How do you prepare for a disaster? What happens when citizens are cut off from civilization and have to make it on their own? You might think you’d escape unscathed, but what if something, or someone, totally unexpected happens—what if Bigfoot shows up.

That’s the fascinating premise author Max Brooks (World War Z) explores in his new book, Devolution, which mixes a history of our seemingly endless fascination with Bigfoot and the most notable sightings with the perilous tale of an isolated eco-community in peril.