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296 reviews for:
The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster
John O'Connor
3.2 AVERAGE
296 reviews for:
The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster
John O'Connor
3.2 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
This book was honestly everything I was hoping for, and even more - a deep dive in the history of Bigfoot in the US, including its cultural impact and spiritual role, paired with some fine nature writing and pretty good jokes.
Would have taken less mentions of Trump, but a great read for sure!
Would have taken less mentions of Trump, but a great read for sure!
medium-paced
Just so some people know, there is political discussion in this book, which I personally liked but was not expecting. I liked tying in the belief of cryptids to political/socioeconomic landscapes. As a cryptid fan, it is definitely interesting that most of or at least the prominent cryptid fans/believers are white (you see very little minority cryptid fans but we're out here!) and potentially why that is the way it is.
This wasn't exactly what I was expecting going into the book which isn't necessarily bad but def affected how I rated it. It was more heavily on politics and less on actual bigfoot mythos than I was expecting. I did appreciate the mentions of covid and all the indigenous names/locations/mentions and the discussion on the environment and although this book wasn't written or released this year, many of the political discussions are still applicable today with trump being reelected and seeing what we saw in 2016 come back at an even higher/escalated/bigger level.
This wasn't exactly what I was expecting going into the book which isn't necessarily bad but def affected how I rated it. It was more heavily on politics and less on actual bigfoot mythos than I was expecting. I did appreciate the mentions of covid and all the indigenous names/locations/mentions and the discussion on the environment and although this book wasn't written or released this year, many of the political discussions are still applicable today with trump being reelected and seeing what we saw in 2016 come back at an even higher/escalated/bigger level.
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This guy wants to be Bill Bryson so bad, but unfortunately for him he's intensely unlikable. The notes on ecology and conservation are poignant and relevant, but the rest is a smug prick being really self congratulatory about hanging out with MAGA voters and punching left at his students.
Heavy on theory of knowledge and philosophy and why we believe what we believe. Enjoyable, but don't pick up if you're pursuing a more anecdotal bigfoot book. I wasn't so I liked it.
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was a book I had tagged on Libby as want to read, but I couldn’t remember why. I was in the mood for an unserious non fiction and it was available so I borrowed it.
I was not expecting an anthropological breakdown and review of Bigfoot over time and from the perspective of multiple different lenses. I was not expecting the discussion of how the belief in Bigfoot can impact views on environmentalism, conservation efforts, and include discussion on animal extinction. I was not expecting a discussion on the evils of capitalism. I was not expecting a discussion on politics. I was not expecting a discussion on the inaccuracies of witness statements. I was not expecting a discussion on anything other than some of the “woo woo” aspects of people that go squatching.
Yes, there is conversation about some of the conspiracies about Bigfoots and the folklore about cryptids and monsters of the world, but this book went way above and beyond what I was anticipating.
If you like that people have niche, special interests, and like to learn about how those special interests have broader, cultural impacts on the world around them, this book is for you.
I will absolutely be reading other work by John O’Connor and have already learned he has some books on Nixon and Watergate, which happens to be one of my newer special interests.
I was not expecting an anthropological breakdown and review of Bigfoot over time and from the perspective of multiple different lenses. I was not expecting the discussion of how the belief in Bigfoot can impact views on environmentalism, conservation efforts, and include discussion on animal extinction. I was not expecting a discussion on the evils of capitalism. I was not expecting a discussion on politics. I was not expecting a discussion on the inaccuracies of witness statements. I was not expecting a discussion on anything other than some of the “woo woo” aspects of people that go squatching.
Yes, there is conversation about some of the conspiracies about Bigfoots and the folklore about cryptids and monsters of the world, but this book went way above and beyond what I was anticipating.
If you like that people have niche, special interests, and like to learn about how those special interests have broader, cultural impacts on the world around them, this book is for you.
I will absolutely be reading other work by John O’Connor and have already learned he has some books on Nixon and Watergate, which happens to be one of my newer special interests.
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced