By: Powell, Thom
ISBN: 978-0-88839-552-8
Binding: Trade Paper
Size: 8.5" X 5.5"
Pages: 272
Photos: 0
Illustrations: 14
Publication Date: 2003

PR Highlights: Detailed frightening & humorous experiences
PHOTO Highlights: B/w illustrations throughout.

Table of Contents

Sample Chapter

Description: Bigfoots ARE The Locals. They live here. They were here before we humans showed up on the continent and they will likely outlast us. This is a bigfoot book yet it probes much deeper than a simple treatment of the hackneyed question of Does Bigfoot Exist? This book delves into such questions as why bigfoots exist, why they behave as they do, and why they have not yet been, and may never be dragged into the spotlight of science and the media. And don't look to science for answers, because science is currently unequipped to shed any light on this profound anthropological mystery. The author's personal experiences in investigation and experimentation of the bigfoot hypothesis are chronicled. Frightening and humorous personal experiences are detailed in the manner of the genre we know of as the bigfoot book. We have a lot to learn about The Locals and there is even more we could learn from The Locals.

Author Biography:

Born in Dayton Ohio, Thom Powell is a Jack-of-all-Trades. As well as chasing the illusive Bigfoot, he is a science teacher, naturalist and environmental educator. He keeps himself busy with many hobbies and interests including building his own log cabin. Thom also enjoys organic gardening, plants, and beekeeping. He is a kayak instructor, and a professional river guide. His experiences searching for Bigfoot have led him to helping the US Forest Service set up remote wildlife cameras in the Mt. Hood area.

Review by Larry Hagedon

Most people, writing a Bigfoot book, take their pre-concieved beliefs and sort thru the available evidences and eyewitness accounts until they find sufficient support for those beliefs to fill a book. All inconveniently contrary evidences and accounts are discarded.
I believe nearly all health and diet books are written on the above principle and so are most of the Sasquatch books I have read. Thom Powell has done a better job than that with The Locals, available from Hancockhouse.com. Thom is obviously a man of science and an educator. He first lays down sound basic scientific principles. He then takes the available evidences and eyewitness accounts, whether he likes them or not, and applies the scientific principles to them. he does this in such a manner that we are allowed to form our own opinions as to the meanings of the evidence. He manages to do all this in a most interesting and readable writing style. The research and evidence collecting tips alone are worth much more than the price of the book. Tho you will not agree with everything found in it, this book will make you a better researcher. It is suitable to give as a Christmas present to skeptical friends and family. Highly recommended.

Rambles
Review by Alicia Karen Elkins

The Locals is a brilliant combination of storytelling and scientific analysis about the bigfoot. Powell has managed to balance these two with a skill that makes his delivery of information exceptionally pleasurable and exciting. As you follow the author's investigation of bigfoot phenomenon, you will experience a wide range of emotions, from humor to fear. Often the suspense is almost unbearable as you eagerly turn the page to learn how the incident being recited turns out. And the author frequently relates his own observations or thoughts in a hilarious way. Would you offer a bigfoot a bowl of chili if he invaded your camp? The author wonders if he would have the nerves of steel to try.
My favorite part of this book has to be the incident in Oklahoma where a bigfoot group were becoming braver and braver. They had been stealing deer meat out of a freezer that the man kept in an outside shed. Soon they started trying to get into his house. He called the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization and requested a team come to his place. He was expecting a SWAT team to arrive and was more than mildly disappointed with the team of investigators that arrived, especially when his house came under attack by the bigfoot group (is it proper English to call them bigfoots or bigfeet?) and the investigators refused to join in the OK Corral-type shootout. The results of this investigation will get you on the floor rolling; however, I must commend the team for a fine job of investigating. They certainly got to the bottom of the problem. It seems that each bigfoot book I read is a bit better than the previous ones. You can find my other bigfoot reviews here on Rambles: Raincoast Sasquatch by J. Robert Alley and Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence by Dr. Grover S. Krantz, the pioneer of the serious scientific bigfoot investigation. Thom Powell is first a science teacher, environmental educator, and naturalist; second, a kayak instructor and professional river guide; third, a bigfoot investigator and the regional coordinator and a curator for the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization; and lastly, one heck of an author. You may learn more about the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization and how to take part in an expedition to seek bigfoot at the organization's website: www.bfro.net. If you have any interest in bigfoot, this is a must have book! If you are looking for a pleasure read, you will not be disappointed with The Locals. It delivers the pleasure and entertainment that you expect from a bestseller and it deserves much more press for the quality of writing and storytelling that it contains. The author's sense of humor makes this book.