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Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger #1-2
Bear in the Back Seat I and II: Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Boxed Set: Smokies Wildlife Ranger Book 3
Both volumes of Bear in the Back Seat!
#7 in the USA audio book in 2016 and #9 in the USA ebook in 2013
A Top 50 Must Read for the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service.
Named in 10 Must-Read Books That Could Save Our National Parks and the Environment along with John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Lewis & Clark, Bill Bryson, and Ken Burns.
True stories from “[a]n extraordinary landscape populated with befuddled bears, hormonally-crazed elk, homicidal wild boars, hopelessly timid wolves, and nine million tourists, some of whom are clueless.”
In Kim DeLozier’s world, when sedated wild black bears wake up unexpectedly in the back seat of a helicopter in mid-flight, or in his car as he’s driving down the highway, or in his office while he’s talking on the phone, it’s just another day in the park.
You’ll love seeing Kim and a fellow ranger tested as they bravely take on the task of dealing with enraged wild boars, elk, and other wildlife.
An hilarious, heartwarming, and heartbreaking memoir by the chief wildlife ranger in the #1 most popular family vacation destination in the USA, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For over thirty years, Kim DeLozier acted as a referee in the wild, trying to protect millions of park visitors from one of the densest populations of wild black bears in America — and the bears from tourists who get too close.
It takes place in the same Smoky Mountain world as Jourdan’s other national bestsellers Heart in the Right Place , Medicine Men , and Out on a Limb .
#7 in the USA audio book in 2016 and #9 in the USA ebook in 2013
A Top 50 Must Read for the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service.
Named in 10 Must-Read Books That Could Save Our National Parks and the Environment along with John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Lewis & Clark, Bill Bryson, and Ken Burns.
True stories from “[a]n extraordinary landscape populated with befuddled bears, hormonally-crazed elk, homicidal wild boars, hopelessly timid wolves, and nine million tourists, some of whom are clueless.”
In Kim DeLozier’s world, when sedated wild black bears wake up unexpectedly in the back seat of a helicopter in mid-flight, or in his car as he’s driving down the highway, or in his office while he’s talking on the phone, it’s just another day in the park.
You’ll love seeing Kim and a fellow ranger tested as they bravely take on the task of dealing with enraged wild boars, elk, and other wildlife.
An hilarious, heartwarming, and heartbreaking memoir by the chief wildlife ranger in the #1 most popular family vacation destination in the USA, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For over thirty years, Kim DeLozier acted as a referee in the wild, trying to protect millions of park visitors from one of the densest populations of wild black bears in America — and the bears from tourists who get too close.
It takes place in the same Smoky Mountain world as Jourdan’s other national bestsellers Heart in the Right Place , Medicine Men , and Out on a Limb .
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 11, 2014
73 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Jourdan
25 books169 followersUSA Today,Top-10 Audible & 6-time Top-10 Wall Street Journal best selling Author of Memoir, Biography, Wildlife, and Mystery
USA Today Best Seller Out on a Limb was also voted a Best Kindle Book of 2014.
#9 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Medicine Men in 2022.
#9 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Heart in the Right Place in 2017.
#7 NYT-Audible Best Seller Bear in the Back Seat in 2016.
#6 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Medicine Men in 2015.
#5 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Medicine Men in 2014.
#9 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Bear in the Back Seat in 2013.
#7 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Heart in the Right Place in 2012.
Visit Carolyn online at her website, her personal Facebook page, her Facebook Author page, her Twitter page, or her Instagram page.
Jourdan's newest books are Dangerous Beauty: Stories from the Wilds of Yellowstone and Waltzing with Wildlife: 10 Things NOT to do in Our National Parks.
Other recent works are Nurses: The Art of Caring, Radiologists at Work: Saving Lives With the Lights Off, and Talking to Skeletons: Behind the Scenes With a Radiologist.
The nurse book is a collection of the most memorable moments from the careers of over 60 nurses. It covers nearly 70 years of practice from World War II to the present day.
