One of America's most esteemed natural history writers takes to the hills of the Pacific Northwest in search of Bigfoot--and finds the wildness within ourselves. "A unique book in the bigfoot literature . . . that understands what most lifetime bigfooters eventually come to know: that bigfooting is about the journey more than the destination." --Cliff Barackman, field researcher and star of Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to investigate the legends of Sasquatch, Yale-trained ecologist Dr. Robert Pyle treks into the unprotected wilderness of the Dark Divide near Mount St. Helens, where he discovers both a giant fossil footprint and recent tracks. On the trail of what he thought was legend, he searches out Indians who tell him of an outcast tribe, the Seeahtiks, who had not fully evolved into humans. A handful of open-minded biologists and anthropologists counter the tabloids Pyle studies, while rogue Forest Service employees and loggers swear of a vast conspiracy to deep-six true stories of unknown, upright hominoid apes among us. He attends Sasquatch Daze, where he meets scientists, hunters, and others who have devoted their lives to the search, only to realize that "these guys don't want to find Bigfoot―they want to be Bigfoot " Where Bigfoot Walks was the inspiration for the 2020 film The Dark Divide, starring David Cross and Debra Messing. Since the book's original publication, Pyle's fresh experiences and findings have been added to his original work through an updated chapter. With an evaluation of recent DNA evidence from Bigfoot hair and scat, the study of speech phonemes in the "Sierra Sounds" purported Bigfoot recordings, an examination of the impact of the wildly popular Animal Planet series Bigfoot Hunters, the reemergence of the famous Bob Gimlin into the Bigfoot community, and more, Walking With Bigfoot keeps every Bigfoot enthusiast's mind wide open to one of the biggest questions in the land and brings Pyle's work on the "legend" of Bigfoot into the new century.
Face it, if you are looking for a book "about" Bigfoot, it is necessarily going to be slim. With no definitive proof that Bigfoot exists - no data to analyze, no pictures, no fossils, no bodies - the basic gist of purportedly "scientific" Bigfoot books boils down to a lot of speculating about second hand information. Interesting perhaps, but never convincing. You either believe or you don't. (And to be clear, I am a believer.) On the other hand, a book about what it is in man - and his relationship to wilderness - that gives rise to the Bigfoot legend is far more compelling. Where Bigfoot Walks is just such a book. Beautifully written and engaging, the book uses the search for Bigfoot as a metaphor to characterize the endless search for meaning that occurs inside our own souls. Rooted in the holiest of wilderness areas, the Gifford Pinchot (luckily for me a stone's throw from Portland), Mr. Pyle takes an amazing journey into the heart of nature and emerges with a lesson for us all: man simultaneously is sustained by and seeks to tame, the solitude and endless potentials inherent in wilderness. That the author fails to offer definitive proof of Bigfoot is of little consequence. His book stands as a testament to the power of the journey, no matter what destination is sought. It is also a glorious ode to the natural world. Bigfoot believers and nonbelievers alike should read this book. It won't convince skeptics, but it will frame the quest, quite elegantly, in a language accessible to all.
more than bigfoot
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
If you are a "Bigfoot Believer", a "Cryptid Connoisseur", or looking for photographs of huge hominids emerging from UFO's with Greys looking on, this ain't your book. If you are a regular person who loves nature and is intrigued by a good tale of "What If", this IS your book and you'll love it. Pyle shares with us his love for the Northwest and his concerns for its future. Yes this is largely a symbolic book, with "Bigfoot" symbolizing all we love, and fear, of those far forest places dark and deep and why we are fascinated with them. There is also a tinge of sadness in the book; the ravages of thoughtless environmental damage, the childish quarrels of Bigfoot "Experts". But this is largely a love story, about one last Wild Place, and how such places Haunt our imaginations. You'll love this book.
this autobiographical work shines with wonder and curiosity
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
In this book you will take a trip through some of America's last unexplored wilderness. The Author takes you on his travels hiking thru the forested wilderness in Washington State in an honest attempt to seek out the animal Bigfoot. Along the way the Author stops to interview the big names in bigfoot research (thereby adding his own to this group). The text is a "good read" and the suspense is present as the Author narrates his own encounter with Sasquatch. That's towards the end of the book, but the entire journey is worth the read. The only bigfoot book that tops this in scientific inquiry is "Big-Footprints" by Grover Krantz. Nice work Pyle!
You'll feel like YOU are on the trip along with Bob Pyle.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
Robert Michael Pyle's Where Bigfoot Walks may be the closest I'll get at the moment to the Northwestern most part of this country.This man's style of writing is perhaps the purest, most comprehensive & descriptive I've read in a text in years. The manner in which this title is put forth is possibly the closest to this region one can attain without leaving the front door. It's the type of read where you cannot set your mind aside (unless it's nearing 5 A.M. in the morning and it's really time for bed,as I can relate with). For any enthusiast of this amazing vital "beast", and nature lovers, this is a must have in reading material.
Fun & Informative
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
I acquired Dr. Pyle's book with the hope of exploring the Bigfoot phenomenon in an attempt to uncover why it has intrigued me so much over the years. In that regard this title performs excellently. In any discussion of Bigfoot, a discussion of wilderness must also be included. This book wraps its Bigfoot information and hunt in a interesting discourse on the status and possible fate of our amazing Pacific Northwest forests. While at times Pyle's eye for detail can be burdensome and his politics controversial, all in all this work is a great story of time spent in the world's most wonderful of places pursuing truth about one of the world's most amazing creatures
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