Product Description

" The journalistic quest to identify the person who wore a 'Bigfoot Suit' in Roger Patterson's world-famous film has culminated in this highly informative and revealing investigation. Hopefully, now all the people who know the truth about Patterson's footage will come forward, and the scientific community will focus on other potential evidence when trying to determine whether the legendary creature is real or a popculture myth." -ROBERT C. KIVIAT (Network TV Executive Producer, WORLD'S GREATEST HOAXES: SECRETS FINALLY REVEALED and ALIEN AUTOPSY: FACT OR FICTION?)

"Greg Long's new book is long overdue in a time of outrageous urban legends. It is both refreshing and affirming to encounter a serious book that reveals an 'actual' conspiracy of deliberate lies. Furthermore, THE MAKING OF BIGFOOT is that rare combination of investigative journalism and storytelling; it is simply a very good read. I recommend it for its gripping internal narrative based mostly on the strange life of one man - yet it weighs in against the larger legends that still swirl around the mythic hairy giant who haunts the wilderness of our minds." - KENNETH C. WYLIE, Ph.D. (Author of BIGFOOT: A PERSONAL INQUIRY INTO A PHENOMENON)

"Greg Long has written a rare book: one that celebrates the true mysteries of our lives while remaining faithful to the importance of rigorous examination and critical thinking. Thos book is a must-read for those who seek to understand the anatomy of our burgeoning modern myths. It will stand as a cautionary tale for all of us. We are each responsible for the way our tales unfold. Like Roger Patterson and the film he created, we are joined at the chest to our stories. If one becomes corrupt, the other is sure to die also." -DAWN PRINCE-HUGHES, Ph.D. (Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, Western Washington University, Bellingham; Author of THE ARCHETYPE OF THE APE-MAN and GORILLAS AMONG US: A PRIMATE ETHNOGRAPHER'S BOOK OF DAYS)

"Regardless of your opinion about the subject of Bigfoot, this book cannot be ignored! This is a work that is truly universal and appeals automatically to everyone. This book is a real eye opener, and it is refreshing to see that the lost art of good old investigative journalism is finally back. This should set an example for courses on critical thinking and investigative journalism around the world. Long's persistence has paid off; the scientific community and the general public should be thankful, as well as the Bigfoot community." -MICHAELA KOCIS (Investigative Journalist, Broadcaster, ExpresRadio, Mlada Fronta DNES, Czech Republic)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1092622 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 476 pages

Review
"Skeptic or believer, if you have an interest in Bigfoot, you need to read this book." -- Statesman Journal, April 25, 2004

From the Inside Flap
After nearly forty years of secrecy, the real truth is finally revealed behind the famous Roger Patterson "Bigfoot" film - a hoax that has managed to fool scores of scientists and millions of people around the world.

In this riveting and historic book, author Greg Long reveals, for the first time, the identity of the man who actually wore the Bigfoot costume in the famous Patterson film! In addition to reading his exclusive, full confession, Long also presents the testimony of another equally important eyewitness: the man who made and then sold the "Bigfoot" suit to Roger Patterson, and later advised him on how to make the costume look more "authentic."

Other historic breakthroughs in THE MAKING OF BIGFOOT include the actual legal contract that Roger Patterson signed and then exclusive interview with a female investor who gave him money to create his "Bigfoot" film; exclusive testimony from the man who advised Patterson on how to improve the realism of his "Bigfoot tracks" to make them more believable; and the testimonies of dozens of eye-witnesses, including several exclusive, firsthand accounts from individuals who independently saw the "Bigfoot" costume suit after Patterson used it to fake the film.

Regardless of your opinion about the subject, THE MAKING OF BIGFOOT is a spell-binding account that will have you glued to each page. It is a classic gumshoe detective story, told in gripping first-person narrative - it's not only a fascinating story, but the facts it presents and the startling information it reveals are all true!

THE MAKING OF BIGFOOT exposes it all: the shadowy life of Roger Patterson, the clever perpetrator, and how he did it, as well as the never-before-heard stories of dozens of men and women in Yakima, Washington, who became the victims of Patterson's scams and lies, watched Patterson's scheming in action, and helped to "connect the dots" of one the most successful hoaxes of all time - one that continues to be marketed and falsely promoted even today.

Based on forty original interviews, newspaper archives, criminal records, court documents, and never-before-seen photographs, THE MAKING OF BIGFOOT is the most comprehensive examination of a truly American story, a unique slice of Americana in a small western town in the late 1960s, where one man's dream of discovery quickly turned into a quest driven by the lust for money on a contorted pathway of lies and corruption.

About the Author
Greg Long is a professional writer, investigative journalist, and editor who lives in Mill Creek, Washington. He has been researching and writing about "mysteries" and unexplained phenomena of the Pacific Northwest for twenty-five years. His work has been featured on radio and television, including the Discovery Channel.

Customer Reviews

An obsession gone astray
Prometheus Books sent a review copy of Greg Long's "The Making of Bigfoot" to my postal box. I hadn't asked for it and it was not addressed to me, but having taken the liberty of reading it, and even highlighting some of it, I guess I am obligated to review it.

The author makes it clear that he began with two firm convictions, that the creature in Roger Patterson's film of Bigfoot had to be a man in a suit, and that if he could demonstrate that Roger Patterson was a bad person that would prove he had hoaxed the film.

Burdened with those limitations he did a very thorough investigation, but the limitations were fatal. In the valley west of Yakima where Patterson lived he found a lot of people to tell him what he wanted to hear, even a man who had been claiming for years that he wore the suit in the film, but he didn't consider it necessary to familiarize himself with that other valley in California where the film was shot. As a result he was blind to the fact that Bob Heironimus, the man who claimed to have driven there to act the part in the film, obviously had never been there either.

Confusion over which towns are where in that part of California might be explained by the passing of more than 30 years, but not "about four, maybe five miles" up the Bluff Creek Road from the highway. It would have been more than 20 miles of twisting dirt road, and not easy miles, well over an hour's drive, and not a forgettable one.

Much of the book is a transcript of what people had to say about Roger Patterson, mostly, but by no means entirely, unfavorable things, and Long makes clear that he thought that would have been enough to disprove the film even if he had never interviewed the man who claimed to have worn the suit or the man who claimed to have made it.

He did interview those men, however, and made a further fatal mistake by putting pictures in the book. Bob Heironimus is shown to be a typical human, with legs too long and arms to short to match the creature in the film, and the type of suit the owner of Morris Costumes claims he sold Patterson is a typical gorillas costume not in the least like what the movie shows. .

Long does have witnesses who say that Heironimus had a long history of claiming to have been the "man in the suit" and that they once saw such a suit in his car, but they make no connection to Patterson, there is only Heironimus' word on that.

And Long has fitted blinders on himself so closely that he can see nothing wrong with his two key witnesses describing, with many specific details, two totally different suits--a three-piece suit made of raw horsehide and a six-piece suit made of cloth. Philip Morris' story was apparently a last-minute addition after the book was finished. It would have been to Long's credit that he chose to add material so damaging to the case he was trying to make, except that he apparently thought he was making the case stronger.

Long obviously worked hard on his book and I learned some things from it, so perhaps I should feel sorry for him being so easily taken in. It is his own fault however. Had he spent less time admiring of his own opinions and not been so contemptuous of the work of those who investigated the film in the beginning and those that have studied it since he could easily have avoided making such a fool of himself.

Not Enough Journalism Involved
I'm not really sure what to think about the Patterson film and as I am interested in this topic, I was hoping for an incisive, detailed look at the film and how it might have been made, hoax or otherwise. Unfortunately, this book is more the tale of a reporter piecing together anectdotal evidence about someone based on hearsay and opinion rather than an investigation into the making of the film.

I was prepared to welcome an expose of a hoax (should it be a hoax), but from the very start the introduction to the book presents the case for a hoax on the basis of something like "we don't believe in this film because we think Roger Patterson might have been able to fake it." That's not meant to be (and isn't) a quote from the book, just my emphasis on what I think the attitude of this book is. And that would be fine, but why not set out to prove it with facts? Instead, I'd say this book does little more than offer an opinion.

The central concept of this book revolves around the idea that Patterson faked the footage with a costume he either made or purchased and perhaps modified. The book presents interviews with the alleged costume maker (even picturing an ad selling the costume), the alleged costume wearer and a score of others who swear that they know that Patterson made or had a costume. Where is the costume and isn't the logical approach to show the reader something that really looks like something that Patterson showed us in the film? Seems like it should be fairly simple to do with all these people claiming inside knowledge of the hoax. (Some people Long interviewed don't even offer strong opinions, they just act suspicious, in Long's view!)

Maybe the latter could have been done, but the fact that it wasn't done by Mr. Long is a little troubling given his strong assertion of a hoax. It just seems that Mr. Long is only willing to go so far, and no farther, to make his hoax claim. Mr. Long, if there is a hoax, let's expose it! If not, well let's leave it at that.

Bob Mack, Indianapolis

Very lacking in credibility
This book was a major letdown. It employs low standards of investigative journalism, especially in its willingness to accept without critical examination the claims of those saying what the author wants to hear. Not only do those claiming to have faked the Patterson footage lack physical supporting evidence, they can't even keep their stories straight. So they should be believed...why?

A decade or so ago I studied the Patterson footage at length after taping a Discovery Channel program on the Bigfoot mystery. I was intrigued enough to play it through several times. One thing for sure: if the creature shown is really a man, it's a VERY large and heavy man, well beyond the dimensions of those now making these claims.

What's interesting is the very fluid motion of the creature's strides and arm swings, which really do not look like a man laboring to imitate anything. With the plodding footsteps, you can see ripples (or waves) going up through the abdominal body fat/tissue. It's hard to imagine this with an ape suit. That doesn't mean that the film can't be a fake, but rather that it was done in an unusual way: covering the body with some kind of paste, and then applying fur or hair--so that the flexing of muscles and movement of tissue would be displayed.

Since the claims made in this book are inconsistent with what I observed to be plainly shown on the film, I conclude that this is all as bogus as the author claims the film itself to be.

The real question is whether in 1967 the man elaborately trashed in this book as a con man, deadbeat, loser, etc. could have pulled this off with the level of sophistication captured in the famous 16mm film. You have to wonder. One thing for sure, to appreciate this film, even as a hoax, you have to see it in motion--not just still frames.

It's well known that the ape suit designer for "Planet of the Apes" told everyone on the set back in '68 that he also supplied the Bigfoot shown in the Patterson film. At least he has a consistent story and the proven ability to craft an ape outfit. Not that the Bigfoot here looks anything like what Kim Hunter wore in the movie. But if you want to believe such an account, believe his. Not the baloney spun in this book.

My advice is to spend your money on a documetary program on this subject, and trust your own eyes and judge for yourself. Author Greg Long, in writing the most unobjective book ever written on this topic, says the Patterson film is nothing but an elaborate hoax designed to create a trip to the bank. Well, maybe. I'd agree that he's now an authority on that subject.