Customer Reviews

Bigfoot; The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dr. John Napier was Curator of Primates at the Smithsonian Institution. At the time this book was written in the early 1970's, it was unusual for a Scientist to publicly show interest in this subject. Dr Napier was a leading Primatologist who took an interest in this subject and began investigating further. He examines the evidence for the existence of the North American "Bigfoot" as well as the Himalyan "Yeti". Also discussed is the 1967 Roger Patterson film. Dr Napier analyzes the footprint evidence also. Dr Napier also discusses the cultural aspects of man's world wide belief in man like monsters. In his final chapter Dr. Napier concludes that he feels there is something to the Sasquatch reports and further states that if even one of the tracks are legitmate than the Sasquatch does exist and as Scientists they have some explaining to do. This book is out of print, however it was a mass produced paperback and is relatively easy to find. Anyone who is interested in this subject should read this book and have a copy in their library.

Call this a labor of love. While browsing about Amazon I was surprised to see that John Napier's book Bigfoot has no reviews. This is little short of sacrilege. Admittedly this is an old book, it was first published in 1972, but it is none the worst for that. At the time this book was written Dr. Napier was director of primatology at the Smithsonian Institute and he combined a scientist's mind, a believers awe and a little wit to produce a highly intelligent book that manages to be thought provoking and entertaining at the same time.

It is not a long book but he still manages to cover almost the whole range of the Bigfoot phenomenon. Beginning with a discussion of the role of the monster myth in today's world he progresses to some of the most classic stories that were then known. After discussing the Bigfoot phenomenon in Asia (the yeti) and in North America ( Sasquatch) he then subjects the evidence to a scathing scientific scrutiny. As a primatologist Dr. Napier brings an understanding of primate behavior and physiology that is the envy of many other authors. Since footprints are the principle evidence for the existence of Bigfoot these are treated first and by the time he is done you may have learned more than you want to know about foot prints. This is followed by similar treatments of natural history and the fossil evidence along with an analysis of the Patterson tape. His treatment of the Minnesota Iceman alone is worth the price of the book.

If you are looking for a thoughtful sifting of the evidence by someone with no ax to grind this is a book that is still worth reading. There is a lot of sloppy thinking present in many of these tales and he was not shy about exposing it in a manner that some people may find uncongenial, yet doubt remains. In the end he admits that it is not possible to prove absolutely that Bigfoot does not exist. What it does show is that it is possible to subject the evidence to a thoughtful analysis that allows anyone to separate the wheat from the chaff.

This is a great examination of the facts behind the Bigfoot legend. Keep in mind that this book was written in 1972, but much of the basic information is timeless. The book lacks in the more recent facts in the quest for a North American primate. The book could have also used a little tighter editing, Napier repeats himself several times and the book is full of misspellings. Napier also seems to focus on the lack of evidence for the yeti rather than focus on the North American sasquatch. More recent evidence for (and against) the existence of the yeti is worth examining after reading this tome. DO NOT let these little issues dissuade you from buying this book. It is still a GREAT read. Overall, I feel fortunate to have found this fair and accurate examination of the evidence to date (1972). The conclusions are fair, but the reader can draw and reach their own conclusions. Highly Recommended!

I found this to be a very well thought out and written book. It is one of the best that i've read on the subject.