What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secret History of Bigfoot
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 real or not, why do we want to believe?
Journalist and writer John O'Connor takes readers on a narrative quest through the American wilds in search of Bigfoot, its myth and meaning. Inhabited by an eccentric cast of characters – reputable men of science and deluded charlatans alike – the book explores the zany and secretive world of "cryptozoology," tracking Bigfoot from the Wild Men of Native American and European lore to Harry and the Hendersons, while examining the forces behind our ever-widening belief in the supernatural.
By turns an ardent, philosophical defense of nature, investigation into what Kurt Andersen calls our peculiar "American appetites for immersive make-believe," and a gonzo trip into alternative reality, this is the story of our Bigfoot obsession – where it comes from, what it means today – and the people driving it. Tag along with O'Connor as he treks through the shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest, studies indigenous legends, and attends off-the-wall cryptozoological conventions.
Perfect for readers 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, and what that says about us.
Journalist and writer John O'Connor takes readers on a narrative quest through the American wilds in search of Bigfoot, its myth and meaning. Inhabited by an eccentric cast of characters – reputable men of science and deluded charlatans alike – the book explores the zany and secretive world of "cryptozoology," tracking Bigfoot from the Wild Men of Native American and European lore to Harry and the Hendersons, while examining the forces behind our ever-widening belief in the supernatural.
By turns an ardent, philosophical defense of nature, investigation into what Kurt Andersen calls our peculiar "American appetites for immersive make-believe," and a gonzo trip into alternative reality, this is the story of our Bigfoot obsession – where it comes from, what it means today – and the people driving it. Tag along with O'Connor as he treks through the shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest, studies indigenous legends, and attends off-the-wall cryptozoological conventions.
Perfect for readers 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, and what that says about us.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2024
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
January 2, 2024
My thanks to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy
Rating: 2 out of 5
I’m not a Bigfooter. I haven’t looked into cryptozoological related things since I was an early teenager (A lot of die-hard Young Earth Creationists are obsessed with those things). I’ll admit that I consumed a lot of Nessie related material during that stretch, but have since come to terms with ‘reality’. I’ve been reading a delightful novel, The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon, which features a trio of young kids who are fascinated by ‘monsters’. The novel reminded me of my own fondish memories of growing up wondering about strange creatures. So when I saw this book I thought that I might as well give it a try.
This book fits into the ever growing category of books-who’s-title-doesn’t-match-their-subject-matter. This is neither a history of Bigfoot (secrecy is also utterly irrelevant), nor does the book really fit with its subtitle evoking field notes. Rather, this is a book with long sections of surface-level psychology and Instagram worthy (read non-nuanced here) racial/social commentary peppered with some camping trips. Oh, and we mustn’t forget politics. I couldn’t tell you how many times Trump, MAGA, and other related figures popped up. Pinkie promise, I am not reading a book on Bigfoot to be regaled with the stupidity of American politics. That being said, I will be adding ‘Tangerine Tornado’ to my list of epithets for the Mango Man.
I really enjoyed the first chapter or so, I thought that the wittyish commentary was engaging (A favorite: “we each have our peculiar talents and that is mine: complaining”). Its also nice to read about small league modern American adventures; the extended camping trip; the quasi-wilderness; the getting away from society’s bustle but still having a home to return to. Alas, this first chapter raised my hopes up way too high. The witty commentary becomes repetitive and degrades into cheap shots being lobbed at long-dead people (yeah Herodotus and Co. weren’t experts on geography, but then again nobody was/is).
The world does not need another summary of Joseph Campbell, Jung, or anyone of that nature. If I wanted to read a Wikipedia article I would go and read a Wikipedia article. O’Connor tried to tie Bigfoot into myth stereotype, attempting to explain that the mind needs monsters and mystery etc. but the whole dialogue felt very topical, forced, and inexpert.
I’m really confused as to what the purpose of this book was. As a person who’s uninitiated into Bigfoot lore I didn’t learn hardly anything about the phenomena. The same could be said for the commentary on psychology and delusion. I also don’t think this book is designed with Bigfoot enthusiasts in mind (nobody wants to be casually shrunk and mocked), or skeptics, who wouldn’t have much to take away from this book. I also don’t really get why O’Conner was doing this for himself. When he was working with a film crew trying to understand the infamous Patterson-Gilmin film, O’Connor writes: “I’ll be perfectly frank. To get a grip on whether this is actually possible would be to truly understand things I don’t care to understand.” While he was just referring to filming jargon, in my mind, that quote applies to the entire book.
All in all, I found the section on the ivory-billed woodpecker the most interesting.
Rating: 2 out of 5
The thrill, needless to say, is in the hunt. But it’s also in wilderness’s capacity to exceed your imagination, literally and metaphorically. A world that “displays itself in hiding,” to borrow John Berger’s phrase, contains immensities.
I’m not a Bigfooter. I haven’t looked into cryptozoological related things since I was an early teenager (A lot of die-hard Young Earth Creationists are obsessed with those things). I’ll admit that I consumed a lot of Nessie related material during that stretch, but have since come to terms with ‘reality’. I’ve been reading a delightful novel, The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon, which features a trio of young kids who are fascinated by ‘monsters’. The novel reminded me of my own fondish memories of growing up wondering about strange creatures. So when I saw this book I thought that I might as well give it a try.
This book fits into the ever growing category of books-who’s-title-doesn’t-match-their-subject-matter. This is neither a history of Bigfoot (secrecy is also utterly irrelevant), nor does the book really fit with its subtitle evoking field notes. Rather, this is a book with long sections of surface-level psychology and Instagram worthy (read non-nuanced here) racial/social commentary peppered with some camping trips. Oh, and we mustn’t forget politics. I couldn’t tell you how many times Trump, MAGA, and other related figures popped up. Pinkie promise, I am not reading a book on Bigfoot to be regaled with the stupidity of American politics. That being said, I will be adding ‘Tangerine Tornado’ to my list of epithets for the Mango Man.
I really enjoyed the first chapter or so, I thought that the wittyish commentary was engaging (A favorite: “we each have our peculiar talents and that is mine: complaining”). Its also nice to read about small league modern American adventures; the extended camping trip; the quasi-wilderness; the getting away from society’s bustle but still having a home to return to. Alas, this first chapter raised my hopes up way too high. The witty commentary becomes repetitive and degrades into cheap shots being lobbed at long-dead people (yeah Herodotus and Co. weren’t experts on geography, but then again nobody was/is).
The world does not need another summary of Joseph Campbell, Jung, or anyone of that nature. If I wanted to read a Wikipedia article I would go and read a Wikipedia article. O’Connor tried to tie Bigfoot into myth stereotype, attempting to explain that the mind needs monsters and mystery etc. but the whole dialogue felt very topical, forced, and inexpert.
I’m really confused as to what the purpose of this book was. As a person who’s uninitiated into Bigfoot lore I didn’t learn hardly anything about the phenomena. The same could be said for the commentary on psychology and delusion. I also don’t think this book is designed with Bigfoot enthusiasts in mind (nobody wants to be casually shrunk and mocked), or skeptics, who wouldn’t have much to take away from this book. I also don’t really get why O’Conner was doing this for himself. When he was working with a film crew trying to understand the infamous Patterson-Gilmin film, O’Connor writes: “I’ll be perfectly frank. To get a grip on whether this is actually possible would be to truly understand things I don’t care to understand.” While he was just referring to filming jargon, in my mind, that quote applies to the entire book.
All in all, I found the section on the ivory-billed woodpecker the most interesting.
September 16, 2023
While (Robert Michael) Pyle had contempt for the Trumpers and magical thinkers, he was equally contemptuous of those who dismissed Bigfoot out of hand. “How can you say, ‘This cannot be’?” His voice, I noticed, suddenly became more forceful. His palms were upturned in the manner of someone addressing a jury. “I’m a scientist. I know what a null hypothesis is. I know how to establish deniability. I filter everything through parsimony, and Bigfoot passes the test. Not only is it parsimonious to think of the animal evolutionarily, but biogeographically it’s not a problem. And the food dynamics — a big hairy ape surviving on what’s available — hold up. There’s also Native American traditional knowledge of great depth. Very few areas of doubt cannot be confronted with parsimony. Not to mention that parsimony does not easily admit a hoax of such grand design and coordination. Talk about a conspiracy theory!”
First time author John O’Connor teaches journalism at Boston College, and from what he writes in The Secret History of Bigfoot, he comes across as an adventurer, a thinker, and an engaging storyteller. In his efforts to follow along with Bigfooters as they go on the hunt, O’Connor meets many folks (among them former police officers, soldiers, and park rangers) who all swear that they’ve come nose to nose with a Sasquatch in the wild — some of whom were forced to leave their jobs in the wake of their experiences — and in the moment, he completely believes their testimony. Later on, O’Connor speaks with experts who insist that without physical evidence (bone, hair, spoor, a clear photograph), it’s nonsensical to believe that there’s a large mammal running around the wilds of North America, evading capture. It’s a fascinating story, told from an engaging POV — this is as much about O’Connor’s experiences and reactions as it is about the legendary Sasquatch — and I enjoyed the whole thing. (Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)
While I had my doubts about Bigfoot, the point wouldn’t be to prove or disprove whether it existed but to try and set aside my own convictions, unpeel the oniony layers of belief, and understand something about Bigfooters and the culture that shaped them. Knowing as little as I did, I thought America itself might even poke its head out from behind Bigfoot’s shadow.
Just as UFO sightings originated in the lingering trauma following WWII, O’Connor points out that the modern Bigfoot craze started with the Patterson-Gimlin Film of 1968: just six months before the assassination of MLK, 1968 is considered a “fulcrum point” in American history, “a time of dwindling social and economic fortunes for Bigfoot’s fan base.” It might not be surprising, therefore, that there’s a lot of crossover between those who believe in Bigfoot and those who believe in stolen elections, pizzeria sex trafficking, and the propriety of wearing a sidearm to a convention. Rust belts, outsourcing, opioid epidemics: when folks are under pressure, they tend to look for meaning in the metaphysical; and with the decline in church attendance, people aren’t necessarily looking for God. Although several countries have wild man myths, this is very much the story of how the legend of Bigfoot has evolved alongside American culture in the last few decades.
As O’Connor recounts his (mis)adventures following along with the Bigfooters, he quotes from a wide range of material: Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. More than once he references the movie Predator, eventually calling it, “An ancient drama of sin and redemption played out on a biblical stage with doomed warriors battling an elusive monster from the infinite darkness of space, Predator is something Joseph Conrad might’ve written had he been born one hundred years later and huffed mescaline with Philip K. Dick. It shows us not only the ultimate chaos of nature but — and this is its genius — how randomly its phantoms materialize.” Walking through true wilderness at night — experiencing that common human reaction of enticement and dread in the face of the untamed dark — O’Connor makes the valid point that we want/don’t want the mythological to be out there (but I haven’t seen the movie Predator, so the instances of fanboying whooshed over my head).
There is, to be sure, some nontrivial convergence, well apart from the Gandalf beards and Buddha paunches, between Bigfooters and Trumpers: extreme reactionary views, a tendency toward the sensationalistic, a fetishization of traditional masculinity, a hard-bitten mistrust of urban elites generally and the federal government and its scientific minions specifically, coupled with an inverse, reflexive flag waving and suspicion of “protestors” and “kneelers,” as well as a depth of commitment we used to reserve for the church. That’s not consistent among all Bigfooters, obviously, any more than wokester inanities like defunding the police are among self-hating liberals. But there seemed to be a disproportionate number of Trumpers in Jefferson, amounting almost to a homogeneity (it was Texas, after all). A key characteristic of both is that they trust themselves and themselves alone to parse fact from fiction, while at the same time, the language they share often doesn’t register a difference between the two.
There is plenty of social commentary in this book, and although the individuals that O’Connor met with all seemed to be good and open-minded folk, the author used the name “Trump” twenty-eight times, usually derogatorily (along with cheeky sobriquets like “the Orange Lord” or “the Tangerine Tornado”), and even though I’m a Canadian with no dog in that hunt, it stood out to me as maybe…obsessive? Puerile?
