Catamount, panther, cougar, mountain lion, puma: This animal was once the most widely distributed carnivore on our continent, ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Yukon to the tip of South America. Now, while populations remain stable west of the Rockies, everything on the books states that the puma was essentially eradicated east of the Mississippi shortly after the turn of the century. Only, Bob Butz is not so sure. When controversial evidence surfaces to suggest that pumas exist in his neck of the woods--Northern Michigan-it sparked renewed and heated discussion among cynics and believers throughout the East. The phenomenon of this magical, mythical creature--one that seems to represent all that is renegade in this world--will not die. So why, asks Butz, do wildlife officials and game departments from the Maritime states to New England dismiss the notion? Part meditation, part probing journalism, BEAST OF NEVER, CAT OF GOD chronicles the search for cougar, while exploring the implications, the myths, and the reality of the creature. It's a hunt for truth and wilderness in a place- the East-where true wilderness is thought not to exist.