Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America

Loren Coleman is a writer who believes what he writes, and has spent a life time in persuit of the the truth of bigfoot. I found the book to be well written and informative. It was not a white wash of the subject either. There was enough skeptical information presented in this book to make even hard core believers think hard before accepting rumors and stories as true. The book gave information on various bigfoot like creatures that don't fit the common bigfoot mold, without becoming disjointed. It's a very interesting subject that will never be fully settled until a bigfoot, alive of dead is found and studied

'Bigfoot', the very word brings forward an image of a hundred grainy snapshots of men bumbling around in monkey suits, blatantly faked footprints and a thousand lurid stories ususally found in 'the Enquirer'. So any reputable scientist generally can dismiss the whole thing as summer sunshine. I was a skeptic myself before I read this book. But the vexing problem is there has been credible sights of 'something' in the woods that are none of the above things. Credible people seeing incredible things. So what is this all about? 'Hominds' have been sighted repeatedly in every state in the US and the provinces of Canada. There are the ubiquitous footprints, snapshots, movie film, (...)matter, nests as well as the numerous visual sightings. There have also, unfortunately, been enough fakes scams fabrications and hoaxes to frustrate even the most objectively minded reader. Loren Coleman is a noted investigator and cyptobiologist. He objectively reviews the truly mysterious cases (there are more then the average reader might think) as well as the 'tainted' cases and even the (...)evidence. There is a logical breakdown and classification of the different 'groups'(species) of the hominds with examples of sightings. This book is well researched yet very readable for the layman. I will freely admit that I don't quite know what to think of "Bigfoot" but this book has convinced me that there is a distinct possibility that such a creature or creatures could still exist. Mr Coleman argues a good case here and I would recommend this book to the objective reader.

Loren Coleman, America's reigning cryptozoologist, studies, collects information and pursues wildlife that are not-yet-discovered by the legitimate scientific community. Books about the supernatural usually read like newspaper clippings strung together with the occasional "Gee whiz, holy mackerel can you believe it?" side remarks from the author. Coleman has evolved beyond that style. He remains excited about the subject, and succeeds with this book on a level where he hasn't before. He weaves the historical accounts together with a writer's skill, excellent research, and honest reporting to produce a readable and informative history of the elusive beast. He starts the book by comparing Bigfoot to other cryptid primates (yeti, almas, Yowie, etc.) and follows with an interesting retelling of Sasquatch history in North America, from Indian legends to pioneer accounts. His use of Native American history is as good as anthropological monographs in the research and connections he makes to present the Case for Bigfoot. Along the way he presents the most comprehensive version of the `Minnesota Iceman' that I've ever read, as well as a final chapter to the famed 'Jacko' story. Well-rendered retellings of all the classic encounters--the 1958 Bluff Creek flap, the Patterson-Gimlin movie, and a thoroughly researched version of the 'Ape Canyon' saga. Coleman does an excellent job in painting a picture of the diverse `brotherhood' of modern Bigfoot hunters. The remote locations and difficult terrain was obstacle enough to seek the beast. But possibly the greatest obstacle in the search for the mystery hominid were the Bigfoot groups' bitter rivalries and petty disagreements. If you're going to read one decent book on the Sasquatch, I recommend you read this one first.

Through the years I've read many published articles and books in regards to this enigmatic creature. They were good to say the least but were missing vital ingredients, i.e., "The Story Behind the Story." This is where Loren Coleman comes in and fills in the missing pieces. He digs further into these accounts and we get a much clearer picture of important facts and details that other authors ignored,neglected or inadverdantly left out. There is no glossing over or added embellishments to placate those in need of sensationalism.Overall this book is a great read and relief from the canned gibberish that emanates from the so-called Bigfoot "experts"whose sites proliferate the Internet. Like Joe Friday of Dragnet fame use to say,"Just the facts,ma'am."

As the editor of this book, I feel I should point out that most of this book's 288 pages concerns Bigfoot and the people passionately interested in this creature. A previous reader's admittedly "minor quibble" pointing out an error on one page about what "ruffed grouse sounds like" is a poor reason to dock two stars from a book review. Coleman's work is the best book available on Bigfoot both for people who know very little about the subject and for "insiders" looking for insights into the mystery from one of the field's most active investigators.