On the other hand: It may have amounted to padding, but there was a long section that I enjoyed on experts who announced that they encountered the presumed-extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker in 2005…and the other experts who insisted that without physical evidence (bone, feathers, spoor, a clear photograph), it’s nonsensical to believe that there’s a distinctively marked bird flying around an Arkansas hinterland, evading capture. The woodpecker debate illuminates and enlarges the Bigfoot debate (not that I'm convinced that Bigfoot exists) and made for fascinating reading.
The ties that bound together flesh-and-blooders with the woo’ers and idly curious had everything to do with pursuit of the extraordinary and in turn with a desire to understand the world. A commonality, it seemed to me, that hitched them to the rest of us and to the great folkloric heroes and heroines of the past. And even, in a sense, to scientific tradition. Up to a point.
Ultimately, O’Connor provides a comprehensive overview of the quest to find Bigfoot, along with the social circumstances (economic hardship, internet echo chambers, the hope that there are mysteries beyond our dull existence) that prompt people to believe in “alternate truths”, and as we follow along in his careful footsteps — both through the woods and through the research — there is plenty that this quest says about us and about our culture (and I will use “us” because, although I am Canadian, I have met people who swear they have had a Bigfoot encounter, and it’s hard to know what to think about that.) This was fun and informative and does not call for a tinfoil hat.
November 16, 2023
I love cryptozoology, and me and my father have always had an interest in bigfoot stemming from his own experience in the mountains around Yosemite in the 80s-90s. We have met Robert "Bob" Gimlin fro0m the Patterson-Gimlin film plenty of times, and as a result my interest has grown over the years. So I simply HAD to pickup this book, although I will say this is my first book by John O'Connor so I was surprised by the witty commentary - but it did help me get through a lot of the technical aspects of the book without being bored.
However, I learned nothing new about Bigfoot or experiences with the creature within this book that I couldn't' have learned anywhere else (or already had). I normally love a skeptical eye, but this felt skeptical and allegorical. More so entirely commentary on the state of the human mind, society, and political events, This definitely felt like it was making fun of cryptozoology enthusiasts, bigfoot believers, while also not satisfying any skeptic.
This is however, a fun read, if you're okay with the blatant disregard by the author for the pursuit of truth that he 'doesn't care to understand.' If I had removed those parts, I might have enjoyed it IF I wasn't looking forward to the topic of bigfoot so much. However on it's own, it's all buzzwords and half thought out philosophy with some thrown in humor that couldn't stand on it's own. Bigfoot couldn't change that.
However, I learned nothing new about Bigfoot or experiences with the creature within this book that I couldn't' have learned anywhere else (or already had). I normally love a skeptical eye, but this felt skeptical and allegorical. More so entirely commentary on the state of the human mind, society, and political events, This definitely felt like it was making fun of cryptozoology enthusiasts, bigfoot believers, while also not satisfying any skeptic.
This is however, a fun read, if you're okay with the blatant disregard by the author for the pursuit of truth that he 'doesn't care to understand.' If I had removed those parts, I might have enjoyed it IF I wasn't looking forward to the topic of bigfoot so much. However on it's own, it's all buzzwords and half thought out philosophy with some thrown in humor that couldn't stand on it's own. Bigfoot couldn't change that.
January 21, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
As a lover of podcasts and documentaries on conspiracy theories and cryptozoology, I was excited to receive this ARC as I haven’t read a book like this before. That being said, maybe I just was not the target audience for this one in particular.
I found parts of it interesting- hearing about the myth and mystery behind Bigfoot, as well as some insight into what it is like to be an actual “Bigfooter.” However, I felt as if that only made up for about half of the book. The other half being a lot of information on other things like birds, insects, geographic locations, etc. There was also far too much talk of the political climate surrounding Covid and Trump’s presidency for my liking. While I understand that this is field notes of a search for Bigfoot during that time and may be interesting to some, it just wasn’t what I was looking for, nor what I was expecting, and every time I thought we had gotten past it, it would somehow be brought up again. I felt as if this book was cut in half and was only the parts about Bigfoot, it would have been much better.
Overall, it is not necessarily a bad read, just a bit unmemorable and not seeming to add a whole lot to the conversation, and certainly not the fun, of Bigfoot. I think for the average person looking into Bigfoot, it’s best to search elsewhere.
As a lover of podcasts and documentaries on conspiracy theories and cryptozoology, I was excited to receive this ARC as I haven’t read a book like this before. That being said, maybe I just was not the target audience for this one in particular.
I found parts of it interesting- hearing about the myth and mystery behind Bigfoot, as well as some insight into what it is like to be an actual “Bigfooter.” However, I felt as if that only made up for about half of the book. The other half being a lot of information on other things like birds, insects, geographic locations, etc. There was also far too much talk of the political climate surrounding Covid and Trump’s presidency for my liking. While I understand that this is field notes of a search for Bigfoot during that time and may be interesting to some, it just wasn’t what I was looking for, nor what I was expecting, and every time I thought we had gotten past it, it would somehow be brought up again. I felt as if this book was cut in half and was only the parts about Bigfoot, it would have been much better.
Overall, it is not necessarily a bad read, just a bit unmemorable and not seeming to add a whole lot to the conversation, and certainly not the fun, of Bigfoot. I think for the average person looking into Bigfoot, it’s best to search elsewhere.
February 9, 2024
When this book sticks to the titled character, it's fine. But it doesn't, so we get pages of psychological meandering, and lots and lots and lots of tired references to a former president and his followers, all written by a fellow who harbors the belief that his life is much more worth reading about than Bigfoot. He is mistaken.
January 29, 2024
2⭐️
DNF @ 30%
I am not someone who believes in Bigfoot but as someone with a casual interest in cryptozoology and who grew up in the PNW, Bigfoot stuff is everywhere so I thought this could be a fun change of pace from my regular reads. But I’m not really sure what this author was going for. I didn’t learn anything new.
I really disliked the tone of the writing. It was incredibly condescending and the author clearly felt himself to be superior to those who have dedicated their lives to the search for Bigfoot. The lack of respect and outright insults towards people he was trying to learn from really bothered me. I’m someone who probably shares similar political and social beliefs but I felt like they didn’t have any place in this book.
