Customer Reviews

Tribal Bigfoot

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We have all heard how a movie sequel is usually better than the original. The Empire Strikes Back, Godfather II, Transformers II. Well, in books, sometimes a sequel comes along that blows its predecessor away; that has happened with the new book Tribal Bigfoot. Those who read David's excellent original book last year (the Bigfoot Book of the Year 2008) know that there was a good deal of reports from the Hoopa reservation in Northwest California. For Tribal, David revisits the NW part of the Golden State, by going to Del Norte, Siskiyou, Humboldt and Trinity Counties to investigate more reports that have been investigated by him and his team. He also revisits Hoopa by asking the witnesses who did not have sketches done for Project to have the sketches made by Harvey Pratt the famed forensic artist, which they are. But Paulides goes beyond NW California in this book; he also travels to the Sooner State of Oklahoma to interview eyewitnesses, as well as to The Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota. Not only are there witnesses interviewed and sketches drawn of eyewitness accounts, but Paulides also comes to some startling conclusions as to the true nature of the Sasquatch, via DNA tests and just talking to the eyewitnesses and hearing their descriptions. The DNA tests yield some very surprising results, and Dave follows the evidence as he sees it to its conclusions-that Bigfoot is truly more human than ape, and that they have a language, according to reports he has investigated of witnesses hearing what sounds like Native American language coming from the woods, and also hearing from Native American elders that if a Native American speaks to a Sasquatch in their native tongue, the Sasquatch will understand it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and give it not 5, not 6, not even 9, but 10 stars!!!!!! Well-done, Dave and Harvey!!!!!!

I really enjoyed this book very much for several reasons. The team of Paulides and Pratt did an excellent job in putting together the stories and illustrations for the book. You can tell the tremendous amount of time and effort made in the investigative work to contact, illustrate and photograph all the people, places and stories. Not only did the book bring out stories I had never heard or read before, but they also offered fascinating insight to the "person" that we refer to as bigfoot. Harvey Pratt's ilustrations, drawn from the discriptions given, help to bring a perhaps truer and more human appearance and less monstrous face regarding what or who we call bigfoot. I believe our nation's indian tribes have known but not publicised this fact. Kudos not only to author and illustrator but also to our indian nations for the cooperative interaction in bringing about what may very well be the greatest thought changing book, for many, on how we think and feel about our Bigfoot. This is an excellent book for those who are both familiar or unfamiliar with Bigfoot. Personal experience and that of a friend have caused me an appreciation for the way Bigfoot is presented. The book also gives historical and current information which nicely rounds out our subject. Good job!

Paulides' second book on the bigfoot phenomenon. In this text, the author expands to the northern counties of California other than the Hoopa locale of the first book. Armed with his sketch artist sidekick, Paulides once again unloads a plethora of sasquatch sightings which are accompanied by eye witness inspired drawings of the purported creatures they encountered. The author attempts to make connections between altitude, ridgelines, and watersources for his theories on the subject. The one thing that bothered me the most in this text was every single time he mentions Pelican Bay he has to describe how nasty it is, as if he forgot he already told us (he did this with the constant 'no driving on non-paved roads' in The Hoopa Project). Anyway, a minor annoyance and of little consequence. More importantly is the widespread coverage of stories and purported encounters. In another sidestep, Paulides also heads east and takes up coverage of sightings in Minnesota and Oklahoma (which includes a supposed secret casino security video tape of a dumpster diving bigfoot).

Unfortunately, as interesting as the stories are, this text seemed to me to be more of a self-promotion this time as the author early on wants you to buy his 'sighting map' and support his NABS 'research group' and take his theories to heart as being the right ones. While I am interested in the ridgeline/altitude/watersource proposal, it is hardly original. What puts me off slightly is that by the end, Paulides has decided that bigfoot is not an animal but that the creatures are actually a reclusive tribe of humans and he will now refer to them as the forest people or some such thing. He concludes this book with the statement that "By the time you read this book, NABS will have a policy in place to never call bigfoot a creature again. We believe bigfoot should be called a tribal member, indigenous person, or Native American." Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I cannot behoove Mr Paulides his view as many others also accept this theory.

Overall, I found it less engaging than the first book and his shift in attitude is a bit off-setting. I think there may be more to Mr Paulides than what is being presented, I encourage you to do your own research on him.

For those who've read "The Hoopa Project," this is a terrific follow-on book, looking even deeper into the Bigfoot phenomenon in Northern California.

The second great book for David Paulides, this expanding on his previous work with the American Indians in the Pacific Northwest who have had a long association, and possibly shared genetics, with Bigfoot. A must for any Bigfoot enthusiast/researcher.

This is one of, if not THE, best books you can get on the Bigfoot topic. With in-depth descriptions of actual encounters in one of the biggest sightings hot-spots on the planet and his teaming up with a forensic artist, this book is REALLY original. I have read the book several times and go back to it for referencing all the time. Dave Paulides, the author, is a retired police detective and brings this expertise to the world of Bigfoot research. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! And, having a question, I emailed the author and recieved a reply the same day. Anybody who is interested in the field of Bigfoot research, should have this book in their library.

If you are interested in Bigfoot/Sasquatch; I highly recommend this book. David Paulides has brought some new food for thought to the table.

Like all things, Bigfoot is cyclical. Natives told of giant, hairy, lost tribes with mystical powers in the 1800s, then whites described lost cavemen and apemen in the early 1900s. By the 1960s, Bigfoot became either an ape (according to John Green and Grover Krantz) or a human of some kind (per Peter Byrne and Roger Patterson). In the `70s, he became interdimensional and alien (thanks to Stan Gordon, Peter Guttilla, and Barbara Slate), but through the `90s until now, he's been a big, Pleistocene ape. Enter "Tribal Bigfoot." Not only does David Paulides return Bigfoot to his human roots, but he even discusses hypnosis, UFOs, underground equipment, and orbs of light. Groovy! It's like 1973 all over again!

Paulides ran into the same problem all Bigfoot "researchers" eventually encounter. Namely, there's so much variation in the descriptions (some have brow ridges, others don't, some have big noses, others small, 5 toes or 4?, beard or none?) and so little physical evidence, that either you throw out all the anecdotal and track evidence, or you embrace it...all of it. Green, Krantz, and other investigators selectively culled information to only report that which matched their preconception of what a Bigfoot was. That made for a nice, streamlined, consistent set of descriptions. But it was a heavily biased interpretation. Paulides reports EVERYTHING and then tries to incorporate it all into a summary interpretation. This is problematic since there is so much variation in the physical description of Bigfoot, that he is forced to invoke not just 2 species, but the specter of cross-breeding. Yes, Bigfoot steals and rapes our women! And he maybe hypnotizes people and animals. And just might turn invisible when it suits him. But he's still just a plain old, aboriginal human and not a creature. Confusing? You bet! Paulides explains how DNA samples alleged to be from Bigfoot, but apparently actually from humans, in fact validate his hypothesis that Bigfoot is just a big, hairy human. But then he goes on to talk about its very inhuman physical, mental, and chemical abilities (he seriously suggests that Bigfoot passes gas in order to hypnotize deer, dogs, and people). Of course, my Uncle Bill used to fart up a storm and cause some of us kids to wretch uncontrollably, so maybe Bigfoot's honed that skill to a more sinister level. What magnificence!

Paulides hints not so subtly that there's another book forth-coming. I personally hope he expands on Bigfoot's ninja-like skills with butt bombs, but overall I think he's mining material that already saw a hipper, groovier light of day back in the `70s. This book is HUGE and there's lots of cool stories, nice sketches, and so-so photos. On a side note...are ALL Bigfoot witnesses morbidly obese yokels and/or in need of a shave and a shower? The information is adequate, but Paulides refers to Roger Patterson's 16 mm movie film as a "tape," revealing that for a man who boasts of his thoroughness and law-enforcement background, basic fact checks somehow don't factor in to his writing. For a hardcore Bigfoot fan ONLY, the book is worth the hefty 30 bucks. If you're only casually interested, I'd suggest Barbara Anne Slate's superior book from the `70s. It reaches the same nebulous conclusions and is a much more concise read.