The Secret History of Bigfoot
Field Notes on a North American Monster
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4.0 • 9 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"A winning portrait of America at its weirdest." — Publishers Weekly STARRED Review
From the shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest to off-the-wall cryptozoological conventions, one man searches high and low for the answer to the question: real or not, why do we want to believe?
Bigfoot is an instantly recognizable figure. Through the decades, this elusive primate has been featured in movies and books, on coffee mugs, beer koozies, car polish, and CBD oil. Which begs the question: what is it about Bigfoot that’s caught hold of our imaginations?
Journalist and self-diagnosed skeptic John O’Connor is fascinated by Sasquatch. Curious to learn more, he embarks on a quest through the North American wilds in search of Bigfoot, its myth and meaning. Alongside an eccentric cast of characters, he explores the zany and secretive world of “cryptozoology,” tracking Bigfoot through ancient folklore to Harry and the Hendersons, while examining the forces behind our ever-widening belief in the supernatural. As O’Connor treks through the shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest, listens to firsthand accounts, and attends Bigfoot conventions, he’s left wondering—what happens when the lines between myth and reality blur?
Perfect for fans of Bill Bryson and Douglas Preston, and with sharp wit and an adventurous spirit, this heartfelt exploration of a cornerstone of American folklore unpacks why we believe in the things that we do, what that says about us, and how it shapes our world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What does it mean that so many Americans believe a large ape-like creature roams the country's forests? Journalist O'Connor attempts to answer this question in an amusing and thoughtful debut that focuses on "bigfooters" as much as on the legendary beast itself. Through fieldwork and interviews, O'Connor analyzes the belief as a social phenomenon while also cataloging the long history of sightings and noting links to Native American legends concerning a wild man living in the woods. He gives space to serious believers (their ranks include two-time National Book Award winner Peter Matthiessen, who claimed he may have spotted a yeti in 1970s Nepal and thought a similar creature could exist in North America) while also citing fellow author Robert Michael Pyle, a bigfoot agnostic, who theorizes that both bigfooting and Trumpism are related "expressions of disproportionally white, male, middle-aged American angst." (Though not everyone who believes in bigfoot is drawn to the hunt for such reasons, O'Connor points out.) Plunging into the mystery directly, O'Connor participates in a recreation of the famed 1967 Patterson-Gimlin footage (which purported to show a bigfoot walking for several seconds in California) that fails to prove the figure depicted was above average height. Throughout, O'Connor uses bigfoot as a launching point into rewarding ruminations on pop culture, psychology, and philosophy. It's a winning portrait of America at its weirdest.
