Released on November 17, 2026
Sasquatch Country
Death, Myth, and Truth in the New American Wilderness
On Christmas morning 2024, Portland, Oregon residents Dean Pommerville and Eric Straughter were reported missing. Three days later, their frozen bodies were recovered. What should have been simply the tragic ending to an ill-fated holiday adventure instead became a sensation for news outlets around the world.
When news of the men’s disappearance in Washington’s rugged Gifford Pinchot National Forest goes public, they’re labeled Sasquatch hunters. But the real reason behind their visit to the woods tells a different story. Based on interviews with the families, rescue volunteers, and local law enforcement, Sasquatch Country reconstructs the search-and-rescue mission in a white-knuckle race against the elements, then investigates the public mockery the victims’ families are forced to endure, as well as regional peculiarities—the demise of the logging industry, the spotted-owl-fueled red-blue divide that spans the Cascade Range and, of course, Sasquatch—that turned a private tragedy into a global orgy of misinformation.
“A perfect internet storm … A well-told, deeply researched story of institutions failing ordinary people.”
—Kirkus
Books by Chuck Thompson
The Status Revolution: The Improbable Story of How the Lowbrow Became the Highbrow
Better Off Without ’Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession
To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism
Smile When You’re Lying Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer
The 25 Essential World War II Sites
European Theater
The 25 Best World War II Sites
Pacific Theater
Featured Reviews
“Hilarious, dirty, and incendiary.”
—Vanity Fair
“Awesomely talented and wickedly funny.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
“Impassioned, funny and uniquely honest.”
—Esquire
“Viciously funny. Like Matt Taibbi or Bill Maher, Thompson isn’t aiming just to entertain; he wants readers to take his underlying arguments seriously.”
—The Washington Monthly
“Often thoughtful, always irreverent.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Thompson’s weapons are wit, a well-oiled subversive reflex and a defiantly unbuttoned prose style.”
—The New York Observer
“Reading Thompson is like listening to a buddy who shoots from the hip.”
—Booklist
“Thompson is the equivalent of Joe Satriani or John Coltrane…the literary equivalent of Motorhead…the virtuosity can leave your mouth hanging open.”
—Booklocker.com
Chuck Thompson
CHUCK THOMPSON is the author of the widely reviewed political screed Better Off Without ‘Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession, acclaimed comic travel memoirs Smile When You’re Lying and To Hellholes and Back, and a two-volume World War II survey (The 25 Best World War II Sites: Pacific Theater and The 25 Essential World War II Sites: European Theater), regarded as the most comprehensive catalog of World War II sites in existence. More…
News & Events
Chuck will be speaking and signing books at the Sasquatch Country: Death, Myth, and Truth in the New American Wilderness launch event at Powell’s City of Books (1005 W Burnside St., Portland) on Nov. 17, 2026. Sasquatch Country will be published by Counterpoint Press on November 17, 2026. Pre-order is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sites.
Sometimes When We Touch
The Reign, Ruin and Resurrection of Soft Rock
Now streaming on Paramount+. See the official trailer on Variety.
Three-part documentary created, written and executive produced by Chuck Thompson. Streaming on Paramount+ in 2023.
