The Last Season

If you're like me, jump into this book without trepidation! It presents a very accurate view of what it's like to work for the NPS and how relationships develop and disintegrate. The basic story is tragic and often left me thinking, "If only I saw the segment about this on TLC's Disappeared and found it fascinating so I thought it would be an interesting book to read. It's hardy an edge of your seat thriller as it's made out to be. Rather, it's a chronicle of everything known about the man that has little or no bearing on the story.

I gave up on it as it's just too much needless information that slows the flow of the story down. A great book for anyone who loves the outdoors. The story recolves around the mystery of a missing back cou try ranger in Kings Canyon National Park. The background research is phenomenal, and the writinf is so strong you feel lime you know these people. My major criticism is I wish there pictures of the cast of characters. That would have sealed the connection for me.

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But since it is a true story, maybe so e people disnt want their likeness associated with this trajedy. One person found this helpful. If you like the out doors, hiking, camping, etc, you will like this book. Author tells the story is such a way as to keep you wanting to know more. The ending really sets the book apart and ends the story just perfectly. Makes you want to hit the trails. Even better if you like the high sierras.

I couldn't put it down. Finished it while hiking the High Sierra Trail, which made it even more real. I grew up spending my summers in Cedar Grove with my family while my dad was a front country ranger. I didn't know Randy but knew a number of rangers who did. The book gave me even more appreciation for the rangers out there and the high sierras. See all reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway.

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Learn more about Amazon Prime. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping. Not Enabled Word Wise: Not Enabled Screen Reader: Enabled Amazon Best Sellers Rank: Amazon Music Stream millions of songs. Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers. Amazon Drive Cloud storage from Amazon. To view it, click here. This non fiction book was written so well that it started to feel like a fiction book the more I read it. Lots of great information about what goes on in the High Sierra and how Randy Morgenson disappeared and died and how the people around him reacted to it.

Oct 30, Sundry rated it really liked it Recommends it for: This book was recommended to me by some very enthusiastic park rangers at Death Valley. I am so glad I picked up a copy. Upon finishing it this morning and reading through all the extra materials at the end of the book, I went straight to my notebook to write about the ideas that it provoked. On the surface, it's a story about the life and disappearance of Randy Morgenson, who spent 28 summers as a ranger in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

But it's also about what it takes to be a back This book was recommended to me by some very enthusiastic park rangers at Death Valley. But it's also about what it takes to be a back country ranger, a job that requires long absences from home and society, and whose main perk is living in the wilderness. And it's about our National Parks Service's attitude toward these individuals. If you've ever hiked or backpacked or even looked lovingly up at the Sierras from below, you should give this book a try. It makes me want to see the country that Blehm writes about.

The only thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is that it's a bit long on details and lagged a bit in the middle for me, but given the complexity of the story and Blehm's obvious commitment to getting it right, this can easily be forgiven. Be sure and read the extra stuff at the back of the paperback version.

There are some very fine nuggets there, not the least of which is Blehm's opinion about what happened and his accounting of his unique qualifications for writing this particular story.

The number of people who loved and admired Randy Morgenson, who is never-the-less portrayed as a real and flawed man, speaks volumes about who he was and what he gave to those he met. Jan 03, James Chally rated it really liked it. Follows the tragic true story of a backcountry ranger and environmentalist who disappeared while on patrol in the high sierras of kings canyon national park.

It is difficult to read this without noticing the resemblance to Jon Krakauer's "into the wild". Both stories at their heart deal with living in balance with natural world. In "the last season"Blehm does a nice job interweaving the frantic search for the missing ranger with Randy's life work to protect the wild and bring awareness to wilder Follows the tragic true story of a backcountry ranger and environmentalist who disappeared while on patrol in the high sierras of kings canyon national park.

In "the last season"Blehm does a nice job interweaving the frantic search for the missing ranger with Randy's life work to protect the wild and bring awareness to wilderness conservation. SPOILERS I found parts of this book to be thoroughly engaging, particularly during the search, while some of the backstory chapters had me speed reading to get back to the search narrative. By the end of the book Blehm has painted a fairly unbiased picture of Randy with all his flaws intact and invites you to draw the conclusion that this nature loving friend of the wilderness died tragically doing the only thing he ever loved; basking in nature's grandeur on patrol in the backcountry.

Personally i couldn't buy into Blehms rosy interpretation of the events, although I do think he presents a compelling argument.

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What this book truly accomplishes is establishing or rekindling a love for the outdoors and a desire to explore the wilder places of earth. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone, even if your like me and you have a more pessimistic view of the nature of Randy's death there is still plenty in this book to inspire you. Mar 03, Jean rated it really liked it Shelves: During his 28 years as a park ranger, Morgenson was stationed as a back country ranger in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon mountain range.

Morgenson mysteriously disappeared in ; his body was not found until Blehm examines the life of Morgenson and reveals a contradictory figure. He could be considered a dedicated naturalist or an environmental zealot. Apparently, by all accounts, Blehm indicates Morgenson conducted himself with complete professionalism in his encounters with visitors to the park system, and he risked his life to assist loss or missing park visitors. The book provides a good description of what the life of a back country ranger is all about on a daily basis.

He was in the middle of a divorce, had an affair with a female ranger and had become fatalistic about his life. Blehm explores the various theories as to what happened to the ranger.

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The official report is accidental death. The book is well written and thoroughly researched. The book is part biography and part detective story. Blehm provides some great descriptions of the Sierra Nevada back country. Jonathan Davis does an excellent job narrating the story. The book is moderately long at almost thirteen hours. Jun 02, Brooke rated it really liked it Recommends it for: This was a hard book for me to get through.

