Searching for Sasquatch: Crackpots, Eggheads, and Cryptozoology
Brian Regal
(Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology)
2011, Palgrave Macmillan
264 pp.
This is a “story about sending one’s life pursing something [that may not exist] and never catching it, namely, Bigfoot. Regal is a historian who used primary sources to chronicle those men – both amateur and professional – who pursued the reality of Bigfoot/Sasquatch, notably Grover Krantz, Rene Dahinden, Ivan Sanderson, Tom Slick, a few credentialled American scientists, and several Russian academics, but also the many journalists, outdoorsman, adventurers, businessmen and naturalists. Sadly, they never found it.
“Crackpots” and “Eggheads” in the title is not meant to be demeaning but names to distinguish the amateurs and academics who often were at odds. The narrative of a “monster hunter” allowed a cadre of untrained but enthusiastic amateurs to participate in cryptozoology and other paranormal fields.* Some of the scientists, like Krantz, wanted amateurs out of the picture. This book details the influence of amateurs and the missteps by professionals in the goal to legitimize the study of Bigfoot. It contains facts and conclusions backed by references that you won’t have read anywhere else and that are crucial for understanding these influential men and the contentious, competitive community in which they existed. It’s an astounding good book – important and enjoyable to read. A must-have even at the academic price.
*See Scientifical Americans (Hill, 2017) for more on amateur paranormal researchers including cryptozoologists. Developed at the same time as Regal’s book, many of the same ideas are iterated.
Modern Cryptozoology 