I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in this book. And to be honest, I had to give myself permission not to finish it. When I pick up a great book, I can sometimes read it in just a day or two, depending on length. But this book I have been struggling with for over a month -- it's not that it's a bad story. The premise is GREAT and it had all the ingredients for a juicy tale -- based on the story of the real-life mountain ranger who disappeared in 1996 -- but I have decided it's just that the writer STINKS. The way he tells the story -- going back and forth between past and present -- usually works for a lot of people, but not for this guy. The story is disjointed, the back-story seems boring and irrelevant, and you just want him to get to it, already.

Different than I was expecting. His personal problems could have been summed up more as it became a chore to read them. I gave this three stars because I could relate to his love of nature. I also really enjoyed some of the wisdom I gained from reading this.

Dit boek werd aangeraden als vergelijkbaar verhaal met de short story/blog 'The Hunt for the Death Valley Germans', welke overigens echt een aanrader op zichzelf is (via Otherhand.org). Een terechte vergelijking: dit verhaal over de zoektocht in de backcountry van Sequoia and Kings National Park naar een vermiste ranger/vriend geeft de sfeer tijdens de zoektocht en de passie voor ongerepte natuur van de ranger(s) erg mooi weer!

Blehm looks at the uber backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson. In his 28th summer in a dismally paid, and little appreciated job, Morgenson, the nearest thing to John Muir in his neck of the National Park Service, vanished. Blehm looks at this very interesting fellow, no simple mountain man. In fact Morgenson was friends with Ansel Adams, who advised him on one of his passions. Guess which? He was also friends with Wallace Stegner, who offered his wisdom on Morgenson’s writing. Blehm looks not only at Randy’s personal relationships, his failing marriage, his affair, his friendships, his love of the outdoors, the beauty to be found there, but at the role of rangers and how society supports, or does not support them. We also learn much about the ranger life, the parks in which Randy worked, the challenges rangers and park visitors face. This is a pretty good book for those interested in the outdoors, mountaineering, living close to nature. It might not do much for those who do not have an interest in that genre.

Really well written, and I enjoyed the unfolding story and the flow.
You could feel the tension, excitement and utter sadness of the search & rescue operation.
Excellent character development of the rangers, family, friends. Relatable on many levels.
Lovely landscape descriptions of the Sierras and Yosemite, really transports you there.
The only unlikable character was the main one, Randy.

However, it is still a compelling drama.
Recommend.

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 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. 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.

Impossible to put down. Great book-sucks you right in.

The Last Season is a wonderful book about one man’s intimate relationship with nature and how the search after his disappearance impacted those who loved him and knew him best. For me, this story is a compelling and emotional page-turner. The narrative tells a complete picture of Randy Morgenson’s life and career as a backcountry ranger, naturalist, and photographer. The highs and lows of his life are conveyed through his own words and those of his loved ones, friends, and co-workers, as well as official reports that chronicled his disappearance in the High Sierra of Kings Canyon National Park and the subsequent search to find him. I was so impressed with the intelligent, insightful, and eloquent written expression left behind by Randy, as well as those who knew him well. While it may seem a simple existence to live much of your life isolated and alone in the wilderness, the people featured in this book have deeply fulfilling and rich experiences both while taking care of the national parks and their visitors, and when they return to civilization during the offseason.

If you enjoy, or at least admire the great outdoors, and like reading about the mystery of and efforts to find missing individuals, you will love this well-written story. It means a lot to me that an author honors those affected by this kind of tragedy, and I really felt like I knew Randy and everyone who cared about and tried to find him.

I listened to the Audible audiobook and found the narration to be superb and in the best way, I felt like the reader made the story, not their delivery of it, most important. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It touched my heart and soul.

I thought this was a great book and very well-written. I loved the descriptions of the Sierra Nevada backcountry. However the book was about a missing backcountry ranger whom I found to be a deeply flawed human being. 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. He had a privileged childhood but could not live up to his potential as an adult. He could not accept the rules and norms of society, even the ones he intentionally submitted himself to (like his marriage vows). He just seemed (to me) to be an insufferable maladjusted misanthrope.
Despite these harsh words it's not my intention to judge Randy and I know it isn't the author's intention for this book. But I found myself disliking him so much that it actually ruined the book for me. I had to force myself to put aside my feelings for Randy so that I could give the book and its author a chance. 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. My heart goes out to Randy's friends and colleagues, and especially his wife. And I apologize for my harsh critique of Randy's behavior; I just wanted to give my honest review of this book.

A great true story that makes me wish I had grown up in the wilderness and been in a position to work as a ranger. I was unfamiliar with this true story and legitimately was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the book waiting to hear the solution to what happened to Randy. Really inspiring, a beautiful and quick easy read.

My initial impression had been a bit meh...the author starts into the story of the missing Ranger (Morgensen) and then spends three quarters of the book telling you his life story before you finally find out what happened. Having said that, now that I've had some time to reflect I did come to appreciate the details in this story. While the main character was obviously deeply flawed, who isn't? If you love the outdoors mixed with a bit of mystery and don't mind taking the scenic route you should check out this book!

A few months ago when I hiked the John Muir Trail, I took countless pictures of sky pilots. These blue flowers would pop up out of the craggy rock only at the top of the highest mountain passes, 12,000 feet or higher. I didn’t know their significance at the time but I wondered at their miraculous existence all the same. On that hike, I stopped at Bench Lake Ranger Station- the same station at which Randy Morgenson held his last post- and I spoke with the Ranger on duty about getting off trail. He gave me the facts and let me make my own decision but something about this place told me to push on... that something big was just around the corner waiting to be discovered.
This book has given all new meaning to the land that has fueled my dreams for my entire life. To see these mountains through Randy’s eyes is a gift all the same as unwrapping the gift of a new summit view.