It was slow in spots, but I guess I expect that from biographies. However, once I started reading, I felt like I owed this book my full attention and I wasn't about to quit reading it without finishing it. It is definately NOT light reading. A person needs time to get through this book to really appreciate it and what it's about. Being a Montana girl from the mountains , I felt like Because of that, I felt a bit of honor in reading this book about one of them, that He was an artist, a naturalist, a conservationist, and much more.

Most of all, he was human, making human errors that can sometimes be dark and disgusting, just like the rest of us!! Upon reading this book, I have begun to recycle plastics and cardboards, along with my regulars of aluminum and newspapers, so maybe I found out a bit more about myself, too!! And, even though I still kill weeds in my yard and I still mow my lawn, from now on, I will always be more aware of what I'm doing and of my surroundings. Oct 13, Billy rated it really liked it.

I liked this book a lot. At first, I was skeptical. Gradually, I found myself transfixed, and looking forward to getting a little more time with the book.. The book shifts back and forth from the search which was extremely extensive and Mortenes I liked this book a lot. Both are very interesting. Also, Morteneson is a like minded soul of sorts.

Very into the environment, in love with the mountains, anti-materialist. He led an interesting life, lots of great adventures, photographer, an unconvential marriage in which he spent months away from his wife. As sympathetic a character as he was in many ways, he was also something of a curmudgeon and had a deceitful relationship with his wife. Apr 14, Dayna rated it really liked it. If you are familiar with SEKI backcountry you will thoroughly enjoy this book. It is a fascinating portrayal of a man who loved the High Sierra so much it consumed him.

It also delves into larger philosophical issues, like what is wilderness for and how should it be managed? Also, I think the author should have put the more detailed map in the back. Having said this, I was obsessed and didn't want to go to work so I could stay home and read it. He was a lovely man whose knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Sierra Nevada was such a joy. I was humbled that he actually wanted to spend time with me so he could increase his knowledge! Rick Sanger, you carry on the spirit of Randy Morgenson, I am sure. The writing was superb and I learned a LOT.

The book is about a backcountry ranger, Randy Morgenson, who went missing in but it's about so much more than that. It's about nature and wilderness, being free, about the parks It talks about his family, who knew Ansel A Wow. I think in the Author's Note at the end of the book, he says it best when he talks about Morgenson's wife who said that you couldn't tell the story of Randy Morgenson without telling the story of the Sierras.

This book has left me with goosebumps, left me with a lot to think about. Really really glad I picked it up. Nov 08, Melanie rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Somehow, true stories always have such a pull for me. Although many of us will know how the book ends the primary events described are from prior to reading the first page, the author keeps us interested. Suspense builds, and at times I found myself wanting to shout through the walls of time, to tell the rescuers the clues.

I docked a star because I feel towards the last third of the book it becomes unnecessarily detailed. Every action of every search team is logged. I was so excited to g Somehow, true stories always have such a pull for me. I was so excited to get on with things, that it became a little hard to read the details. As an added bonus, the book has quotes from Wallace Stegner whom the subject of the book was personal friends with , as well as Ansel Adams.

Apr 20, Bobbi rated it liked it Shelves: If you like Jon Krakauer books you'll probably like this one. Blehm is nowhere near the writer that Krakauer is, however, but it's an interesting story, anyway. He goes missing one day and a massive search begins. He's been having trouble with his marriage and an affair so people wonder if he's committed suicide.

I think Blehm pads the story a bit too much, however, with irrelevant information to make this into If you like Jon Krakauer books you'll probably like this one. I think Blehm pads the story a bit too much, however, with irrelevant information to make this into a full length book so my interest waned in parts. Not bad, but not great either. Jun 21, Pj rated it really liked it Shelves: A book this engaging and well written deserved a better subject. As I continued into the book, I found myself becoming uninterested in Randy and more drawn to those around him, intrigued by what was driving them in their search for a man that, beyond their normal duties, seemed to think so little of people.

Randy's ecological conservatism seemed to be as much about protecting his personal enjoyment of the land as much as the land itself. I found myself wishing the book were about his father Dana A book this engaging and well written deserved a better subject. I found myself wishing the book were about his father Dana Morgenson.

Dana, from what is presented here, had a clear desire to conserve the land and spread love of it to others showing a definite understanding about how to relate to people that his son lacked.

The Last Season - Wikipedia

The heaps of praises from visitors which Blehm oddly presented about the time my mind had been made up regarding Randy , for me, can't overshadow a man who to fix his problems relating to people sought the ultimate solitude. This was a good book, I just can't let go of wishing it had been about something else. Apr 28, Tam G rated it liked it Shelves: There was a nice 60s-nature-freak-artistic-activist vibe, the kind where there are liberal quotes from Thoreau, Abbey, and Muir.

The biography centers on a complex person, backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, and his disappearance from his post after almost 30 years as a backcountry ranger. It did spend the first half of the novel moving between Morgenson's early life and the disappearance and SAR search and rescue.

As can happen when that device is used, you prefer 3. As can happen when that device is used, you prefer one story over the other. I enjoyed the inner workings of the National Parks. But sometimes the multiple layers felt drawn out too much and padded. Jul 14, Clarissa rated it really liked it. This book was so surprisingly good. I picked it up to read, coincidentally, right before a trip to Yosemite.

The book helped give me a great respect for the area. The story was so well-written, it created a riveting real-life mystery. Dosa also uses her considerable film-making skills to keep the story on track, to make everything in it vital, and to entertain us as we learn about a world that has been invisible to most Americans, particularly because the mushroom's customers are primarily Japanese. How Dosa found the real-life characters that are the center of the documentary speaks to one of her considerable film-making gifts.

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