ShadowCat

"ShadowCat is a collection of true stories of encounters with the American mountain lion. Each writer's voice is different, yet the book as a whole displays the mystical and fascinating qualities of the animal about which it is written. Shadowy pumas lurk in these pages, and those who have had the opportunity to encounter these beasts at close range (and live to tell the tale) often wax poetical about their experience. I'm thrilled that Sasquatch created this book." Cathryn Pisarski, Editor of Cune Magazine

"Devil cat, ghost cat, shadow cat, cougar, puma, panther. The American mountain lion goes by many names, but it is a singular icon of untamed wilderness. . . In this special gathering of twenty essays, such important voices as Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, Pam Houston, Rick Bass, Terry Tempest Williams, and David Quammen thoughtfully and lyrically explore the natural history, encounters with humans, and controversial future of the mountain lion." (From the back cover of the book)

An excerpt from the third story, The Path of the Puma,
East of the foothills in the Denver-Boulder area, the Colorado plain is more or less a continuous urban sprawl . . . viewed by night, it becomes positively entrancing for members of the cat family. Boulder, for instance, becomes a vast array of lights, some moving, others spinning, still others flashing, a scene so visually appealing to the cat family that it might have been designed just for their pleasure.
The next step for the outward-bound youngster is to start down the mountainside, toward the by now completely familiar landscape, which he or she has been viewing nearly every day and night since emerging from the den. The first human installations the young puma would encounter on the eastward journey would be the widely spaces homes of well-to-do suburbanites, who each year build houses ever higher on the slopes. Since, presumably, the appeal of such neighborhoods is their remoteness and their privacy, the human residents tend to be almost as quiet and as circumspect as the pumas themselves. . . Often at night I've quietly walked through these neighborhoods just to learn what a puma might encounter, and the answer is: nothing.

Sasquatch Books is a regional book publisher specializing in nonfiction books for the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska and California. Best known for their travel guides–the Best Places® series–they delve into other areas of interest, too: gardening, food & wine, literature, the environment, and enjoying the great outdoors. Their motto is "You want to know the Pacific Northwest? Then get to know Sasquatch Books." Visit their website at www.sasquatchbooks.com for more information.

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