Book Review: The Secret History of Bigfoot

John O'Connor, The Secret History of Bigfoot:  field notes on a North American monster. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2024. ISBN: 9781464216633.

Genre: pop culture, mythology

Subgenre: history, travel 

Format: e-book galley

Source: Edelweiss Plus 

 

Journalist John O'Connor, who is also a skeptic, decides to explore Bigfoot phenomena. He seeks to answer why Bigfoot and the lore and legends about it remain so appealing. Why does Bigfoot have such a strong hold on American pop culture? To answer the questions, the author travels the wild areas of North America. He talks to scholars and amateur Bigfoot hunters. He talks to believers and skeptics. He even joins Bigfoot sighting groups and cryptozoologists to see their experiences, learn what motivates them, and maybe, just maybe get a glimpse of the elusive creature. 

The author also traces Bigfoot's history from early texts to the modern era. He looks at primary and secondary sources, reading the accounts and providing us with the key details. The book includes a bibliography for readers who want to learn more. 

The book's concept overall sounds interesting, but the narrative can slow down at times. Much like a Bigfoot search that is fruitless, there are some passages in the book that may not be as interesting. There are some lulls in the narrative. There are some interesting parts, but as a whole I did not find the book that engaging. 

Still, this may be a good selection for public libraries, especially in areas where Bigfoot is popular and/or can be sighted. Fans of Bigfoot wanting to learn more of the history and lore may be interested in this book too. For academic libraries, I would consider it an optional selection unless they add it for regional interest or they have strong popular culture programs on campus. 

I liked it, but no big deal for me. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes: 

What the author wanted to write about:

"Long story short, I wanted to write about Bigfoot: its myth and meaning, where it comes from, why it bewitches, confounds, and occasionally terrifies us. Most crucially, I wanted to meet Bigfooters" (5) 

 

The demographic of Bigfooters has a lot in common with Trump supporters: 

"Yes. There's a lot in common. As with the January 6th people, Bigfooters are all white guys.  And they love their gear and their big trucks and their big guns and all of their infrared things. It's not exactly the same crowd as January 6th, but it's some of the same people" (18).

 

On science versus pseudoscience: 

"Science is testable. Pseudoscience is not. While a pseudoscientific theory may be true,  its validity is always in doubt because it can't be tested. Scientists acknowledge that the best hypothesis or theory is always tentative, as it may eventually be proven wrong. Pseudoscientists, on the other hand, regard their hypotheses as true simply because they haven't been falsified" (39). 

 

A reason, out of various reasons, we are drawn to Bigfoot stories: 

"Anyway, maybe we're drawn to Bigfoot stories because they represent our hope that not every square inch of this continent has been slash-burned and subdivided into a homogeneous glop or cordoned off by the rich to indulge their exclusive pathologies" (98).  

 

 

This book qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge: