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Wood Knocks & Tossed Rocks: Searching for Sasquatch with the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
Wood Knocks & Tossed Rocks places the reader in the passenger seat of the author's truck to ride shotgun on a series of expeditions with the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, as seen on Animal Planet's program "Finding Bigfoot", to experience every moment and every bump in the road as it happens.
- GenresMonsters
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 4, 2026
I’d been wanting to read this for a long time but confused the location settings with another book, but as it was part of my free trial of Kindle Unlimited, I decided to give it a go.
I was immediately off put by the author’s generalizing comments throughout as well as his infantilizing and uncouth sentiments regarding fellow BFRO expedition attendees (even when he was a leader). He belittles and undermines everyone with a holier than thou attitude and when he feels the first expedition lacks guidance and structure so he stands around unsure of what to do, he mocks attendees who paid to join his first-led expedition only two years later. He never taught anything, only criticized and complained behind Matt M.’s back, even when given multiple opportunities to speak up.
He smack-talks McDonald’s and pubescent male staff yet is a consistent patron. For a man with such a military service record, he gave up on IMPs (or MREs) real quick and seemed to go into town at every opportunity, avoiding any real scouting research that would’ve surely benefitted him.
His first expedition had one positive aspect he arranged properly and that’s Dr. John Bindernagel joining to give a lecture and participate in a night hike. When the author tried to show his best evidence of a nearby tree structure that prompted the site being decided upon, the author rails in anger at Dr. Bindernagel’s professional and informed opinions opposing his view. Where are your credentials, Blaine? Where are your years of field research, Blaine? Two years up to this point don’t suffice. And then the author goes on to refer to Dr. Bindernagel on a first name basis, which, in my opinion, is very disrespectful.
There are some good expedition preparation tips near the end of the book, but the author seems to insert his asinine and arrogant remarks at every turn should they differ from his elitist ideal of common sense.
I have shared my 47 notes on GoodReads that you can hopefully view in context with this review. I have too many complaints to type here. Also, many typos with many more I left un-noted due to high frequency, but hopefully they’re able to be edited on should a future edition be published. I also only marked one randomly inserted paragraph in the middle of unrelated text, but this happened frequently in many chapters, yet I’m unsure of if it’s just a Kindle font size thing or not.
This book isn’t total garbage as the writing is comprehendible, but it’s obviously also not an objective perspective in the slightest and the way the author demeans almost everyone (except Fred who’s always got his six, and if I hear that phrase one more time I’m gonna puke) shows some serious insecurity and inferiority complexes. Read at your own risk.
I was immediately off put by the author’s generalizing comments throughout as well as his infantilizing and uncouth sentiments regarding fellow BFRO expedition attendees (even when he was a leader). He belittles and undermines everyone with a holier than thou attitude and when he feels the first expedition lacks guidance and structure so he stands around unsure of what to do, he mocks attendees who paid to join his first-led expedition only two years later. He never taught anything, only criticized and complained behind Matt M.’s back, even when given multiple opportunities to speak up.
He smack-talks McDonald’s and pubescent male staff yet is a consistent patron. For a man with such a military service record, he gave up on IMPs (or MREs) real quick and seemed to go into town at every opportunity, avoiding any real scouting research that would’ve surely benefitted him.
His first expedition had one positive aspect he arranged properly and that’s Dr. John Bindernagel joining to give a lecture and participate in a night hike. When the author tried to show his best evidence of a nearby tree structure that prompted the site being decided upon, the author rails in anger at Dr. Bindernagel’s professional and informed opinions opposing his view. Where are your credentials, Blaine? Where are your years of field research, Blaine? Two years up to this point don’t suffice. And then the author goes on to refer to Dr. Bindernagel on a first name basis, which, in my opinion, is very disrespectful.
There are some good expedition preparation tips near the end of the book, but the author seems to insert his asinine and arrogant remarks at every turn should they differ from his elitist ideal of common sense.
I have shared my 47 notes on GoodReads that you can hopefully view in context with this review. I have too many complaints to type here. Also, many typos with many more I left un-noted due to high frequency, but hopefully they’re able to be edited on should a future edition be published. I also only marked one randomly inserted paragraph in the middle of unrelated text, but this happened frequently in many chapters, yet I’m unsure of if it’s just a Kindle font size thing or not.
This book isn’t total garbage as the writing is comprehendible, but it’s obviously also not an objective perspective in the slightest and the way the author demeans almost everyone (except Fred who’s always got his six, and if I hear that phrase one more time I’m gonna puke) shows some serious insecurity and inferiority complexes. Read at your own risk.
July 25, 2022
I wrote this book to give the reader some idea what it was like to be on an actual expedition looking for sasquatches. In three years I went from being a newbie to an investigator with the BFRO. I have been investigating our 8 foot tall hairy friends since 2006. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as enjoyed writing it.