So once again I’m not sure who this book’s intended audience is because he isn’t going to find a receptive audience among existing Bigfooters after he said they have “mental maladies” and I think the information presented was too scattered and politically charged to be enticing to those new to Bigfoot.
DNF @ 30%
I am not someone who believes in Bigfoot but as someone with a casual interest in cryptozoology and who grew up in the PNW, Bigfoot stuff is everywhere so I thought this could be a fun change of pace from my regular reads. But I’m not really sure what this author was going for. I didn’t learn anything new.
I really disliked the tone of the writing. It was incredibly condescending and the author clearly felt himself to be superior to those who have dedicated their lives to the search for Bigfoot. The lack of respect and outright insults towards people he was trying to learn from really bothered me. I’m someone who probably shares similar political and social beliefs but I felt like they didn’t have any place in this book.
So once again I’m not sure who this book’s intended audience is because he isn’t going to find a receptive audience among existing Bigfooters after he said they have “mental maladies” and I think the information presented was too scattered and politically charged to be enticing to those new to Bigfoot.
September 16, 2023
The Secret History of Bigfoot; Field Notes on a North American Monster
John O’Connor
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy of this book. My reviews are my unbiased opinions.
Author John O’Connor and Bigfooters hunt for the elusive Bigfoot. I found their efforts interesting. I was especially interested in the experiences of those who swear they have seen Bigfoot. But I take exception with the author’s comments on President Trump. There was no need to include them in this book. They served no purpose. The comments were rude and derogatory. Mr. O’Connor you destroyed your own book.
John O’Connor
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy of this book. My reviews are my unbiased opinions.
Author John O’Connor and Bigfooters hunt for the elusive Bigfoot. I found their efforts interesting. I was especially interested in the experiences of those who swear they have seen Bigfoot. But I take exception with the author’s comments on President Trump. There was no need to include them in this book. They served no purpose. The comments were rude and derogatory. Mr. O’Connor you destroyed your own book.
December 27, 2023
Read my full review of this book in LIBRARY JOURNAL.
January 30, 2024
The book was a compilation of the various events the author encounters in this journey of the Bigfoot research. From the curb that set him on this path to all the tales he heard from different people and the ones he witnessed, gets enlisted.
What's notable throughout the book is that across the world we have stories of the same creatures with different words describing them in our legends. The overall book had a great pace constantly enticing you with different versions and incidents, and most of it was really well constructed. A single issue I encountered was when the stories shifted to other topics which felt to me that somewhere in the second half the book was off track for a while and then it reclaimed the topic back towards the end.
Thank you @netgalley @tantoraudio @centerforhighenergymetaphysics for the Digital ARC
Genre: #nonfiction #research #myths #legends
Rating: 3/5 star
What's notable throughout the book is that across the world we have stories of the same creatures with different words describing them in our legends. The overall book had a great pace constantly enticing you with different versions and incidents, and most of it was really well constructed. A single issue I encountered was when the stories shifted to other topics which felt to me that somewhere in the second half the book was off track for a while and then it reclaimed the topic back towards the end.
Thank you @netgalley @tantoraudio @centerforhighenergymetaphysics for the Digital ARC
Genre: #nonfiction #research #myths #legends
Rating: 3/5 star
December 25, 2023
there may be no more sacred expression of american exceptionalism than faith in a monster we’ve adapted to fit our peculiar view of history, unfalsifiable by facts proffered by science or qualified experts, and suggesting a medieval belief in the raw and violent power of nature.john o’connor’s the secret history of bigfoot: field notes on a north american monster is less about the legendary cryptid itself and more about the culture of belief it has spawned. crisscrossing the continent from the pacific northwest to new england to the south, o’connor tags along with so-called bigfooters in their search for sasquatch. o’connor, a skeptic, relates his adventurous tale meeting colorful characters and joining these faithful followers on their backcountry expeditions.
the secret history of bigfoot finds the very witty author waxing philosophical, psychological, and even political in his attempt to understand the whys of belief. o’connor writes impressively well and his use of language is as entertaining his tale itself. the secret history of bigfoot is a fun romp into the enduring bigfoot folklore — and a surprisingly thoughtful, sincere look at what makes us believe what we do (or don’t).
perhaps he means how we’re unable or unwilling to reshape our narratives about the world, even when the evidence suggests those narratives are little more than figments. mired in nostalgia for the past, we lose sight of the present. so that even in this most remarkable landscape, awesome beyond belief, a scrim falls over our eyes, preventing us from seeing it as we might, if only we were more clear-sighted.
February 29, 2024
I am not really into paranormal events, but some time ago I read another book about Bigfoot, In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond: In Search of the Sasquatch by John Zada, and loved it, so I decided to give this one a try. And I don't regret it.
These two books are similar in some ways, as both focus more on the social and psychological aspects of Sasquatch lore, and both are a mix of travelog and essay - but at the same time they are very distinct. While Zada explores the wilderness of British Columbia, O'Connor travels through more civilized US regions like Texas and Florida. Zada focuses more on the myth and its meaning, O'Connor on the people involved in Bigfooting and their motivations. Their style is also different: while Zada's more poetic language reminded me a bit of my beloved Barry Lopez, O'Connor's tongue-in-cheek tone was more in the vein of Jon Ronson or Bill Bryson.
If you liked one, I think you will also like the other. And if you are new to this topic, “The Secret History of Bigfoot” will be a perfect start.
Thanks to the publisher, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
These two books are similar in some ways, as both focus more on the social and psychological aspects of Sasquatch lore, and both are a mix of travelog and essay - but at the same time they are very distinct. While Zada explores the wilderness of British Columbia, O'Connor travels through more civilized US regions like Texas and Florida. Zada focuses more on the myth and its meaning, O'Connor on the people involved in Bigfooting and their motivations. Their style is also different: while Zada's more poetic language reminded me a bit of my beloved Barry Lopez, O'Connor's tongue-in-cheek tone was more in the vein of Jon Ronson or Bill Bryson.
If you liked one, I think you will also like the other. And if you are new to this topic, “The Secret History of Bigfoot” will be a perfect start.
Thanks to the publisher, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
March 23, 2024
Book #19 of 2024. "The Secret History of Bigfoot" by John O'Connor. 3/5 rating. 263 p.
"'It's simply a better world if Bigfoot is real,' Lynne S. McNeill, a folklorist at Utah State University, told me. 'It says something positive about our wilderness spaces. It says we haven't totally destroyed our planet, that there are enough wild places left that a creature like Bigfoot can live undetected.'"
This book was not what I was expecting. It combined some of the folklore around Bigfoot, with some of John's excursions to locales where it might be seen, and sprinkles in a lot of commentary on the high incidence of Trump fans who are Squatchers. John discusses how in a world that is not going so well for lower-class white males (as documented by the unbelievable amount of "deaths of despair"), Bigfoot might have given them a group of like-minded people who are willing to go out into nature and search for the unknown.
I am intrigued by Bigfoot. Does it exist? Probably not. Could it? I'd like to think so. As said in here: "I can't imagine living in a world where we'd figured everything out." John basically comes down on the side that Bigfoot is more an aspirational belief. So many people want to believe because the mystery of our world is disappearing and without that, something is lost from our imaginations.
As an interesting scientific comparison to Bigfoot, John discusses the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. This bird "officially" hasn't been seen since the 1940s, but a team of researchers in the early 2000s had multiple eyewitness accounts that announced the woodpecker was still alive. Unfortunately, a serious search by Cornell's Ornithology Department as well as countless locals manned with cameras, haven't seen a single clearly-identifiable specimen since....sound familiar?
Overall, this book was fine, I think it might have been better if it was more myth, stories, and researchers (both scientific and the believers) and less commentary. If you are super interested in Bigfoot and not a die-hard Trump fan you might enjoy the book.
It did have some interesting and good quotes:
- "A culture is no better than its woods." - Auden
- "There were just too many people in gorilla suits crossing the highway to ignore."
- "As I closed in on Charlie's base camp, a red pickup swung onto the road ahead of me, its quad duallys spitting a plume of shoulder gravel. The suspension was a good two feet off the ground, and the truck was festooned from bumper to bumper with confederate flags and Trump flags (talk about sore losers), that yellow Gadsden flag with a coiled rattlesnake above the words 'Don't Tread On Me,' and other peckerwood shibboleths."
- "'We are just money grubbers. We are not concerned, as are you folks, with ethical considerations,' admitted [Chicago Mill's] chairman, James F. Griswold [before cutting down eighty-one thousand-acres of forest that held panthers, bobcats, bears, wolves, and the last-known Ivory-billed Woodpecker]."
- "Part of its role was to remind us how much more fun and exciting the world could be."
- "The culprit [for rising deaths of dispair]? According to Case and Deaton, America's winner-take-all, casino-style capitalism, which they write, is 'toxic' for everyone except the rich and 'more like a racket for redistributing upward than an engine of general prosperity.' Adjusted for inflation, the wages of American men have hardly budged for half a century. And for white men with only high school diplomas, median earnings lost 13 percent of their purchasing power between 1979 and 2017, even as overall income per household head rose by 85 percent during the same period."
- "We played with exaggeration as a means of keeping reality at bay." - John Banville
"'It's simply a better world if Bigfoot is real,' Lynne S. McNeill, a folklorist at Utah State University, told me. 'It says something positive about our wilderness spaces. It says we haven't totally destroyed our planet, that there are enough wild places left that a creature like Bigfoot can live undetected.'"
This book was not what I was expecting. It combined some of the folklore around Bigfoot, with some of John's excursions to locales where it might be seen, and sprinkles in a lot of commentary on the high incidence of Trump fans who are Squatchers. John discusses how in a world that is not going so well for lower-class white males (as documented by the unbelievable amount of "deaths of despair"), Bigfoot might have given them a group of like-minded people who are willing to go out into nature and search for the unknown.
I am intrigued by Bigfoot. Does it exist? Probably not. Could it? I'd like to think so. As said in here: "I can't imagine living in a world where we'd figured everything out." John basically comes down on the side that Bigfoot is more an aspirational belief. So many people want to believe because the mystery of our world is disappearing and without that, something is lost from our imaginations.
As an interesting scientific comparison to Bigfoot, John discusses the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. This bird "officially" hasn't been seen since the 1940s, but a team of researchers in the early 2000s had multiple eyewitness accounts that announced the woodpecker was still alive. Unfortunately, a serious search by Cornell's Ornithology Department as well as countless locals manned with cameras, haven't seen a single clearly-identifiable specimen since....sound familiar?
Overall, this book was fine, I think it might have been better if it was more myth, stories, and researchers (both scientific and the believers) and less commentary. If you are super interested in Bigfoot and not a die-hard Trump fan you might enjoy the book.
It did have some interesting and good quotes:
- "A culture is no better than its woods." - Auden
- "There were just too many people in gorilla suits crossing the highway to ignore."
- "As I closed in on Charlie's base camp, a red pickup swung onto the road ahead of me, its quad duallys spitting a plume of shoulder gravel. The suspension was a good two feet off the ground, and the truck was festooned from bumper to bumper with confederate flags and Trump flags (talk about sore losers), that yellow Gadsden flag with a coiled rattlesnake above the words 'Don't Tread On Me,' and other peckerwood shibboleths."
- "'We are just money grubbers. We are not concerned, as are you folks, with ethical considerations,' admitted [Chicago Mill's] chairman, James F. Griswold [before cutting down eighty-one thousand-acres of forest that held panthers, bobcats, bears, wolves, and the last-known Ivory-billed Woodpecker]."
- "Part of its role was to remind us how much more fun and exciting the world could be."
- "The culprit [for rising deaths of dispair]? According to Case and Deaton, America's winner-take-all, casino-style capitalism, which they write, is 'toxic' for everyone except the rich and 'more like a racket for redistributing upward than an engine of general prosperity.' Adjusted for inflation, the wages of American men have hardly budged for half a century. And for white men with only high school diplomas, median earnings lost 13 percent of their purchasing power between 1979 and 2017, even as overall income per household head rose by 85 percent during the same period."
- "We played with exaggeration as a means of keeping reality at bay." - John Banville
March 20, 2024
I’m not joking. This is my favorite non fiction I’ve read this year!!! O’Connor does an incredible job with describing both ecology and humanity. I was fully expecting a silly conspiracy book and was surprisingly met with so much more. This book is rich and rooted in psychological ideologies and dove into why we gather, think, and believe in the unbelievable. Includes critique and recognition of the catastrophic change humanity has caused in US forest and mountain communities and natural environments.
Great read!!!!
Great read!!!!
March 15, 2024
The Secret History of Bigfoot is a book not simply about our hirsute friend in the woods, but rather about the people who believe and why. It tackles that question with humor but never judgement, and looks both into the literal reasons that people chase bigfoot as well as the overarching themes that unite bigfooters across the country. It's not a nuts-and-bolts breakdown of bigfoot science, there is plenty of squatchin', but an insightful look at modern society and our relationship with the past, myth, and nature. I enjoyed it, a fun read for both believers and non alike.
March 16, 2024
I was very disappointed in this book. I have always been fascinated with the subject of Bigfoot, whether I believe or not doesn’t matter. The author was constantly going off in other tangents. There was more content regarding the ivory billed woodpecker than Bigfoot. I found it very annoying to repeatedly read his political and COVID opinions. If you’re going to spew your views about something, at least know facts. Thanks for wasting my time.
March 13, 2024
"The Secret History of Bigfoot" is a must-read for anyone intrigued by the possibly-real legend. The author skillfully acknowledges the origins of the Bigfoot story within indigenous people's narratives. He boldly addresses the fact that the community of Bigfoot believers is often composed of lower-working-class individuals, mainly white. I appreciated the blend of sociology and current events used to elucidate why Bigfoot sightings peak during certain periods. In summary, this book offers an excellent exploration of the subject.
January 27, 2024
Although the history of Bigfoot is packed with humor John O’Conner in no way makes fun of those who believe in those who don’t and if he does it’s all in good fun. He not only tells a well balanced tale of our obsession with Sasquatch and the yeti he talks about credible sightings in those hoaxes that became popular in those that are not so popular I guess what I’m trying to say is John O’Connor has done a wonderful job telling the history of Bigfoot from every aspect he even discusses what type of people are obsessed with the bipedal international monster we all have an opinion on. Needless to say I so enjoyed this book and read it all in one day it is humorous educational informational and most especially entertaining what a great read! I want to thank the author the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
March 24, 2024
This has everything you could want - Trump, COVID, QAnon, woodpeckers, this guy hiking in Maine (everyone's got an AT story they just HAVE to tell you about), Thoreau, raising children, a weird diatribe against ciders. Except I didn't want any of that, I wanted Bigfoot. This guy is funny in sort of a sardonic way, I'll give him that, but man not everything needs to be a book. Maybe he thought no one would read it without the sensational title. Fair enough, he got me.
He was also pretty dismissive of other religions' spiritual belief and of indigenous cultures in a way that I found off putting.
I find it really disrespectful of non-Western religions and indigenous religions to refer to their culture and tradition as "Bizarro World" and "Oprah-style kitsch." He addresses this a little in a footnote, saying that these practices are part of established religions, but might be viewed in this way by new practitioners, but that just feels like a cheap out to me. He goes on to say that like believing in these things and never growing out of "waking fantasies" turns "rationalism into dust" It's pretty narcissistic to suggest that only your precise world view is valid, and that everyone else is eroding our very idea of rational thought, etc, etc. I wonder if the people interviewed/discussed knew that they would be written about in this way.
He was also pretty dismissive of other religions' spiritual belief and of indigenous cultures in a way that I found off putting.
"Our newfangled spirituality, animated less by anti-religion than pro-everything else, is a Bizarro World muddying of alternative practices and nostrums with trace elements of Judeo-Christian superstitions and Oprah-style kitsch...so we join Wiccan churches, consult fortune tellers and psychics, contemplate mandalas, attend immortality retreats, try our hand at forest bathing, ayahuasca, spell candles, salt therapy, shamanic sound healing, homeopathic medicine, purging, or sweat lodges, or chart a path of "spiritual freedom" in the Eckankar cult. We believe in soul travel, extrasensory perception, ancient aliens, the lost continent of Atlantis, the positive energy of crystals, Nostradamus's predictions, yoga not just as exercise but as spiritual practice, Mayan end-time, astral projection, haunted houses, that coffee enemas cure mental illness, what the Oujia board says, or, like Tucker Carlson, in testicle tanning to replenish testosterone."
I find it really disrespectful of non-Western religions and indigenous religions to refer to their culture and tradition as "Bizarro World" and "Oprah-style kitsch." He addresses this a little in a footnote, saying that these practices are part of established religions, but might be viewed in this way by new practitioners, but that just feels like a cheap out to me. He goes on to say that like believing in these things and never growing out of "waking fantasies" turns "rationalism into dust" It's pretty narcissistic to suggest that only your precise world view is valid, and that everyone else is eroding our very idea of rational thought, etc, etc. I wonder if the people interviewed/discussed knew that they would be written about in this way.
February 24, 2024
Wasn’t sure if it was about Bigfoot or a political rant.
February 11, 2024
Rambling, somewhat coherent mess of a book.
March 1, 2024
Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the eGalley to review!
This was... certainly a trip of a read! It's very informal and includes a hefty amount of personal anecdotes and experiences, from interviews to the author's personal thoughts. It was almost like reading a personal journal that happened to have academic research and proper citations. O'Connor has no qualms about saying his mind either, particularly when it comes to politics (which play a huge part in the "why" people believe in things like Bigfoot). However, he does his best to listen with an open mind to everyone he's interviewed and gone on expeditions with and compiles testimonies, research, and explanations from all sides of the debate on whether Bigfoot is real. It's quite thorough! (I can't even count all the bookmarks I left while reading this, by the way.)
Basically, belief in Bigfoot boils down to our need to believe in something, to hold on to something with conviction, or to have an adventure. The majority of "Bigfooters" are white, male, rural, and have a background in the military or as cops. There is a very compelling connection between believing in Bigfoot and believing in (political) conspiracy theories. The massive wave of sudden Bigfoot sightings started happening right after several civil movements that disrupted the status quo of white patriarchy and during a time of social and economic turmoil for the white working class. This era also saw an uptick of messianic figure sightings. Bigfoot, ergo, is essentially a religious figure on which many lay their hopes for a magical revival of "the old days". Add the fact that there is a deeply communal bond between Bigfooters and you have a place for people who feel outcast to belong.
