Rating: 
Summary: Not as bad as the other reviews say...
Review: First full disclosure...this was the first book I've read by Tom Brown, after the title caught my interest in the bookstore. Also, after initially starting it, I did the standard Internet search to find out who he was and what he was about.
The book is a quick easy read and the subject is fascinating. I give it only 4 instead of 5 stars, because the writing is somewhat stilted. I don't fault him some of the redundancy, because I think he is intentionally trying to hammer some key points in his philosophy.
I think Tom Brown is approaching twilight time in his life, and no doubt he recognizes that. I think he is trying to make peace with some events in his past life. Not to ruin the book, but every story does not end with him carrying out a lost child on his shoulders to the adulation of the town or with him leading out an escaped figitive in chains. This book does not smack of "smug arrogance and bravado" that some of the other reviewers would lead you to believe...just the opposite, Tom Brown gives full disclosure concerning some of his mistakes and regrets from the various cases described in the book, he always gives full credit to his tracker students, and he approaches everything in the book: the wilderness, the unfortunate circumstances of other people, with respect and reverence.
I also find it ridiculous that some of the other reviewers criticized the fact that this book "wouldn't teach them how to track." Read the other books he's written, or attend his tracking school up north. If he took time in the book to describe "how he does it" it would probably take several pages and destroy the continuity of the story.
I can't see how anyone with a pulse would not enjoy this book. Enjoyable read. I see myself reading more of his books.
Rating: 
Summary: Ludicrous
Review: A sly textbook example of how not to write? Doubtful, but it would've been laughable were it not purportedly true.
e.g. Our seemingly magical hero, Tom Brown Jr., challenges 34 rude and skeptical Navy Seal types to a little game of hide and seek--in an area about the size of, say, a couple of football fields. So, of course, with evidently little or no effort on Brown's part he sets about dispatching, so to speak, each one of these highly trained killing machines, one by one, and...
Rating:
Summary: True Stories, or Fabrications?
Review: As one reviewer points out, there are those who are obsessed with Tom Brown Jr. and those who are skeptical. Why not look at the facts and see what Mr Brown himself has written:
In "Case Files of the Tracker" he describes on pages 60 to 66 how he was shot in the back. In "The Science and Art of Tracking" he describes on pages 24 to 26 how he was shot in the back. In both stories, the descriptions of how he was shot are identical, but the circumstances are completely different - either he was shot in the back twice in exactly the same way by two different people (highly unlikely), or at least one of these stories is a complete fabrication. They cannot both be true. This discredits everything Mr Brown has ever written.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: First off, I am a huge fan of Tom Brown and have the utmost respect for him. I have been reading and re-reading all his books for the past 17 years. And I will continue to do so. But I found myself asking "Did Tom really write this?". The stories themselves are very interesting. But I felt like I was reading each story 3 times do to the redundancy. But what got to me most was the arrogance that this book seems to be wrapped in. I fully appreciate Toms skills and the emotional pains he has had to go through. But there are doctors, firemen, social workers and countless others that have to endure the emotional trauma of watching people suffer through life and die right before them day after day at their jobs. Yet they are not out pounding that fact home in books in this 'oh woe is me' fashion. If you have not read a Tom Brown book before don't start with this one. Toms books, skills and teachings are a tremendous value. But starting with this book will turn you away from all he has to offer.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I had been looking forward to this book for several months. I've been aware of Tom Brown and interested in tracking for about 20 years. I've read many of his books but have never been to any of his tracking classes. In addition, I am a fulltime freelance writer, so I know how hard it is to put words on paper. Nevertheless, this book disappointed because it lacked critical detail. The first case --"My Frankenstein" -- sounds like it was taken from the plot of the movie The Hunted for which Brown was a consultant (or perhaps the movie plot was taken from Brown's experience), but it lacks the detail that would make it come alive. In happens in "a foreign country." We're not told much about Nails, the guy Brown is pursuing, except he's bad. In another instance, Brown talks of using camouflage to hide from 34 men who were hunting him: "... so precise and so unlike the military camouflage the men are used to seeing that it renders the wearer virtually invisible." Boy, I sure would like to hear more about that! But do we? No. In "The Eye of the Tracker," Brown says: "The Tracker Point of View and this Inner Vision can be easily taught to anyone and just as quickly learned." Great! How about sharing the secret with the reader in some concrete way? In time and eternity, we're told Brown is forced to "track by hand" as night falls. How, for Pete's sake? This book would be much better if it crackled with the details that engage us and pull us into the scene.
