Manhunter: The Art of Tracking

Manhunter: The Art of Tracking by Ian Maxwell is another perspective on the application of visual tracking for pursuing humans. Over the past 6-10 years there has been a slew of books on tracking. Although, tracking techniques have not changed since the first man has hunted for food this book does bring some interesting points not covered in other tracking books among the staple topics of this subject. This book has very good macro view of the history of tracking followed by the qualities and skills of trackers. This section covers the physical attributes of a tracker with emphasis on the mental game. Chapter four is an excellent introduction to environmental awareness. It covers Jeff Cooper’s color codes and how to utilize it as a tracker. Chapter five “Mindology” is all about “getting your mind right” as a tracker with the psychological affects of the follow-up the tracker needs to understand. The book does an adequate job covering the types of tracking (SAR, military etc.) and when and where to employ such techniques. Chapter eight is the “meat and potatoes” of the book covering the actual tracking methods of tracking observation and interpretation. As well as a good primer on bird language, which is a topic not covered in most tracking books. Chapters 9 and 10 are very Scott-Donelan-esque covering footprint dynamics and track analysis. All are covered precisely and accurately. The Aging section is covers all the common methods and techniques; bracketing and comparison. The camouflage, Stalking and communications sections are excellent. The stalking is British military slanted with inclusion of the leopard crawl. Commo included technical and non-technical methods and how describe tracks. Again, the chapters on team formations, lost spoor procedures and the follow-up are all very similar to Donelan’s instruction. However, the illustration and pictures are excellent and add to the author’s interpretation of these tested tactics, techniques and procedures outlined. The remainder of the book covers counter and anti-tracking, which are an excellent chapter and one of the better, I have seen in print. Rounding out the book are some case studies and recommended tracking equipment. This is very solid book on visual tracking that could quickly become my go to book. The author brings clarity to some topics already present in other works and adds a host of new additions to the tracking community. This is a book that should be added to the professional trackers library. Overall, I truly enjoyed the book and book is a quality endeavor by the author and it shows throughout the work.