CASE FILES OF THE TRACKER: True Stories from America's Greatest Outdoorsman

Brown, founder of the Tracker School in New Jersey (which offers classes in wilderness survival and environmental protection) and author of more than 20 books about wilderness and tracking, explains the skills used by trackers and discusses some of his most difficult cases. Trained by an elderly man, a surrogate grandfather, Brown learns from this "coyote teacher" how to "read the Earth like an open book and unravel her mysteries." In turn, Brown ends up showing others how to survive in the wilderness, find lost children, escaped prisoners, etc. Not everyone will take to Brown's methods, particularly his focus on the spiritual world. He explains, "I lay still, frozen in time, slipping into the Sacred Silence of the soul, in a place of splendid nonexistence that creates a state of invisibility to all that passes by." Brown chronicles several key adventures including searching for a diabetic child and hunting for an armed convict. The writing is strong and evocative; when Brown describes searching for a lost tiger, readers will empathize with him and the other trackers. Outdoorspeople, especially those familiar with tracking or hunting, are the most likely audience. (Dec.)