That is not to say there aren't any people of color or non-men who believe in Bigfoot, and O'Connor takes pains to ensure Indigenous tribes are particularly heard (many have stories of similar creatures to talk about, but some don't). Monsters are an obsession seemingly all cultures have, as it's something to help us understand the mysterious and give meaning to existence. Couple this with brains that like to fill in gaps with things that didn't happen when we're remembering an experience, and we have a strong penchant for fantasizing about the unknown. This is honestly what makes the Bigfoot phenomenon fascinating and if that's why this book caught your eye, you'll be satisfied when reading it.
I had a good time with this book overall and while it hasn't really settled me in any one position on the Bigfoot debate, it was still fun to read about the psychology of it all and the science happening to dis/prove Bigfoot's existence.
This was... certainly a trip of a read! It's very informal and includes a hefty amount of personal anecdotes and experiences, from interviews to the author's personal thoughts. It was almost like reading a personal journal that happened to have academic research and proper citations. O'Connor has no qualms about saying his mind either, particularly when it comes to politics (which play a huge part in the "why" people believe in things like Bigfoot). However, he does his best to listen with an open mind to everyone he's interviewed and gone on expeditions with and compiles testimonies, research, and explanations from all sides of the debate on whether Bigfoot is real. It's quite thorough! (I can't even count all the bookmarks I left while reading this, by the way.)
Basically, belief in Bigfoot boils down to our need to believe in something, to hold on to something with conviction, or to have an adventure. The majority of "Bigfooters" are white, male, rural, and have a background in the military or as cops. There is a very compelling connection between believing in Bigfoot and believing in (political) conspiracy theories. The massive wave of sudden Bigfoot sightings started happening right after several civil movements that disrupted the status quo of white patriarchy and during a time of social and economic turmoil for the white working class. This era also saw an uptick of messianic figure sightings. Bigfoot, ergo, is essentially a religious figure on which many lay their hopes for a magical revival of "the old days". Add the fact that there is a deeply communal bond between Bigfooters and you have a place for people who feel outcast to belong.
That is not to say there aren't any people of color or non-men who believe in Bigfoot, and O'Connor takes pains to ensure Indigenous tribes are particularly heard (many have stories of similar creatures to talk about, but some don't). Monsters are an obsession seemingly all cultures have, as it's something to help us understand the mysterious and give meaning to existence. Couple this with brains that like to fill in gaps with things that didn't happen when we're remembering an experience, and we have a strong penchant for fantasizing about the unknown. This is honestly what makes the Bigfoot phenomenon fascinating and if that's why this book caught your eye, you'll be satisfied when reading it.
I had a good time with this book overall and while it hasn't really settled me in any one position on the Bigfoot debate, it was still fun to read about the psychology of it all and the science happening to dis/prove Bigfoot's existence.
February 19, 2024
What a quickly little book. I rarely read nonfic let alone finish it so there’s something to be said that I managed to finish this within 3ish days.
I can see why people would hate this with his adhd ramblings, but I could relate and would often laugh at the mismatched threads he would somehow weave together. I will also always have the image of him terrified in his sleeping bag clutching a plastic spork, so there’s that. I could have done without however the 10 page discussion on that one bird and how the hunt for that correlates to bigfooting. I understood after one maybe two paragraphs, but 10 pages?! Catch yourself on.
This book is FIELD NOTES though and I think that’s where people also get annoyed. He rambled about experiences out in the..field. So it’s not going to be concise and all about Bigfoot sightings necessarily because they’re kind of sporadic. It’s about experiences of all ranges in the field and the people he met along the way.
The secret history part could be contested though because while a lot of this was unknown to me, if you’re an avid Bigfooter this would mostly be common knowledge I would assume.
However, if you’re the type to get upset over negative reviews of Trump, discussions of the importance of vaccinations, land and legend acknowledgments to Indigenous People, or that myths and conspiracies often go hand in hand with white supremacy then yeah by all means skip this one.
I can see why people would hate this with his adhd ramblings, but I could relate and would often laugh at the mismatched threads he would somehow weave together. I will also always have the image of him terrified in his sleeping bag clutching a plastic spork, so there’s that. I could have done without however the 10 page discussion on that one bird and how the hunt for that correlates to bigfooting. I understood after one maybe two paragraphs, but 10 pages?! Catch yourself on.
This book is FIELD NOTES though and I think that’s where people also get annoyed. He rambled about experiences out in the..field. So it’s not going to be concise and all about Bigfoot sightings necessarily because they’re kind of sporadic. It’s about experiences of all ranges in the field and the people he met along the way.
The secret history part could be contested though because while a lot of this was unknown to me, if you’re an avid Bigfooter this would mostly be common knowledge I would assume.
However, if you’re the type to get upset over negative reviews of Trump, discussions of the importance of vaccinations, land and legend acknowledgments to Indigenous People, or that myths and conspiracies often go hand in hand with white supremacy then yeah by all means skip this one.
March 25, 2024
This book has a lot of really interesting anthropological research surrounding the notions of solitude, nature, and individualism as they relate to Bigfoot, but struggles with pacing and intermingling research with narrative.
In my opinion, the title would lead one to believe the book is very different from what it is. In fact, it doesn’t really deeply investigate the history of Bigfoot or sightings of it, instead giving basic information on the culture surrounding it. There is a narrative in which O’Connor details multiple Bigfoot hunting expeditions he attended and many people he spoke with about why they believe in Bigfoot and sections that detail potential historical inspirations for the modern interpretation of the titular creature, but spends far more time delving into theory (which, as someone with four degrees in social science, I enjoyed) than history of the pop culture/cryptozoological icon.
Not a bad read by any stretch, but definitely lags in the 3rd quarter, especially when you aren’t going in expecting an analysis of culture. I wish the title had been more of an indication of the actual content the book contains, instead the eye-catching (in my opinion) misnomer.
