The Last Season (38 page)
Authors: Eric Blehm
ERIC BLEHM is the former editor of
Transworld SNOWboarding,
author of
Agents of Change: The Story of DC Shoes and Its Athletes
, and coauthor of
P3: Pipes, Parks, and Powder. The Last Season
was a Book Sense bestseller and a Barnes & Noble Discover selection. He lives in southern California with his wife and son.
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“A gripping accountâ¦. I couldn't put it down.”
âJordan Fisher Smith, author of
Nature Noir
“The search [for Morgenson] drives the engrossing narrative forward at the speed of a bestselling thriller.”
â
Audubon
(Editor's Choice)
"The Last Season
has the feel of a big-league writer coming into full voice. And Morgenson proves to be a worthy subject. A passionate wilderness defender, he had logged twenty-eight seasons at Kings Canyon and was a search-and-rescue sage. âRandy knew the country better than the map did,' one ranger told Blehm. Which only deepened the mystery: If Morgenson didn't want to be found, his colleagues would never be able to track him down. Five years after official search operations ended, a trail of clues turned up in a remote area of the park. Yet Morgenson's disappearance, Blehm writes, âwill always be open to speculation.
â
Outside
“Blehm, a snowboarder and journalist, deftly interweaves the story of Morgenson's lifelong devotion to wilderness with a riveting account of the hunt for him.”
â
National Geographic Adventure
“Part detective story, part sensitive biography, and part Park Service procedural, Blehm's book probes the mystery of Morgenson's disappearanceâ¦. Author Blehm blends his love of the mountains (he was a competitive snowboarder and winter sports writer for years) with serious journalism skills to produce a deeply layered, meticulously researched, greatly entertaining read.”
â
San Francisco Chronicle
“Some considered Morgenson the Park Service's best backcountry ranger, and when he went missing while on patrol in the summer of 1996, his friends were at first astonished, then suspiciousâ¦. Blehm ably evokes the world of seasonal backcountry rangers, whom the Park Service slights even as they put in long days protecting the land they manage and coming to the aid of backpackers in trouble.”
â
Washington Post Book World
“Not only a compelling portrait of this remarkable man [Morgenson], but a whole mountain range to match him, seen through the eyes of men and women who are alive to its every magical nuance. Deftly weaving the critical elementsâ¦Blehm tells a riveting story that combines the virtues of Jon Krakauer's
Into the Wild
with Norman Maclean's
Young Men and Fire
â¦. [An] absorbing account of a remarkable man and the wild country he knew and loved.”
â
Contra Costa Times
“Blehm skillfully weaves the ranger's past with the rescue effort, providing meticulous details that could only come from an author who clearly respected his subject.”
â
Associated Press
“[A] compelling pictureâ¦of the pristine backcountry and the lonely, bittersweet lives of those charged with protecting itâ¦. Well reported, and like the country in which it is set, it glows in serene places.”
â
Chicago Tribune
“Beautifully writtenâ¦. Blehm blends descriptions of the spectacular setting of the Sierra Nevadas with stories of Morgenson's coworkers, friends, and wife to tell the story of a man's life, his work as a ranger, and his deep love for the outdoors.”
â
E/The Environmental Magazine
“A must-readâ¦. Eric Blehm has written an important book. He has succeeded in informing readers about wilderness, backcountry rangers, and important National Park Service issuesâall through the lens of Randy Morgenson's life and [his mysterious disappearance].”
â
Ranger
“The legendary tale of an unsung witness of wilderness devotion, a true conscience and disciple of the backcountry.”
âAron Ralston, author of
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
“When Morgenson disappeared, some speculated he had committed suicide or fled the country. Still, his fellow rangersâ¦valiantly searched for his body. The thoughts of those involved in the search for Morgenson are perhaps the best part of the book, but it is the life of the main character that makes the story so compelling.”
â
Salt Lake City Tribune
“Impeccably researched and compassionately told,
The Last Season
is a compelling story of one man's passion and pain.”
âJennifer Jordan, author of
Savage Summit
“Thoroughly researchedâ¦. Like any good mystery, even one whose ending is known to many, Blehm keeps the pages turning.”
â
Fresno Bee
“A taut and compelling narrative, Eric Blehm channels Morgenson and his pure love for nature.”
â
Charleston Post & Courier
“A first-rate detective story, and an even better account of the love for wild places leads us ever deeper in and higher up.”
âBill McKibben, author
The End of Nature
“A must-read for all wilderness loversâ¦. Fantasticâ¦. If you enjoyed Jon Krakauer's
Into the Wild
or
Into Thin Air,
you will want to latch on to
The Last Season.
Because like these other real-life mysteries, it will latch on to you.”
â
Dayton Daily News
“This is a hell of a story, a tale of lost souls and human frailty and very real sadness, but it's also a one-of-a-kind look into a truly rarefied American subculture, the specialized world of elite backcountry rangers.”
âDaniel Duane, author of
El Capitan
“Guaranteed to send a chill up and down your spineâ¦. A must-read for people who love wildernessâ¦. Blehm provides a riveting account of the National Park Service's extensive search-and-rescue effort.”
â
Capital Times
(Madison, Wisconsin)
“The story of a wild man of profound vision and sustaining conscience. Blehm has superbly captured that soul and given it voice; it is one we all should listen to carefully.”
âPage Stegner, author of
Outposts of Eden
“An ode to Morgenson's beloved Sierras.”
â
Wichita Eagle
“An intriguing, bittersweet wilderness detective story.”
âGreg Child, author of
Over the Edge
“A cautionary taleâ¦. The story of a complicated man, one who lived many summers alone, one who lived in his own world much of the time but who was devoted to protecting the wilderness.”
â
The Olympian
(Olympia, Washington)
Agents of Change: The Story of
DC Shoes and Its Athletes
P3: Pipes, Parks, and Powder
“As a rule, we don't endorse books or movies or anything regarding the command where I workâand Adam Brown worked, but as the author writes in Fearless, âyou have to know the rules, so you know when to bend or break them.' This is one of those times. Read this book. Period. It succeeds where all the others have failed.”
âA
NONYMOUS
SEAL T
EAM
SIX O
PERATOR
Fearless
takes you deep into SEAL Team SIX, straight to the heart of one of its most legendary operators.
Fearless
is the story of Adam Brownâa man of extremes, whose determination was fueled by faith, family, and the love of a woman. It's about a man who waged a war against his own worst impulses and persevered to reach the top tier of the U.S. military. Always the first to volunteer for the most dangerous assignments, Adam's final act of bravery led to the ultimate sacrifice.
Adam Brown was a devoted man who was an unlikely hero but a true warrior, described by all who knew him asâ
fearless
.
FEARLESSNAVYSEAL.COM
THE LAST SEASON
. Copyright © 2006 by Eric Blehm. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
EBOOK EDITION JUNE 2007 ISBN 9780061869990
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