

All about Brown said in that review being true, this was still a fascinating read with insight to a more humble, thoughtful and grounded spirituality then all that Casteneda psychedelic pretentiousness. Brown's own shortcomings are easily separated from the message, which is simply about living as one with the earth, without ego.

there are many good stories with lots of adventure which makes it interesting to read. unless tom brown can show proof of what he claims in this book, it should be listed in the fiction section. if other people went and and tried to copy cat what tom brown claims to have done, they would get arrested or possibly killed.

I gotta tell you... the book is a good story full of fun readings and adventures, but it's also chock full of bragging. Excessive bragging. Bragging of the skill of the Scout, of how the Scout is above others in all ways, of how the Scout has, can and should utilize their skills to exact psychological warfare on others. I just kept thinking to myself as I read it that it was like a teenager, bragging about how he was better than others, and demonstrating that with amusing tales. It's like an adrenaline rush for Tom... and I quote, "With each passing moment, the excitement within me grew more intense (pg 127)." It's about his search for thrill, not a helpful guide to developing any sort of Scout skills for ourselves. Alas. I suppose we'll have to attend his classes for that. ;)

I had already read some of Tom Brown Jr's Books when I read this one, But none had so wonderfully illustrated Tom's ability as this one. This book was one of the best I have read! You can check Tom Brown's Web page at http://users.aol.com/trackerinc/index.html