Rating: 
Summary: compelling, but maybe not for everyone
Review: I should say to begin with I'm a huge fan of Tom Brown's books, but I will still try to offer a balanced viewpoint. I would probably give this book about 4 and a half stars - but it may depend on who is reading it.
In this book Tom has targeted his audience much more than in previous books. There is an abundance of detail, perhaps too much so for a general audience. For some readers the minute details may seem irrelevant, or appear to drag the story down, while for those with some interest in tracking, the subtleties will add to the richness of what is being presented.
I found the story line that was the basis of the movie "The Hunted" much more compelling in this book. It is unfortunate that the movie was watered down to be entertaining, catering to short attention spans, and excessively violent. This book requires you to dig deeper, and slow down a little. In this way it is uncompromising for those who may be expecting something else. It is meant to be educational, not just entertaining.
It may not be the best book to start with. For newcomers, I would probably recommend the Tracker or Grandfather to get a better overview of Tom's life, or the teachings he received from Grandfather.
Rating:
Summary: Case Files of the Tracker
Review: I used to be a very enthusiastic Tom Brown fan, having read most of his earlier auto-bios and over half the field guides. I'm a backpacker and half-fast tracker also. Tom knows his stuff. HOWEVER, Case Files reads like something from "Gung-ho" magazine written by someone from The National Enquirer. After the first two chapters, I was so disgusted I threw his book at the wall and vowed to quit recommending him to friends. Go with the early books: The Tracker etc. But avoid Case Files unless you're a wannabe mercenary who's emotionally retarded.
Rating:
Summary: Can't go lower than 1 star
Review: I work in a youth camp in Wisconsin and have watched the students here come alive with the outdoors as a guide. Much of what Tom Brown writes about in his other books can happen without some mystical human Apache teacher but by simply opening oneself up to the world around them. His books teach nothing more than what most good Boy Scout instructors teach their youth. He leaves out many important points about tracking that an advanced tracker knows without thinking about.
This particular book brings out this man's insecurities. In this book he comes off as a lonely man who is frightened that noone else will like him unless he tells a good story. I can see the little boy who was different because of his love for the wild places still trying to justify his way of life to others by fabricating tall tales about himself. The best way to make yourself look good is to put down others and Brown does that a great deal in this book.
While Tom does write some informative books for beginners or people who WANT to get into nature but don't, this is not one of those books. This is a story book, and not a nice one either.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed overall
Review: I'm a huge fan of Tom Brown Jr., but this book would have been worth the money had it contained more details about actually tracking and not vague references. I suspect many people, like myself, went looking specifically for this book because we admire Tom Brown's skills and experience. We don't need to be reminded of that throughout the book in an almost insulting way. Compared to some of the detail that Tom's field guides contain, this book could have benefited from that so those of us who are novices could see practical application. As one reviewer said, I'd seek this out at the library and not waste money buying it. As I read the first story it kept reminding me of the Heart of Darkness (which was much better than Frankenstein). There was too much of a similarity for me.
Rating:
Summary: Slow down there...
Review: In rebuttal to the surprisingly negative reviews I have read so far: The lack of some details in the "first story" is due to continued classification of those details... take it up with the U.S. government, don't blame Tom for telling what he can... and as far as there being no instruction for touch-tracking, camouflage, etc., there's no way to fit that volume of information in a book; and if you could, it would lack the reality that hands-on experience brings. If you want to read specifics about inner vision, read Awakening Spirits. Otherwise, Tom's school is in New Jersey, all of this information is available there. This book is called casefiles for a reason; it is NOT an instructional manual. If you have a genuine interest in tracking,this book relates some amazing stories, told by the best in the field. Those who haven't taken the time to make their interest a reality, shouldn't knock it. Of course, any of you guys out in the pine barrens are welcome to correct me if my viewpoint is askew...
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