The Beast in the Garden

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Baron explores the history of the mountain lion. He uses the circumstances of the killing by one of a young man in Boulder, Colorado to illustrate the effects of human pressure on predatory animals.

From the publisher's announcement:

When residents of Boulder, Colorado, suddenly began to see mountain lions in their backyards, it became clear that the cats had returned after decades of bounty hunting had driven them far from human settlement. In a riveting environmental tale that has received huge national attention, journalist David Baron traces the history of the mountain lion and chronicles one town's tragic effort to coexist with its new neighbors. As thought-provoking as it is harrowing, The Beast in the Garden is a tale of nature corrupted, the clash between civilization and wildness, and the artificiality of the modern American landscape. It is, ultimately, a book about the future of our nation, where suburban sprawl and wildlife-protection laws are pushing people and wild animals into uncomfortable, sometimes deadly proximity.

"Narrative pacing as smooth and suspenseful as a stalking mountain lion."-Robert Braile, Boston Globe

"A fascinating read."-Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

"The intelligent complexity of Baron's book is refreshing and necessary....An extraordinary achievement."-Gordon Grice, author of The Red Hourglass

"A gripping tale of human naivety, misguided intentions, and conventional wisdom gone awry. It reads like a novel, but is all true."-Howard Berkes, National Public Radio

"You will be astonished, you will be gripped by a story begging to be told. A compelling not-to-be-put-down book about what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force."-Jeffrey Masson, New York Times bestselling author of Why Elephants Weep

"Take Peter Benchley's best-selling Jaws, move it to the Colorado Front Range, add a group of nature-loving citizens and you have The Beast in the Garden."-Leslie Weddell, Denver Post

David Baron, an award-winning journalist, reports on science for National Public Radio. He lives in Boston and Boulder.