And I apologize for my harsh critique of Randy's behavior I just wanted to give my honest review of this book.īlehm looks at the uber backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson.

My heart goes out to Randy's friends and colleagues, and especially his wife.

I'm glad I stuck with it because the end of the book was fantastic I never saw it coming! Eric Blehm is a great author and I'm looking forward to more of his work. I had to force myself to put aside my feelings for Randy so that I could give the book and its author a chance. But I found myself disliking him so much that it actually ruined the book for me. He just seemed (to me) to be an insufferable maladjusted misanthrope.ĭespite these harsh words it's not my intention to judge Randy and I know it isn't the author's intention for this book. He could not accept the rules and norms of society, even the ones he intentionally submitted himself to (like his marriage vows). He had a privileged childhood but could not live up to his potential as an adult. While we're all flawed to some degree (no one is perfect), the more I read about Randy's behavior towards his wife, friends, and colleagues, the more I grew to dislike him as a person. However the book was about a missing backcountry ranger whom I found to be a deeply flawed human being. I loved the descriptions of the Sierra Nevada backcountry. I thought this was a great book and very well-written. But their spirits will soar at the grandeur and mysticism of nature expertly captured in its most primal state. His gripping narrative will cause readers' hearts to ache at the disappearance of this undervalued soul. Blehm seamlessly combines a detective story with a celebration of nature that calls to mind the works of classic American writers like Thoreau and Emerson. That skill would prove costly when, at age 54, he went missing. Dedicated to keeping the wilderness undisturbed, he was proud of his ability to leave no trace of himself wherever he camped. Passionate about the mountains, he excelled at his responsibilities, which ranged from clearing away garbage left by careless campers to rescuing injured hikers. A gifted photographer and a lyrical writer, he dropped out of college to begin a career that would send him into the remote parts of California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The introverted Morgenson was more comfortable with the natural world than with people. Blehm narrates this true account of the disappearance and search for Randy Morgenson, a National Park Service ranger who, one morning after 28 seasons on the job, failed to answer his radio call.

To pick up The Last Season is to lose oneself in a mesmerizing story about a place few could survive in and even fewer have visited-the unforgiving backcountry of the Sierra Nevadas.

The Last Season by Eric Blehm