June 4, 2015
On the Ground, Hunting for Bigfoot with the BFRO in Canada
This book is an insider's account of several BFRO expeditions that took place in Canada. For those interested in how the BFRO conducts expeditions and what type of personnel and attributes are required, this will be an interesting read. Some prior reviewers have noted that they found this book to be boring. If you would like stories of Squatch encounters, there are a number of books available, most notably, Rusty Wilson's Bigfoot Campfire Stories. All editions are great. Blaine McMillan is giving readers the real nuts and bolts of what Squatch searching is all about. It is often not glamorous, can be tedious and thrilling on a moment's notice. The BFRO, founded by Matt Moneymaker of "Finding Bigfoot", is a serious organization dedicated to learning about Sasquatch. They approach the subject as real and do not intend to harm them. Their focus is learning about the species. This book tells the reader a great deal about many of the behaviors mentioned on the show. BFRO members often conduct a great of background work, interviewing witnesses, gathering evidence and helping to set up town hall meetings for the show. It is this methodical research that gives insight to this elusive creature. Besides recounting several expeditions, he also gives excellent advice on how to prepare and what to do if you would like to join an expedition. A limited number of outings are open to the public after a screening process. Membership is by invitation only, this being done to weed out undesirables. While there are other groups, (research styles are often a hot topic in the Bigfoot community), the BFRO is the oldest organization investigating Bigfoot and they take the subject seriously and treat witnesses with respect. Investigators like Blaine are the backbone of Bigfoot research and much of what we know comes from their dedicated effort. There is also some great history of Bigfoot research and researchers included, along with several interesting hypothesis and footnotes with info, should you wish to delve further. A great book for serious Bigfoot fans and for the novice who wants to know what really happens in the field. I hope he publishes more tales.
This book is an insider's account of several BFRO expeditions that took place in Canada. For those interested in how the BFRO conducts expeditions and what type of personnel and attributes are required, this will be an interesting read. Some prior reviewers have noted that they found this book to be boring. If you would like stories of Squatch encounters, there are a number of books available, most notably, Rusty Wilson's Bigfoot Campfire Stories. All editions are great. Blaine McMillan is giving readers the real nuts and bolts of what Squatch searching is all about. It is often not glamorous, can be tedious and thrilling on a moment's notice. The BFRO, founded by Matt Moneymaker of "Finding Bigfoot", is a serious organization dedicated to learning about Sasquatch. They approach the subject as real and do not intend to harm them. Their focus is learning about the species. This book tells the reader a great deal about many of the behaviors mentioned on the show. BFRO members often conduct a great of background work, interviewing witnesses, gathering evidence and helping to set up town hall meetings for the show. It is this methodical research that gives insight to this elusive creature. Besides recounting several expeditions, he also gives excellent advice on how to prepare and what to do if you would like to join an expedition. A limited number of outings are open to the public after a screening process. Membership is by invitation only, this being done to weed out undesirables. While there are other groups, (research styles are often a hot topic in the Bigfoot community), the BFRO is the oldest organization investigating Bigfoot and they take the subject seriously and treat witnesses with respect. Investigators like Blaine are the backbone of Bigfoot research and much of what we know comes from their dedicated effort. There is also some great history of Bigfoot research and researchers included, along with several interesting hypothesis and footnotes with info, should you wish to delve further. A great book for serious Bigfoot fans and for the novice who wants to know what really happens in the field. I hope he publishes more tales.
March 30, 2015
Well written in firsthand tense, nothing fancy, but not a usual rehash of all the old stories. I liked the book, especially for free through Kindle Unlimited.
As a lifelong cryptozoology buff, the subject matter was far from new to me, but comforting in a sense: the author references other books, authors and specialists familiar to me, which tend to lend credence to his own experiences in my eyes.
Definitely worth a read to Sasquatch enthusiasts, and one of my more enjoyed "firsthand experience" type cryptozoology books.
As a lifelong cryptozoology buff, the subject matter was far from new to me, but comforting in a sense: the author references other books, authors and specialists familiar to me, which tend to lend credence to his own experiences in my eyes.
Definitely worth a read to Sasquatch enthusiasts, and one of my more enjoyed "firsthand experience" type cryptozoology books.
April 1, 2015
Great book
An incredibly entertaining inside look at the goings-on of a BFRO weekend search for Sasquatch. McMillan tells the tale in a very honest, open voice; no pretense, no agenda. His vast experience and knowledge comes out clearly, as the book unfolds. A must-have addition to any squatcher's library.
An incredibly entertaining inside look at the goings-on of a BFRO weekend search for Sasquatch. McMillan tells the tale in a very honest, open voice; no pretense, no agenda. His vast experience and knowledge comes out clearly, as the book unfolds. A must-have addition to any squatcher's library.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews