Book cover of The Last Season

Book description

Destined to become a classic of adventure literature, The Last Season examines the extraordinary life of legendary backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson and his mysterious disappearance in California's unforgiving Sierra Nevada—mountains as perilous as they are beautiful. Eric Blehm's masterful work is a gripping detective story interwoven with the riveting biography…

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2 authors picked The Last Season as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Last Season recounts the disappearance of ranger Randy Morgenstern in California’s High Sierra. A legend in the NPS for his devotion to wild places, Morgenson spent more than 25 seasons as a backcountry ranger in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks before disappearing without a trace in 1996. An introspective sort who knew every corner of the territory he patrolled, Morgenson left behind a tantalizing mystery that writer Eric Blehm turns into a page-turning, psychological thriller. Did he fall off a cliff? Was he murdered? Did he take his own life? As a young ranger, I read this…

In 1996, backcountry ranger Randy Morgenstern vanished in the wilds of California’s Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. Morgenstern was well-known for his ability to find lost hikers in remote, rugged terrain, and that he could simply vanish himself was unthinkable. An investigation was launched, search parties covered vast areas of the park. Rumors circulated of his simply walking out of the park to start a new life. Others thought he might be injured and unable to reach help, or had even taken his own life.

As I turned the pages, spellbound by the mystery, I also deeply related to…

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