Memphis Reads Archive

Nonfiction

Sarah Frierson reviews THE LAST SEASON by Eric Blehm (HarperCollins, 2006)

Randy Morgenson spent 28 seasons as a backcountry ranger in the High Sierras. It's possible to say that no one knew more about the area and what it took to survive there than him. Without a doubt, no one had a greater love for the land. So no one expected what happened in the summer of 1996.

Randy Morgenson vanished.

Did he want to disappear? Was there an accident? Could he have been murdered? Did problems from the off-season spill into the backcountry and lead him to suicide?

All of these questions are confronted as this book combines the mystery of Randy's disappearance with the story of Randy's life, the tales of the backcountry and an intricate portrait of a modern search and rescue mission. Eric Blehm pieces together parts of Randy's own journals and logbooks with hundreds of interviews of friends, family and coworkers to combine each of these parts of the story seamlessly.

Blehm does a good job of building suspense and propelling the reader deeper into the book, so anyone who likes a mystery will probably enjoy this book. But, for those who have any interest in the outdoors, national parks, search and rescue operations, or anyone who has enjoyed Jon Krakauer's books, you are sure to like it!


Sarah Frierson, Business and Science Department

Labels: Nonfiction, Reviews by Sarah Frierson