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| The Last Season (P.S.) | 
| Author: Eric Blehm
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $2.94
You Save: $12.01 (80%)
New (36) from $5.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  72 reviews
Sales Rank: 21417
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 0060583010
Dewey Decimal Number: 590
EAN: 9780060583019
ASIN: 0060583010
Publication Date: February 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read -> Recycle -> Reuse!
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| Customer Reviews:
 What Happened to the Ranger? April 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Investigate the disappearance of a seasoned backcountry ranger known for finding others who get lost in the Sierras. This page-turner will keep you riveted.
A compelling human wilderness story!! April 9, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A very strong story that gives you a sense of wilderness as well as a great human story. Randy lived his life his way - for the sierra. Well written by Eric Blehn.
 Fascinating Mystery of the Missing Wilderness Backcountry Ranger March 29, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a fascinating true story about the sudden and mysterious disappearance of backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson in the Sierra Mountains somewhere near his assigned area. What is remarkable is the detail about Morgenson and the lives of the backcountry rangers who live isolated for much of their summer assignment up in the high country living in primitive cabins alone many miles away from hard surface roads and permanent camps and seperated from each other by 20 miles or more by rough trail in the mountains. What is particularly mystifying is that Morgenson was a highly dedicated and seasoned mountain ranger with 28 years of experience. Knowledgable about aiding and saving the misfortunate on the trails and in seruous cases, recovering bodies. Morgenson suddenly disappears in July 1996 and a focused manhunt in the wilds of the mountains takes place without a clue as to his diappearance. The bulk of the center of the book is a detailed biography of this virtual mountainman and of his very supportive wife and fellow backcountry rangers. By learning of his dedication and virtual obsession with the mountains it seems more unbelievable that something could happen to Morgenson. A highly personal look at the man and his family, his wife and the rangers he served with, his marriage begins to fracture in spite of the faith of his wife to endure long periods with him away and as he suddenly disappears there are some questions that are never quite answered until most of the mystery over time is solved. I had wished there were more maps as the pages turn to help focus on how the landmarks fit geographically and at times the long deviations from the search can be disruptive but it also made me read more frantically to find out what happens next. A very interesting book and a tremendous view of the hardlife but dedicated rangers who work in rough country isolated except through the ocassional contact with a hiker/climber, delivery of stock supplies and the radio contact that relied heavily on the condition of the radio and its batteries.
Discover a major new writer who can create a page turner which also provides educational insight February 17, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The tag line for this marvelous book reads "Randy Morgenson was legendary for finding people missing in the High Sierra.... Then one day he went missing himself." WOW this book delivers a vivid biography of back country Ranger Randy Morgenson. An individual who was a lover of primitive wilderness and who was raised on the floor of Yosemite Valley where he found friendship with the likes of Ansel Adams and Wallace Stegner. Randy marries Judi in a ceremony held in a Yosemite Valley meadow and then he and his bride to live isolated in the back countries deep snow. Randy was drawn to the part time Ranger's job in the park services because he only liked the back county (to be permanent he would have had to work part of the year in the tourist part of the park) and for over thirty years he rescued stranded hikers and helped carry out the body of some unfortunate back country hiker who found how dangerous the wilderness can be. In Randy's last season we find he is going though a divorce, also he is ending an affair with another Ranger, and feeling unappreciated by the park service who does not seem to value his experience or contributions of over 30 years service. Then one day Randy does not radio in. Did he commit suicide? Did he just walk out of Mountains never to be heard of again? Did his radio stop working? Is he laying hurt someplace needing critical medical attention? The mystery of his disappearance drives one half of the book as his friends and fellow rangers conduct a massive search and try to answer these and many other questions about Randy. The other half of the book is the study of what mystery of human nature draws someone like Randy Morgenson to fall so in love with the wilderness that it consumes all their passion. I simply will over state the fact that if you will love this extremely well written, entertaining, and fascinating book. Discovering Eric Blem reminds me of how I felt upon first reading Jon Krakauer's great "INTO THE WILD" AND "INTO THIN AIR". Blem's style is to let the story unfold through the eyes and senses of the participants, he does no insert himself into the narrative or even give us clues to what he thinks are the whys or how's something may have happened. To read THE LAST SEASON is to discover a major new writer who can create a page turner which also provides educational insight. You will be amazed to learn what a real Ranger does, how he or she lives, and what drives them. It's certainly not the pension, for there is none; or the retirement benefits, as there are none. So what did happen to Randy Morgenson in the back country of Kings Canyon National Park high in the Sierras? Murder is even possible. Well if you love a mystery, or the outdoors, or just a damn fine read, you will love this story.
Compelling January 17, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
A terrific book that held my interest from cover to cover. A thoughtful, compassionate story of a difficult and fascinating individual. Well told by Eric Blehm.
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