The extraordinary situations described here are the result of more than 1,000 years of hands-on bedside knowledge. The vignettes contain wisdom and insight gained the hard way, from long experience in the trenches (sometimes in actual trenches) performing tasks that range from the most humble to the most skilled.
The radiology books form a set of companion books, one dealing with the most memorable moments of 40 radiologists and the other chronicling 7 extraordinary nights spent shadowing a single radiologist.
Bear in the Back Seat - Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a series of true stories from “[a]n extraordinary landscape populated with befuddled bears, hormonally-crazed elk, homicidal wild boars, hopelessly timid wolves, and nine million tourists, some of whom are clueless."
In Kim DeLozier’s world, when sedated wild black bears wake up unexpectedly in the back seat of a helicopter in mid-flight, or in his car as he’s driving down the highway, or in his office while he’s talking on the phone, it’s just another day in the park.
In Out on a Limb Phoebe McFarland has just moved back to her hometown of White Oak, Tennessee, a sleepy rural community nestled in the mist-shrouded ridges and isolated hollows of the Smoky Mountains.
Now she spends her days working as a rural home health care nurse, making calls on a quirky roster of housebound characters she’s determined to take care of whether they cooperate or not.
She applies this same optimism to her love life, despite the fact that she’s been dating for 38 years without locating any husband material. When she runs into her childhood sweetheart, Henry Matthews, a wildlife ranger for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it looks like she might’ve found her man.
But Phoebe and Henry’s chance for romance has to be put on hold while they undertake a desperate search for a young woman who mysteriously vanished from the park during a gathering of world famous biologists and botanists, including a charismatic Frog Whisperer.
Medicine Men
USA Today Best Seller Out on a Limb was also voted a Best Kindle Book of 2014.
#9 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Medicine Men in 2022.
#9 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Heart in the Right Place in 2017.
#7 NYT-Audible Best Seller Bear in the Back Seat in 2016.
#6 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Medicine Men in 2015.
#5 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Medicine Men in 2014.
#9 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Bear in the Back Seat in 2013.
#7 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Heart in the Right Place in 2012.
Visit Carolyn online at her website, her personal Facebook page, her Facebook Author page, her Twitter page, or her Instagram page.
Jourdan's newest books are Dangerous Beauty: Stories from the Wilds of Yellowstone and Waltzing with Wildlife: 10 Things NOT to do in Our National Parks.
Other recent works are Nurses: The Art of Caring, Radiologists at Work: Saving Lives With the Lights Off, and Talking to Skeletons: Behind the Scenes With a Radiologist.
The nurse book is a collection of the most memorable moments from the careers of over 60 nurses. It covers nearly 70 years of practice from World War II to the present day.
The extraordinary situations described here are the result of more than 1,000 years of hands-on bedside knowledge. The vignettes contain wisdom and insight gained the hard way, from long experience in the trenches (sometimes in actual trenches) performing tasks that range from the most humble to the most skilled.
The radiology books form a set of companion books, one dealing with the most memorable moments of 40 radiologists and the other chronicling 7 extraordinary nights spent shadowing a single radiologist.
Bear in the Back Seat - Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a series of true stories from “[a]n extraordinary landscape populated with befuddled bears, hormonally-crazed elk, homicidal wild boars, hopelessly timid wolves, and nine million tourists, some of whom are clueless."
In Kim DeLozier’s world, when sedated wild black bears wake up unexpectedly in the back seat of a helicopter in mid-flight, or in his car as he’s driving down the highway, or in his office while he’s talking on the phone, it’s just another day in the park.
In Out on a Limb Phoebe McFarland has just moved back to her hometown of White Oak, Tennessee, a sleepy rural community nestled in the mist-shrouded ridges and isolated hollows of the Smoky Mountains.
Now she spends her days working as a rural home health care nurse, making calls on a quirky roster of housebound characters she’s determined to take care of whether they cooperate or not.
She applies this same optimism to her love life, despite the fact that she’s been dating for 38 years without locating any husband material. When she runs into her childhood sweetheart, Henry Matthews, a wildlife ranger for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it looks like she might’ve found her man.
