The Last Season

I found this book to be beautifully written. It was at times thrilling when reading about the search but also gave me a wonderful sense of appreciation for Randy and his thoughts on nature. I loved seeing his writing intermixed throughout the book.

Very interesting book, recommended for the outdoor enthusiast

I first read this book when it was released in 2007, and it coincided with the start of a my own love affair with the Eastern Sierras earlier that same year with a week backpacking trip through some of the exact areas in Randy Morgenson's patrol area. I was barely touched by the beauty of the mountains when I was introduced to Morgenson's life through the pen of Eric Blehm, and what an impact this book had on me. So much so that, over the last 13 years since I first read it, its content has dominated my consciousness while on dozens of long trips through the high country of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.After I read it the first time, I lent it out to several of my hiking and outdoor friends, and along the way the book never found its way back to me. So last week I ordered another one, and the next three days I poured over the pages once again with the same interest and intrigue as I had years ago. I knew the end of the story before I re-read the first page, but Blehm's extensive research and storytelling made it every bit as fascinating as the first time I read it.The world is overdue for a major motion picture with the Sierra Nevada Mountains as its backdrop, and this would be the perfect story for such a biopic. The irony is that what it would take to film such a movie in the fragility of the natural world would be vehemently opposed by the Morgenson himself. But his philosophy, his photography, and his writings are deserving of a world currently starved for peace and tranquility.

Eric Blehm's "The Last Season" is a contemplation of legendary national park ranger Randy Morgenson, who yearned to "live by whim," as he put it -- no borders, no boundaries, no trails, no rules. This is a book about the space, if the space exists, where man begins and nature begins. This non-fiction account of Morgenson's fascinating life is deftly told and deeply intriguing. If Morgenson hadn't died and if he hadn't left behind a giant puzzle about how he died, I'd like to think Blehm would have been equally compelled to write the story (but that's probably a dream).Morgenson's death--and the conjecture about his state of mind at the time--are what make the last section of "The Last Season" such a page-turner. By that point, we have grown to know Morgenson so well that the massive search for his body is equal parts pounding and breaking hearts. The analysis of how he died requires some clever sleuth work and imagination.Blehm's book covers so much territory--Morgenson's family, his upbringing, his spirit guides, his relationships, his marriage, his stellar record and his unique view of the world. His mother, for instance, said Randy could make a swarm of mosquitoes "seem like the most romantic thing in the world."Blehm's account neatly inter-cuts the search for Morgenson (he disappeared in 1996) with background about Morgenson's family and his relationship with his wife, Judi. The storytelling is brisk, straightforward and as good as anything Jon Krakauer or Timothy Egan have written. Blehm draws heavily from Morgenson's own writings. You will feel like Randy Morgenson was an old (if a bit unusual) friend by the time he goes missing. If you liked "Into the Wild," you'll enjoy this one, too. In some ways, I liked this one better. Like Christopher McCandless, Randy Morgenson isn't always likable or approachable. He's an enigma, at times, too.Read "The Last Season" for a deep glimpse into the people who relish the outdoors, who need it to survive. A friend loaned me a hardback to read. I'm ordering a paperback to keep on my shelf.

I am a frequent Sierra visitor so many of the locations mentioned are places I have been or camped -- that's my disclaimer! I enjoyed this book but not nearly as much as many of the other reviewers appear to have. Like some I think it would have worked much better in a shorter form. It would have been the perfect length for a New Yorker feature for example. Certain elements of the story get repeated so many times as to encourage section skipping, something I normally don't do in a book I like.There are a couple of things in the book that rang a little odd to me. Referring to Randy's travels to Bangkok as "exploring" the religion of "hedonism" is hopefully intended as humor, and there are other places where the writer glosses over what seem to be major lapses in relationship judgement. Ditto for Randy's female friend in the mountains, who escapes with barely a scratch despite some pretty questionable tactics. I also did not really grasp the picture painted of Alden Nash, who seems to graduate from passive, annoyed observer to active participant only after the mystery has been solved. Maybe the writer had to steer around some complex politics in writing this book given that so many of the participants are still alive and even contributed to his work.If the book's aim was to show what an incredible ranger and asset to our parks Randy was, then it succeeded completely. He seemed to be the absolute ideal ranger. Indeed I would have liked to have seen him move more into oversight and politics as he got older, as his thoughts on managing parks and visitors aligned very closely with my own.

This book should of been edited to half its length. The author repeats the same ideas over and over. The theme of the book is repeated so many times I almost threw book down in disgust at 150 pages.Also, Randy was no Stegner. Some of Randy's writings would be nice, but so many made the book even more dull. Its also insulting to compare Randy to Stegner and Abbey.How many ways and times must we hear that Randy was suicidal, was a great guy and loved the wild? So so dull.Thankfully near the end, the description and details of the search got interesting.Mainly the book reads like an autobiography of a nice man and good Ranger who died in an interesting way.

You know from the outset that the book is not going to have a positive ending, but there is a lot of positivity as the story unfolds and provides an interesting insight into a way of life that most of us will never experience.

Great book! Amazing story of a very interesting character.

I love outdoor adventure/rescue books. There are a lot of great ones. This is not one of them.

Great and deep book about the outdoors and the choices we make in life ! I recommend it strongly to everyone !

A somewhat entertaining read about the life of an eccentric and unlikeable man. I wouldn't recommend, but that's just like my opinion n stuff man.