Case Files of the Tracker: True Stories from America's Greatest Outdoorsman

by Tom Brown Jr.

There is no greater tracker in America than Tom Brown. His intimate knowledge of the natural environment, by sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, has made him renowned as a detective of the outdoors. For decades he has been called upon to find missing children, escaped animals, dangerous criminals—anything that can walk, crawl, or lope through the wilderness. His hunting expertise, and his call to find harmony in nature, have been chronicled in several of his books including The Tracker and Awakening Spirits .   Now, in Case Files of the Tracker, Tom Brown reveals sixteen of his adventures for the first time,   ·         A desperate race to reach a diabetic child before he suffers from insulin shock ·         The treacherous struggle to capture an armed convict that left Tom with a bullet in his back ·         His Tracking Team’s pursuit of a tiger on the loose in the wilds of New Jersey  

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Survival

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Tom Brown Jr. was an American naturalist, tracker, survivalist, and author from New Jersey, where he ran the Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School.
In his books, Brown wrote that, from the age of seven, he and his childhood friend Rick were trained in tracking and wilderness survival by Rick's grandfather, "Stalking Wolf" (whom Brown stated was Lipan Apache). Brown wrote that Stalking Wolf died when Brown was 17, and that Rick was killed in an accident in Europe shortly thereafter.
Brown spent the next ten years working odd jobs to support his wilderness adventures. He then set out to find other people in New Jersey who were interested in his experiences. Initially Brown met with little success, but was eventually called on to help locate a crime suspect. Though the case won him national attention, he and authorities in the Ramsey, N.J. area were subsequently sued for 5 million dollars for charging the wrong person. Despite this controversy, he was able to build on this exposure to develop a profession as a full-time tracker, advertising his services for locating lost persons, dangerous animals, and fugitives from the law. According to People magazine, "He stalks men and animals, mostly in New Jersey."

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read. It should have taken even less time. There are pages and pages where he’s repeating himself about “concentric circles” and the “mind of a tracker is always on”. He sounds like a guy that could do some very cool things but then wants to tell you how the things he’s done are waaaaayy cooler than you think.
I think I might find the how-to books more appealing than these few case files.

[Lauren Carter]

When books basically become unreadable because of how they are overwritten.

[Robin Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hero of mine. Someday I would like to visit his Tracker school.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stories of tracking missing persons or animals. Wow. What an attention to detail!

[Df3photo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome book of stories experienced by Tom Brown Jr.

[Nate Kacer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half a lot more as it pulled me to read more, but I didn’t enjoy some of the repetitive (countless) reasoning and sacred guidance of being a Tracker for the remainder.

[Megan Griffey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find his skills so interesting but this book needs an editor. So many repetitive sentences.

[James Van Arsdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Tom Brown's books, read this. If you haven't yet read The Tracker and The Search, read those first. The first story in this collection would make an awesome film.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have it on reasonably good authority that Tom Brown is NOT full of shit when he talks about tracking. Unfortunately, he talks like someone who is not only full of shit, but who has no idea how full of shit he is. I'll give him a pass on the constant mysticism--I didn't learn to track from a Native American Grandfather, so what do I know?--but he says SO MANY dumb things in this book that it makes my teeth ache.

In one file, he says that he's going to break his own rule and let a state trooper come with him. A paragraph later, he sends the trooper back, because he can't break his own rules. In another, he talks about driving an old Land Rover covered with rotting carcasses of found roadkill, but expresses confusion as to why anyone might look askance at him when he rolls through town.

Maybe his other stuff is better, but this one is going back to the used book store where I found it. Amusingly, the store (the Book Barn, in Niantic, CT) keeps their outdoors books in a small, converted outhouse. In this case that seems very apt.

[Tim A · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I think Tom Brown Jr. is awe inspiring and if anyone in my family is ever lost, I am calling him second, right after the police. I have read all his "grandfather" books and really liked them. This one had a lot of potential. Tom, for those of you who don't know, is one of the best trackers in the world and has worked for the FBI, CIA(?), US Military, and many law enforcement agencies. He also runs a very sucessful tracking school in the New Jersey pine barrens, of all places.
In any case, short stories of his coolest tracks was what I was looking for... this was not it. Instead, I got page after page about how he see the world differently than everyone else, which as you can imagine, started to drag on... and the stories, well they left a lot to be desired. Most of 'em were tracks that went bad... disappointing.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great way to get into Tom Brown's books I think. Brown has a very unusual way about him I believe, and it can be off-putting to the reader of amateur tracking. Through these stories and experiences the reader sees Brown as fallable, though much of the time in his other books he is quite braggadocios. The reader also learns his vernacular better and understands his meaning. The stories are amazing and whets the appetite to read the more technical and practical books Brown has penned. It was a quick, fast, and fun read.

[Andrea Durbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy read, a collection of short stories summarizing some of Brown’s tracking cases, in which he finds lost children, wild animals, and fugitives on the run through reading their tracks and other impressions their movements make on the universe. Reading Thoreau makes me want to hide in the woods and stare at the sky all day. Reading Tom Brown makes me want to live every day to its fullest and experience every moment for all that it is.

[Charley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book seems as if it was written by Gary Bussey. Repetitive and filled with stories of 'Grandfather' and inner vision and the never-ending concentric rings. The 'True' stories of the self proclaimed 'Greatest Outdoorsman in America' are basically just trumped up stories of him bungling cases, talking himself up and arriving too late. Notice my concentric rings as I make my way to the dumpster with this one. Thanks for nothing Grandfather.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first Tom Brown Jr. book I read. It was a good quick read and very entertaining. I think its a good place to start with Tom Brown Jr. It contains a few stories about various tracking cases he's been involved in. Tom Brown has a problem with being overly wordy sometimes but this book doesn't have all the filler. You should check it out!

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting over Tom's ego, not to mention how many pages it took to tell us how special and talented he is because of the way he sees the world around him. I do respect his talent. I think it is amazing what he can do. Maybe a little humility would make the book better, not a lot, just a little.

[Sissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I read by Tom Brown Jr. It does read a little like an episode of CSI or something, but then again it came out ten years at least before all that stuff did.
This man is an incredibly skilled Tracker, and this book details the many cases he gets called into assist with by law enforcement.

[David Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

Case Files of the Tracker: True Stories From America's Greatest Outdoorsman by Tom Brown, Jr. (Berkley 2003)(599.1479). I found this one to be terminally boring. It just wasn't very informative or interesting. My rating: 1/10, finished 8/1/2010.

[Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book got me hooked on all things Tom Brown. Amazing stories.

[Elvira · Rating 3 out of 5]

his work and life are certainly interesting and fascinating - but he is not the best writer. redundant comes to mind.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as much as one of his first books "The Tracker". This one was a little too egotistical for my tastes.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

great boy book!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Tom Brown Jr is great. This book lets you see into his amazing way of seeing things that others would miss. The stories in here are both uplifting and sometimes sad.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is over the top - vigilante/hero fantasy.....It is rumored that these stories are made up, but nonetheless satisfying stories.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping that there would have been more case files as the title indicated. It was a good quick read, but a bit redundant and confusing for those that are not familiar with tracking.

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second chapter is particularly riveting. Incredible perspective about what tracking is all about, not just the physical and logical aspects, but spiritual as well. I was captivated.