Book Review for Tracking the Stone Man

Title: Tracking the Stone Man: West Virginia’s Bigfoot
Author: Dr. Russell L. Jones
Published: 2016 by Willamette City Press
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Awhile back, I saw a newspaper article talking about how a local chiropractor had written a book about the Bigfoot phenomena here in West Virginia. I immediately hopped over to Amazon and added the book to my wishlist. My boyfriend saw it on there, and I received my copy as a Mother’s Day present this past May!

I don’t read nearly as much about Bigfoot as I should, so I was thrilled that this book not only filled a need in that niche, but was also a West Virginia title. As readers of this blog know by now—I LOVE books about West Virginia’s weird side.

And, there’s definitely an element of weird to it—I don’t think you can have a book about Bigfoot and Bigfoot investigation without a little weirdness involved—but there’s a lot more substance than you’d normally expect in such a book.  Dr. Russell Jones, a highly qualified and educated researcher, has done an excellent job in presenting facts that support the idea of a large bipedal creature roaming our Appalachian hills and explaining why West Virginia makes an ideal home.

Tracking the Stone Man (Stone Man being the name given to Bigfoot by the native peoples in the area) is a well-written book that explores various case studies collected and investigated by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO), an organization to which the author belongs. It also explores the author’s own experiences and thoughts as to why this is a very real phenomenon. For those interested, the book also contains information on the equipment used and the procedures necessary to a successful Bigfoot investigation. An extensive list of websites and books for further information is also provided.

Even if you’re not from West Virginia or familiar with our beautiful state, don’t shy away from this book. While the case studies do come from WV, there is more than enough general Bigfoot information packed into this book to make it a worthwhile read no matter where you are from. But, if you ARE from West Virginia, I’m sure you’ll instantly recognize many of the locations discussed and can easily see how a Bigfoot could hide out.