In my opinion, the title would lead one to believe the book is very different from what it is. In fact, it doesn’t really deeply investigate the history of Bigfoot or sightings of it, instead giving basic information on the culture surrounding it. There is a narrative in which O’Connor details multiple Bigfoot hunting expeditions he attended and many people he spoke with about why they believe in Bigfoot and sections that detail potential historical inspirations for the modern interpretation of the titular creature, but spends far more time delving into theory (which, as someone with four degrees in social science, I enjoyed) than history of the pop culture/cryptozoological icon.
Not a bad read by any stretch, but definitely lags in the 3rd quarter, especially when you aren’t going in expecting an analysis of culture. I wish the title had been more of an indication of the actual content the book contains, instead the eye-catching (in my opinion) misnomer.
April 1, 2024
I’ve always loved hiking in the woods, but the older I get, the more it seems to call me. I understand the lure of why people would trade the comfort of their couch for searching for a Bigfoot in the great outdoors. This book captures that magic and spirit while O’Connor follows bigfooters into different parts of the country in known “Bigfooting Hotspots.” However, there are equal parts of this book devoted into delving a great deal into the psychology of why so many people in America would embrace a phenomenon that defies scientific rationale and the fact that no definitive proof exists. It has equal parts sociology, psychology, humor, wit, accounts from eye witnesses and his apparent hatred of Trump. This book is great for people that fall into the category of those who know that it is highly unlikely for the existence of Bigfoot, but still have their eye out when hiking in the woods just in case. I know I do!
March 27, 2024
Look, you can name a book ‘The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster’, but you can’t use that title if 40% of the book is about Sasquatch and the rest is a mix of annoying political rants (even though I largely agree with them!), unfunny jokes, and very plain encounters with ‘Bigfooters’. I get that writing a book in the midst of COVID will colour the experience, especially when you want that on-the-ground feeling, but that’s really tiresome in 2024.
I frequently exclaimed ‘WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THIS?!’ while listening to the audiobook. Look, I’m not against hearing about Thomas Merton, but in a Bigfoot book? These meandering chapters were so irritating.
The Bigfoot sections tend to be a bit interesting. Sigh. I’ll say it’s closer to a 1.5/5. I came close to hating this book.
I frequently exclaimed ‘WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THIS?!’ while listening to the audiobook. Look, I’m not against hearing about Thomas Merton, but in a Bigfoot book? These meandering chapters were so irritating.
The Bigfoot sections tend to be a bit interesting. Sigh. I’ll say it’s closer to a 1.5/5. I came close to hating this book.
January 20, 2024
This was good. John O'Connor's writing style goes back and forth between being wryly funny and beautifully insightful. It's amazing how much he really opened his heart to this subject matter and gave it a chance.
This book isn't really about Bigfoot himself. It's more about the people who seek him out, why and how they do so. And while this group of people might not be the kind I would get along with on the street, I felt their sense of longing all the same. O'Connor did such a great job, really felt like reading something akin to A Walk in the Woods (but way less creepy, if anyone can remember my gigantic distaste for Bill Blegh-son) but with a whole lot of heart.
I received a free e-copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book isn't really about Bigfoot himself. It's more about the people who seek him out, why and how they do so. And while this group of people might not be the kind I would get along with on the street, I felt their sense of longing all the same. O'Connor did such a great job, really felt like reading something akin to A Walk in the Woods (but way less creepy, if anyone can remember my gigantic distaste for Bill Blegh-son) but with a whole lot of heart.
I received a free e-copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 16, 2024
Really enjoyed this study about the "why" (as opposed to the "what" or "how") of Bigfoot, my favorite cryptid.
It's not a collection stories about Bigfoot encounters. Nor is it written to persuade the reader one way or another about the existence of Bigfoot. Rather it's an explanation of why we (as humans in general) see monsters and why we (as Americans specifically) see a nine-foot-tall hairy ape in the woods. According to O'Connor at least, the answers have just as much to do with politics, economics, and belief just as much as they do with the human predisposition to pattern recognition and storytelling.
It's all quite interesting, and O'Connor is a pretty entertaining guy.
It's not a collection stories about Bigfoot encounters. Nor is it written to persuade the reader one way or another about the existence of Bigfoot. Rather it's an explanation of why we (as humans in general) see monsters and why we (as Americans specifically) see a nine-foot-tall hairy ape in the woods. According to O'Connor at least, the answers have just as much to do with politics, economics, and belief just as much as they do with the human predisposition to pattern recognition and storytelling.
It's all quite interesting, and O'Connor is a pretty entertaining guy.
March 30, 2024
This author is pretty typical of the liberal media - unable to mask (pun intended) his disdain for religion (“batsh*t belief in Jesus’ resurrection”), conservative policies, Trump, Covid, etc. I wanted to like this book and knew I should balance my love for Bigfoot with some intelligent skepticism. But this book ain’t it! Author can’t get out of his own way - biased, exhausting on many points, elitist attitude, and highly judgmental. He seems unhappy and wants the reader to believe he’s hip. Nah! Just a hack with a grudge. I’ll give it 2 stars for insights about eyewitness accounts. Glad to be finished. Surely there’s more fair-minded skeptical literature on the shelves.
March 22, 2024
I enjoyed this book. While sections were devoted to the legends and reported sightings of Bigfoot, so much more of this book dealt with “why” people want to believe. It was interesting to learn about the folks who show up to Bigfoot tracking events, spend their weekends at Bigfoot conventions and those who related their personal “sightings”. Snippets of politics, religion and the thrill of the unknown were mixed throughout. The book is very different that what you might expect from the title and in my opinion, that was good.
March 19, 2024
It’s a fun read, but not as good as I had hoped. I’d probably go 3.5 if i could.
The title is a bit misleading. I don’t believe in Bigfoot, but I am interested in the community around it and think it’s fun. The author seems to have a similar view. In trying to understand why folks believe, I think the author has some ok views but they are anecdotal. I was hoping for a bit more than that to support the argument
The title is a bit misleading. I don’t believe in Bigfoot, but I am interested in the community around it and think it’s fun. The author seems to have a similar view. In trying to understand why folks believe, I think the author has some ok views but they are anecdotal. I was hoping for a bit more than that to support the argument
Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews