Maybe the longest shot ever: Looking for an old book about bigfoot.

June 2, 2014 5:35 PM

When I was a kid I had a book about bigfoot that I read and re-read. I can't remember what it is called or anything like that but I am clinging to the faintest hope that the AskMe hive mind can help me find it.

I am pretty sure it was purchased at a roadside restaurant near Bridal Falls, BC, next to what was then Flintstone Land. It was not published by any name publisher; I imagine it had a very small print run. (It may have even been mimeographed or something.)

It had a red, maybe maroon cover that was thick paper, not even quite card stock. It *may* have had a picture very similar to the famous still from the Patterson film, but I might be wrong on that.

It was a collection of stories about sasquatch sightings. It may have only covered BC; the only story I remember well was the story of Jacko, the bigfoot reportedly captured in Yale, BC in 1884.

I know this is a huge long shot. I'm certain the book is no longer in print. But I'll take anything.

posted by synecdoche to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

This? Features the Jacko story. Looks like it had many different covers.
posted by otolith at 5:48 PM on June 2, 2014

Response by poster: No, that's not it unfortunately--I am fairly strongly certain that the title referred to Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

I didn't mention, but I would have got this book in the late 1980s.
posted by synecdoche at 6:02 PM on June 2, 2014

Best answer: Maybe this? (I loved cryptozoological books as a kid)
posted by otolith at 6:05 PM on June 2, 2014

Bigfoot: Man, Monster, or Myth?
posted by threeeyedfrog at 6:15 PM on June 2, 2014

Best answer: It's almost certainly Year of the Sasquatch by John Green. I read every book about Bigfoot in the library back then.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:21 PM on June 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I think I found it!

The Sasquatch File

I searched Worldcat for books with Sasquatch in the title, thinking that might be a good bet since you used that specific word, and then looked for books published in British Columbia. Worldcat didn't have a picture, but Amazon did and it seems really close to your description. Did I get it right?
posted by MsMolly at 6:22 PM on June 2, 2014

Response by poster: Oh oh it MIGHT be Year of the Sasquatch or The Sasquatch File. The former title does not sound familiar, nor does that red cover, but I found some interior pictures that are ringing a bit of a bell. The Sasquatch File, though, might be it, too--it looks right but for missing the red cover, and the Worldcat information seems to reinforce that.
posted by synecdoche at 6:28 PM on June 2, 2014

In case you hadn't noticed, both books were published by Cheam publishing and both were written by John Green.
posted by saucysault at 6:54 PM on June 2, 2014

Response by poster: I did notice (and now have a strong desire to find out more about Cheam Publishing in Agassiz). Thanks!
posted by synecdoche at 7:25 PM on June 2, 2014

Response by poster: Found it! It IS John Green but the one I had was On the Track of the Sasquatch. Here's the cover I remember, albeit in a different colour! It looks like there are multiple volumes--I must have had one of them.
posted by synecdoche at 7:35 PM on June 2, 2014

Response by poster: And by freak chance, the local university library has a copy of the (red) third edition in storage. Fantastic! Thank you!
posted by synecdoche at 7:42 PM on June 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yeah, John Green wrote at least two books about the Sasquatch. I always got the sense that Agassiz Publishing was basically self-publishing. However, my local public library still has copies of John Green's books, most likely because he's a BC author.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:47 AM on June 4, 2014