But Phoebe and Henry’s chance for romance has to be put on hold while they undertake a desperate search for a young woman who mysteriously vanished from the park during a gathering of world famous biologists and botanists, including a charismatic Frog Whisperer.
Medicine Men
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 16, 2023
Part 2
While I loved the author’s first book, this one isn’t so bad. Just that some of it was a rehash, but not much. I mean the stories are new, but it felt like I was hearing them again. It makes for a better read if you buy them both in one book and just keep reading.
He will make the same statement that we should not feed the wild animals, like the bears and the elk. It makes them too tame, and when they are not afraid of people, they can suddenly get dangerous, and when this happens, they will have to be killed.
The new stories in this book are about the elk. Some would find themselves in people’s gardens or on their land disturbing the cattle. They would move the elk just to have them come back in a season or two. One woman kept feeding an elk that it began chasing her car whenever she left the house. Cows will do the same.
The story that I thought was funny but only because it worked out okay, was that a woman from England wanted to come to the Smokey Mountains because she wanted to get over her fear of bears. I can’t recall why they allowed her to be with the rangers, but they did. So, one night she and another ranger were given the job to camp out in a campground that they had closed due to too much bear activity. They were to see how many bears came around. She didn’t sleep too well that night, and neither would have I. She heard noises in the night, and then a bear pushed its head into her tent, right by her head. She woke up the ranger, and by this time the bear was pushing its head near his head. Then the bear ripped open the tent and began pulling on the ranger’s leg. The woman began pulling him back into the tent. And then he remembered his gun, got it out of his knapsack and shot above the bears head. The bear backed off. She was traumatized, and well, left and went back to England with more fear of bears. Now, I know that this wasn’t a funny story, but I thought it funny that she didn’t get over her fear. Why would anyone get over their fear of bears just because they are around them?. It would only make sense that you would end up with more fear.
While I loved the author’s first book, this one isn’t so bad. Just that some of it was a rehash, but not much. I mean the stories are new, but it felt like I was hearing them again. It makes for a better read if you buy them both in one book and just keep reading.
He will make the same statement that we should not feed the wild animals, like the bears and the elk. It makes them too tame, and when they are not afraid of people, they can suddenly get dangerous, and when this happens, they will have to be killed.
The new stories in this book are about the elk. Some would find themselves in people’s gardens or on their land disturbing the cattle. They would move the elk just to have them come back in a season or two. One woman kept feeding an elk that it began chasing her car whenever she left the house. Cows will do the same.
The story that I thought was funny but only because it worked out okay, was that a woman from England wanted to come to the Smokey Mountains because she wanted to get over her fear of bears. I can’t recall why they allowed her to be with the rangers, but they did. So, one night she and another ranger were given the job to camp out in a campground that they had closed due to too much bear activity. They were to see how many bears came around. She didn’t sleep too well that night, and neither would have I. She heard noises in the night, and then a bear pushed its head into her tent, right by her head. She woke up the ranger, and by this time the bear was pushing its head near his head. Then the bear ripped open the tent and began pulling on the ranger’s leg. The woman began pulling him back into the tent. And then he remembered his gun, got it out of his knapsack and shot above the bears head. The bear backed off. She was traumatized, and well, left and went back to England with more fear of bears. Now, I know that this wasn’t a funny story, but I thought it funny that she didn’t get over her fear. Why would anyone get over their fear of bears just because they are around them?. It would only make sense that you would end up with more fear.
July 9, 2018
Kim DeLozier is a good storyteller and delivers an important message. These books are a series of stories so can be repetitive but he's been a park ranger for decades. Repetition is mandatory. You can tell people not to be stuipd over and again, and they will go behind your back and do what you just told them in detail was foolish.
I know these woods well and have worked with animals so understand how intense situations such situations can be. That was underplayed but it would be difficult to put across how intense. Handling animals can be holding-your-breath frightening. When you spend 7 hours in 15 degree temps, are wet and the wind is blowing, you aren't cold, you are enduring and wishing it to end. The fact that these rangers are out there in the middle of the night to pull a deer out of a trash can or gather a bear mom and cubs is more than admirable. The fact that they are often doing it due to selfish humans is an awful statement about people, but there it is.
