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| Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeff Meldrum
Publisher: Forge Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 18251
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 0765312174
Dewey Decimal Number: 001.944
EAN: 9780765312174
ASIN: 0765312174
Publication Date: September 4, 2007
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Product Description
In this landmark work on a subject too often dismissed as paranormal or disreputable, Jeffrey Meldrum gives us the first book on Sasquatch to be written by a scientist with impeccable academic credentials. He gives an objective look at the facts in a field mined with hoaxes and sensationalism. Meldrum reports on the work of a team of experts from a wide variety of fields who were assembled to examine the evidence for a large, yet undiscovered, North American primate. He reviews the long history of this mystery--which long predates the "Bigfoot" flap of the late fifties--and explains all the scientific pros and cons in a clear and accessible style, amplified by over 150 illustrations. Anyone who has pondered the mysteries of human evolution will be fascinated and eager to join Dr. Meldrum in drawing their own conclusion.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 Most Interesting November 23, 2006
48 out of 49 found this review helpful
I first learned about "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" on November 10 of this year, when I was sitting in my car listening to NPR's "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday". They had a guy on named Jeff Meldrum, who was talking about Sasquatch sightings. He sounded very knowledgeable and intelligent -- oh, and he had a new book out. Intrigued, I sought it out at the local Borders store. It was, I think, a very good sign that it was in the "Science/Biology" section, rather than the "Paranormal" section sandwiched in between "Crop Circles" and "UFOs".
Now, most of us have probably heard tales of Sasquatch, or Bigfoot, from childhood onward. It's part of American folklore. I think subconsciously I'd always kind of associated Bigfoot sightings with ridiculously gullible people who might also claim to have seen Elvis at the local shopping mall. Steven Spielberg poked fun at this in one scene of his classic film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
But a funny thing happened as I dug into the book, a nice, sturdy hardcover tome suitable for reading while propped up in bed. I learned that a wide variety of people have seen signs of something big and mysterious in the woods of North America. These are experienced backwoodsmen, hunters, trackers, naturalists and primatologists. Sightings by settlers go back to the mid 1800's. Even Jane Goodall, a world-renowned export on apes, was persuaded by the evidence she'd examined. It would seem that, whatever Sasquatch may turn out to be, it's no joke.
Without repeating the entire book, I will instead list some of the big questions and observations that are made or raised therein.
o The chapter on Cryptozoology discusses various "unknown" creatures which may exist around the world. One of these is the yeti, or "abominable snowman", of the Himalayas. How similar are its footprints to those of Sasquatch?
o One useful technique for discovering unknown mammal species in remote places is to consult with indigenous peoples. They, after all, are in the best position to know where to look. So, what does Native American legend and lore, and artwork, have to say about Sasquatch?
o There have been some pretty infamous hoaxes concerning Bigfoot, particularly the ones perpetrated by Ray Wallace and his family members. Does this mean that all Sasquatch sightings are hoaxes? How would it be possible to tell real ones from fake?
o There are tantalizing fossil remains of an ancient giant ape called Gigantopithecus. Could Sasquatch turn out to be one of these? Just how hard is it for fossils to be created in places like Oregon and Washington State? How commonplace are fossils for known primate species, such as chimpanzees and gorillas?
o Casts of Sasquatch footprints, including known forgeries, are quite abundant. What does detailed analysis of the presumed "real" ones have to say about the kind of creature which made them. How similar are they to, say, bear paw prints?
o What about dermatoglyphics, the fingerprint-like ridge patterns found in some exceptional footprint casts? What do experts have to say about these?
o Wildlife photography turns out to be much more challenging than many of us think. A lot of the pictures we see in calendars and the like are actually posed, using creatures in captivity. Chimpanzees and wolverines both are notoriously difficult to film in the wild. Plus, commercial-grade videotape doesn't make for the best pictures, especially after they've been copied a few times.
o By far the most famous Bigfoot video was one taken on 16mm film in northern California in 1967, by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin. It has long been dismissed by experts as a fake. But can modern image enhancement techniques yield useful information? Is some of the behavior evinced by the creature in the film the kind of thing people in the 1960s would have known about? Or is it perhaps something primatologists have learned about only in the past couple of decades?
o Modern computerized motion-capture techniques, like those used in movie special effects, have been used to recreate the kind of skeletal-muscular structure which would be needed to produce some well-documented sets of Sasquatch tracks. What does this evidence show?
o The holy grail of discovering a new species, other than capturing an actual live specimen, would be sequencing its DNA, perhaps from hair samples. What have DNA tests and hair sample comparisons taught experts?
o One challenge with describing unknown species: it is very easy to say that hair does NOT come from, say, moose, elk, bear or wildcats. But it is much harder to say what it IS. What can be learned by comparing the various "unknown" hair samples? Do they consistently look like they could come from a single unknown species?
o There is a principle, called Bergman's rule, which notes that related animal species tend to get larger the closer to the poles they get and the farther from the tropics. One example is bears, where the smallest are a kind found in South America, while the biggest are polar bears. Page 94 shows a graph of the sizes of Sasquatch footprints ranging from northern California to northern Saskatchewan. Is the graph consistent with Bergman's rule?
The chapters come with lots of useful diagrams and photos, including 16 pages of color photos right after page 96. The exceptionally well-written pages are filled with a wealth of information about wildlife that I never knew before. It was worth reading for that alone. Some of it can get pretty technical, to the point that I just had to skim it. Finally, there is an extensive index and bibliography in back, for those who want to do further research.
Jeff Meldum's conclusions purposefully take the middle ground between excessive skepticism on one hand and excessive credulity on the other. Clearly, scientists can be satisfied that Sasquatch really exists only if they can find something truly tangible -- a skeleton, for instance.
Capturing Sasquatch would be a major coup. However, based on various eyewitness accounts of close encounters, including by the author himself, this is likely to be a very large, dangerous creature. Also, people who claim to have literally had one in their gun sights have reported being extremely reluctant to squeeze the trigger. Native American tradition views Sasquatch as sacred, and at least one county in the U.S. actually has laws protecting them.
One thing is for sure: scientists really ought to keep looking into the matter. The impression I get is that the sightings aren't going to go away any time soon.
Should you read this book? I would encourage it. If nothing else, it is a sober, painstaking scientific analysis of available evidence by a large number of experts, in multiple disciplines. This is what science should be. It is very illuminating even if the subject should turn out to be completely bogus in the end.
Final note: There is also, it appears, a companion DVD. It looks like you have to go to their web site to order it, but I'm tempted.
The Best Sasquatch Book Out There October 19, 2006
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
Over the past couple of years, I've read quite a few books on Sasquatch. Of the newer books, "Raincoast Sasquatch" by J.R. Alley was easily the best...until now. I really don't know anything about Alley and I can't say anything about his motivations, but as I read the many other recent books I kept getting this feeling that "Bigfoot is Big business" to quote Jerry Coleman. Indeed it seems that some current "researchers" compile a list of sightings and then proceed to make incredible postulations about all aspects pertinent to Sasquatch and unfortunatley, some even make sweeping generalizations about known animal behavior which are in fact completely untrue. Up until now, there appeared to be a lack of true scientific investigation on behalf of the research community and in many of the recent books there was a general request from these guys for academia to investigate the Sasquatch phenomenon. Well, thanks to Jeff and the other researchers involved, we have a good scientific book to read and enjoy. This book is by far the best of the rest. It's not chock full of sightings, it's not hinging all bets on "Patty", and it's not pursuing the UFO-Bigfoot theory. Thank God! What you do get is good material from footprint examinations by a specialist in bipedal biomechanics, dermatoglyphics, vocalization analysis, some "Patty" discussion, and some statistical analysis. The latter which I find a little problematic.
I think Fahrenbach has developed a nice, simple methodology for trying to determine some metrics for Sasquatch feet. I don't agree that his stats will necessarily remove or otherwise separate hoaxes from real feet based upon dimensions. If we consider that the ultimate purpose of a hoax is to have fun and "pull the wool over someone's face", then wouldn't we, as a hoaxer, intend to create a fake foot which will conform to known dimensions? It seems unlikely that anyone would fake a footprint 30 inches long and 5 inches wide because who would believe it? Thus, it seems more likely that a hoaxer would make 15 or 16 inch feet that are sufficiently wide as to agree with other prints. Therefore, I think Fahrenbach's data would be more convincing if he chose to include data from measurements made on fake feet which supposedly are in collections. Then, we would get a true comparison of where these fake feet lie in comparison to assumed real feet. Furthermore, I think consultation of a local soils specialist may help in constraining the predicted weight of the beast because they could determine some range for the lithostatic, effective, and hydrostatic forces necessary to compress the soil. This may only be applicable to fresh prints. Other than those minor concerns, I think this is an excellent book and a way forward for the science. Hopefully, Jeff has started an enduring investigation into the world of Sasquatch.
If you believe in Science...History is about to change forever September 23, 2006
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
It took me only 3 1/2 days to finish this book, the third-most important Sasquatch book to have in your collection (followed closely by "Meet The Sasquatch" and "Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us"). Meldrum covers so many topics that were covered in the TV special that preceded this handsome volume, but the book goes beyond the TV special. Meldrum discusses the Ray Wallace fiasco, the Patterson/Gimlin Film (with an exclusive interview with Bob Gimlin), video footage, footprint morphology and dermatoglyphics, bear/Sasquatch misidentifications, Great Ape behavior and its parallels to Sasquatch behavior, statistical data and information and several other different topics. I would say if you only buy one Sasquatch book this year, make it this one. It's terrific, well-written and scholarly and sober. Would make a great Christmas or birthday gift for the skeptic in your family or circle of friends.
 A bad and non-scientific account on the subject April 9, 2007
9 out of 44 found this review helpful
In January 1982 the Department of Vertebrate Zoology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute, held the founding meeting of the International Society of Cryptozoology - i.e. the pseudo-science of searching for unknown animals. Was this a sign of the serious treatment of such a move by at least a part of the American scientific establishment? Or a worrying sign of the latter's corruption by people holding Ph.D. degrees, who then use their scientific credentials in order to support unfounded fantasies and peculiar beliefs - just as some Christian anti-Darwinist biologists do in another field?
This book falls somewhere between the two questions above, and I guess its value depends on the answer that one gives. True, it has been marketed as a scientific account: "brings a much-needed level of scientific analysis", says Dr. Jane Goodall. But I can't help asking if it is "scientific" because it is written by a scientist, or it is labeled as such because it is written according to the rules and the methodology of science. Already from the first 50 pages it becomes evident that Dr. Meldrum (associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University) does not respect "mainstream" scientists who ask for hard evidence and are skeptics, but he is ready, on the other hand, to treat affectionally the famous Roger Patterson Sasquatch film (1967) - a film which zoologist John Napier, who was by no means unfriendly to the possibility of Sasquatch's existence, has proven as a hoax, with some very solid arguments.
As this book is quite big in size, I could continue this review picking various other points where the author takes the side of cryptozoologists, removing himself dangerously from how a true scientist should operate, thus becoming, as a New York Times article by Timothy Egan has described him, a true believer prone to scholarly bias. But I prefer to remind the reader that, although it is true that during the 1990s humans discovered unknown animal forms in some parts of our world, cryptozoology cannot be regarded as a serious science - yes, we did find the Vietnamese Vu Quang ox, but no Yeti, no Sasquatch, no Loch Ness or other lake monster, no Mokele Mbebe in the jungles of Congo.
Personally, I am convinced that there is nothing strange in Loch Ness or in any other lake in the world, nothing strange in the Himalayas, and certainly no dinosaur in Congo. But I'm not so convinced about Bigfoot, although I have some major reservations. Dr. Meldrum's book, however, is not the scientific account which will cast some light on those reservations. On the contrary, it is the account of a scientist dangerously committed to an unfounded belief, who has used his credentials to lure the public to his (and numerous others) chimaera. If I was a US citizen I would seriously consider pressing charges against those who have marketed the book as a "scientific account". But, since I'm not, I can only contribute this review as a warning to other fools like me. Don't spend your money here.
Science at it's best! October 2, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I have a collection of over 200 books related to bigfoot. Dr. Meldrum's "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" is the most significant book on the subject I have ever read. Finally putting all we know into one cohesive text, Dr. Meldrum addresses the evidence, hoaxes, theories, concepts, and "myths" related to bigfoot in a professional and scientific manner. Significant in the book is the discussion of the Skookum Cast, Patterson/Gimlin film, footprint evidence, and dermatoglyphics. I highly recommend this book as it will be quoted by the bigfoot community for years to come!
Kathy Moskowitz Strain
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