Grandfather

Rating:
Summary: On a scale from 1 to 10 I rate this one...11!
Review: "On a scale from 1 to 10 I rate this one... 11!" is what my gf said, after having read Grandfather; something that for me sums up how I myself would rate this book.

"Grandfather" is a collection of stories of Tom Brown Jr's mentor; a mentor who besides teaching him about tracking and survival, taught him foremost about Spirit, and the laws of Spirit. It is through these stories that the reader becomes aware that much of what Grandfather taught Tom Brown Jr was knowledge and wisdom that he himself had to work at for years to accummulate; something that makes his achievement only the more admirable.

Stories that clearly illustrate Grandfathers' passion for finding and honouring The Truth; not a social 'manmade truth' but the truth regarding the nature of Spirit; to Grandfather the definitive truth; the same one that the White Man lost contact with so long ago.

In his quest for knowledge Grandfather repeatedly puts his own life on the line, something that I found very impressive, never foolishly though, but always in a way that illustrates great sobriety on his part and the courage to do what he deems is necessary to come to the greater knowledge and wisdom that he so passionately seeks.

Knowledge and wisdom that leads him from from the southwest to the jungles of the amazon and all the way back and up to alaska. Gets him stranded in the mountains in a snowstorm in Canada, nearly killed in Death Valley, in the suburbs of Chicago and much and much more.

All this is very impressive to me; a man accomplishing all that on his own in a hostile environment, he was a native american living outside the reservation after all, without any backup, not many who could accomplish that. But what impresses me the most is that despite the violence with which the White Man approached the Native Americans, never did this stop him from always respecting whoever crossed his path, be they red or white or black; which illustrates how sacred life and the heart was to Grandfather. And it is this respect that Grandfather shows continuously, to man and earth and everything part of this earth, and how this enables him to build a bridge between himself and those who cross his path, that fills me with hope for the future....

So in the end this collection of stories gave me far more then expected: HOPE! Something that many are in need of these days.

My advice? Buy it, read it and then... try to live it!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding, this book will rock your world!
Review: I have read all of Tom's books and I beleive this is one of his very best, if not the best. Grandfather is Tom's Native American mentor, Stalking Wolf who taught Tom for over ten years about Native American Wilderness Survival and Spiritualism. This book explains who this exceptional teacher was and how he became so enlightened in his 90+ years of perfecting his Spiritual development and wilderness survival techniques

Rating:
Summary: A True Hero and Exemplar
Review: It's hard to call to mind a book that is as moving as this one is: the incredible account of the life and thought of Stalking Wolf, the wise and courageous native American elder who served as the medicine man for a fiercely independent Apache tribe that refused to be domiciled. This is the stuff of screenplays -- or at least of what screenplays should be. For Stalking Wolf was nothing short of a hero's hero -- a thoughful, righteous man who bemoaned the sacrileges that modern society heaped upon the land -- and upon people's minds and hearts! Here was a man who loved both the earth and all its denizens -- human, plant, and animal-- and who lived his teachings to the fullest, as a true exemplar. To have met this man would have been an honor beyond honors; to have lived as his student, as the author did as a youngster, would have been a privilege incomparable. In an age of cardboard heroes and plastic personalities, I can't think of a better role model for kids -- and even for we adults! -- than this beloved "Grandfather." Hats off to you, Tom Brown, for writing such an intensely vivid and stirring account. "Thanks for the memories..."