By: Murphy, Christopher L.
ISBN: 978-0-88839-721-8
Binding: Trade Paper
Size: 8.5" X 5.5"
Pages: 528
Photos: 304
Illustrations: 36
Publication Date: 2012

PR Highlights: An encyclopedia of sasquatch history & research in BC.
PHOTO Highlights: Over 300 photographs including rare and unpublished material.

Description: A complete reference on sasquatch in BC, from fossilized footprints and petroglyphs to modern-day sightings and current scientific research. The most comprehensive work on the history of sasquatch in BC, this book includes the earliest fossilized indications of the existence of the creature, every documented sighting and experience, along with complete outlines of research undertaken by both pioneers in the field and modern-day scientists. Historical photos and a 32-page color section. A great reference and also a fascinating read.

Early reports in British Columbia were the first to call attention to the possible existence of sasquatch, and such reports have persisted for over two hundred years. This work covers the earliest history of the province to the present day, and draws upon the findings of all major sasquatch researchers in British Columbia and information reported in the press and other media. It also includes important sasquatch-related events that involved BC researchers and their quest to resolve the phenomenon. Several of the great pioneers in the field of sasquatch studies have now passed away. Who they were and their legacy have been provided as both a tribute and a historical reference. This work is intended to be a major reference for the history of the sasquatch in British Columbia. However, it is also a fascinating read for those simply interested in the subject.

Christopher L. Murphy retired in 1994 after 36 years of service with the British Columbia Telephone Company (now Telus). During his career, he authored four books on business processes. After retirement he taught a night school course on vendor quality management at the B.C. Institute of Technology. An avid philatelist, Chris has written several books on Masonic Philately. Chris got involved in the sasquatch mystery when he met Rene Dahinden, who lived nearby, in 1993. He then worked with Rene in producing posters from the Patterson/Gimlin film and marketing sasquatch footprint casts. In 1996, Chris republished Roger Patterson's 1966 book, Do Abominable Snowmen of America Really Exist?, and Fred Beck's book, I Fought the Apemen of Mt. St. Helens. In 1997, Chris published Bigfoot in Ohio: Encounters with the Grassman, a book he authored in association with Joedy Cook and George Clappison of Ohio. In 2000, Chris embarked on a project to assemble a comprehensive pictorial presentation on the sasquatch. This initiative led to his 2004 sasquatch exhibit at the Vancouver (BC) Museum and the publication of Meet the Sasquatch, the first edition of this book. In due course, Chris wrote a supplemental section to Roger Patterson's book, which was republished in 2005 by Hancock House Publishers under the title, The Bigfoot Film Controversy. The following year, Chris updated his Ohio book, again with his two previous associates, and it was published in 2006 by Hancock House under the title, Bigfoot Encounters in Ohio: Quest for the Grassman. Chris's sasquatch exhibit next traveled to the Museum of Mysteries in Seattle, where it was displayed for five months in 2005. In June of the following year, it opened at the Museum of Natural History in Pocatello Idaho, where it was shown for 15 months. Chris has also attended and presented at many sasquatch symposiums, and has taken part in several television documentaries on the subject.

Review by The Canada Post

IN THE 1960S, the fascination with the mysterious 'Sasquatch' was arguably at its zenith, a height reached with the help of the so-called Patterson-Gimlin film, a grainy-piece of cinematic magic that surfaced in 1967 and depicted a creature, a Bigfoot (or else a fat guy dressed in what appears to be a modified gorilla suit) walking near the Klamath River near Orleans, Calif. Whether this was a hoax or not, many contemporary Bigfoot-believers insist it is not. And a new book, which amounts to a catalogue of documented sightings, lends further support to that famous clip that took hold of so many imaginations and still does today. According to Bigfoot chroniclers Christopher L. Murphy and Thomas Steenburg, there were sightings of the famed hairy upright beast that had been documented in multiple ways long before 1799. In fact, strange footprints locked in time, and in First Nations art, have triggered speculation for centuries and also provided possible evidence of the existence of an actual sasquatch, or sasquatch-like creature, stretching far back into recorded history. Then, shortly after Europeans first came to North America, they began to document strange sightings and strange occurrences involving a tall 'beast of unknown species' in the forests of Northwest America.
Then from the beginning of the 19th century onwards, continued sightings and other incidents further intensified the belief that the legendary creature might indeed be -real- neither a myth nor a figment of the imagination. Moreover, with greatly improved communications, news reports and the arrival of cars, sightings became ever more frequent moving the sasquatch from mere myth to the edges of science.
It is this history that Murphy and Steenburg document so thoroughly and with plenty of occasionally grainy photos which some readers will regard as incontrovertible evidence that the sasquatch truly exists as other readers, though ever interested, will remain skeptical. Either way, this is a fascinating read chronicling sighting after sighting and providing the full historical background of this strange creature that has captured the imagination of so many for so long.

 

Review by Ray Crowe

Hancock House has released another winner by Murphy/Steenburg. Just finished reading it..best part, pages that lie flat without closing. Then on to the wealth of information contained in the well illustrated pages. A section even includes many color prints, besides all the black and white photos laced liberally throughout the book..a good many of them original and never viewed before. There are many listings of sightings throughout the province, starting with the beginning fossil footprints until the late 1700's when First Nations people are said to fear unusual creatures. The historical reports are a wealth of information, plus the views of many First Americans. Not only are reports of Sasquatch covered, but any event in British Columbia of importance has been addressed along with articles concerning many of the contributors, besides important media coverage. The remainder of the book has a vast store of well researched information filled reports of tracks and sightings of the Sasquatch down through the ages. One thing I noted is that they are extremely well documented with sources and credits. Finally there is a statistical listing by date and then by location order for easy reference followed by a good index. A final advert by Hancock House has a useful and handy listing of all the Sasquatch titles available. Murphy has put his almost 20 years of research to good use.

 

Review by Henry May

This is an excellent book, written by Christopher L. Murphy in association with Thomas Steenburg, basically chronicling for the first time most of the reports from the Western province of our neighbors to the North. It takes reports not only from books by John Green, Steenburg and John Bindernagel, but also from The Bigfoot Casebook and Who's Watching You?. But it also compiles reports from John Green and Steenburg's personal Case Files, as well as from the BFRO database. The book covers reports and events from 1799 to as recent as April 2011. It covers not just reports, but also major events, such as important milestones in research such as The Skookum Cast, the Sasquatch Summit, the opening of the Meet The Sasquatch exhibit in Vancouver and also in Pocatello, Idaho, and notable passings and beginnings in research with different researchers and scientists. If I were to give this book a rating on a scale from 1-10, I would give it a solid 9 1/2. Absolutely terrific book.