14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A really good book, May 12, 2007
This review is from: Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters With Bigfoot (Paperback)
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down, finishing it in two days!! It was quite well written, and done in a very simple, straightforward style that didn't attempt to hide or confuse the subject.
If this is truly representative of the kind of long-term contacts rural people have with Bigfoot and similar creatures, it represents a nearyly ignored aspect of research into this area of cryptozoology. More books like this are absolutely necessary to the discipline, as this is where the REAL action is going on.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magical, February 13, 2007
This review is from: Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters With Bigfoot (Paperback)
Valley Of The Skookum is simply, pure magic. Those looking for merely descriptions of Bigfoot encounters should consider themselves advised that this book is so much more than just that. It is an immaculately penned tale about a very special group of people, many years ago during an amazing time, and in a special place, where mysterious, wonderful events were happening around them. It is the story of their attempts to come to grips with and make sense of the fascinating things taking place.
It is also a tale of a very small community of people, living at the precipice of America's wilderness, who became friends, bonded together by the fantastic, and at times frightening things going on. Yes, stories of Bigfoot sightings are in this book, such as the author's close encounter with two Sasquatch while with her then 3 year old daughter Autumn as they were out gathering firewood. There are stories of sightings by her friends & neighbors, amazing accounts of the creatures passing by at night so close to their home that the very ground shook from the weight of their footsteps!
Most impressive is how the author wonderfully and carefully handles the intriguing metaphysical and paranormal elements of the story, things often ridiculed and immediately dismissed in the Bigfoot research community (an extremely delicate balance, and not an easy task at all when you consider that her daughter is one of the most well known and respected Bigfoot researchers in the country)!
These events, from the mystic-like encounters with the being known as Dream Walker, to strange lights appearing before them, to the history related about these creatures through Native American customs, are handled with grace, poise and dignity by Sali as she deftly maneuvers through what would be a minefield to any other person associated with Bigfoot research. Take note of the fact that she never once states that the metaphysical, paranormal events she experienced are connected with Bigfoot in any way, she merely states that the events happened, and that they coincided with the continued appearance of the Sasquatch. She leaves it up to you, the reader, to decide if there is a connection.
The story shows how a group of neighbors in a remote area who hardly knew each other came together, and supported each other when "each other" was all they had to rely on. It's a tale of how they persevered against and defended each other from the unwanted advances by overzealous Bigfoot researchers and others who came to try to break the group up. It is the story of the essence of friendship. That is why Valley of the Skookum is much, much more than just a Bigfoot book.
Even if you don't believe in Bigfoot or think this tale must be a work of fiction, read this book, because regardless of how you feel in that way, it is purely a wonderful story. Just read it with an open mind and accept it for the magical tale that it is. Sali has left it up to you to decide how you feel about it, which is more than can be said for many authors about their works. Such a book has not covered such themes and moved me so since I read "Bigfoot" by B. Ann Slate and Alan Berry (1976 Bantam). I highly recommend Valley Of The Skookum.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book!!!, December 27, 2006
This review is from: Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters With Bigfoot (Paperback)
Fascinating and hard to put down. Two terms I would use to describe this excellent book, which is written in first-person narrative. Wolford, mother of Sasquatch researcher Autumn Williams, writes of four years of strange encounters that she and members of her family and close friends experienced near Orting, Washington in the mid to late-1970's. Not just Sasquatch, but strange lights and nightly dreams of walking with a Native American into the past and present. The Sasquatch are called "Skookum" here, and sometimes they are said to vanish (!) into thin air. Wolford, I do not believe, is saying that Skookum are shape-shifters or connected with UFO's or the strange lights seen by the family or friends, but each phenomena occurred in that area. I do recommend this book highly, and read it with an open mind, even if it seems a bit fantastical.
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