I would recommend reading these books. I rated them a bit higher than I typically would have but Kim DeLozier and his fellow rangers earned my respect - and again, it's an important message and good storytelling. The second was better IMO, but both are an entertaining read. Not literature, but good storytelling.
I know these woods well and have worked with animals so understand how intense situations such situations can be. That was underplayed but it would be difficult to put across how intense. Handling animals can be holding-your-breath frightening. When you spend 7 hours in 15 degree temps, are wet and the wind is blowing, you aren't cold, you are enduring and wishing it to end. The fact that these rangers are out there in the middle of the night to pull a deer out of a trash can or gather a bear mom and cubs is more than admirable. The fact that they are often doing it due to selfish humans is an awful statement about people, but there it is.
I would recommend reading these books. I rated them a bit higher than I typically would have but Kim DeLozier and his fellow rangers earned my respect - and again, it's an important message and good storytelling. The second was better IMO, but both are an entertaining read. Not literature, but good storytelling.
July 20, 2014
Insightful storybook
Insightful storybook
I liked the book particularly because it was very much written for fool's who need to know how to behave around wild animals. it was also a Christian account of things which is also a message that there are good clean books out there written by honest and brave and hard-working men and women working fo
the betterment of mankind . plus it made for a very revealing side of what goes on behind the scene in our parks. We need more
Insightful storybook
I liked the book particularly because it was very much written for fool's who need to know how to behave around wild animals. it was also a Christian account of things which is also a message that there are good clean books out there written by honest and brave and hard-working men and women working fo
the betterment of mankind . plus it made for a very revealing side of what goes on behind the scene in our parks. We need more
December 5, 2014
Although this book holds special meaning for me since I live on the edge of the Great Smoky mountains, I would have loved reading this insiders view into the national park rangers lives. The books were an ideal blend of the humorous and serious with anecdotes that had me spontaneously bursting into laughter and others that underscored how foolishly and idly we humans treat the other animals sharing this planet.
December 23, 2015
The stories are fairly interesting, about interactions with wildlife in the Smokey Mountains. The book reads like a series of newspaper columns (very little flow), told in a folksy tone of voice. It grates a little to read, although I imagine the narrator is a smashing storyteller in person.
There is a lot of repetition about how people shouldn't feed animals--I suspect the number of lectures between the two books is in the double digits.
There is a lot of repetition about how people shouldn't feed animals--I suspect the number of lectures between the two books is in the double digits.
December 28, 2015
I picked this up as a Kindle deal--I give a lot of books a chance if they're cheap.
The writing isn't great--this isn't a high literary memoir--but the stories are entertaining. Ranger Kim DeLozier has dealt with enough stupid park visitors that he repeats himself a bit on the importance of NOT FEEDING THE WILDLIFE.
I admit that when I saw author's name, I thought Kim was a woman. I wonder how the stories might have differed if my assumption was correct.
The writing isn't great--this isn't a high literary memoir--but the stories are entertaining. Ranger Kim DeLozier has dealt with enough stupid park visitors that he repeats himself a bit on the importance of NOT FEEDING THE WILDLIFE.
I admit that when I saw author's name, I thought Kim was a woman. I wonder how the stories might have differed if my assumption was correct.
November 28, 2016
With the audiobook version, listened to a series of zany bear-laden Smokey Mountain adventures with my family, and it was enjoyed by adults and kids. It even mentioned a certain garbage bear accidentally landing in Sevierville, TN, where I enjoyably stayed for a short while on business, and thus this brought back fond memories. Although, I never saw a bear. If you don't get around to reading this, just remember, as repeatedly lectured to the readers, DON'T FEED THE BEARS.
January 2, 2015
Great, sometimes hilarious, wildlife stories set in one of my favorite National Parks. This book could use some major editing, but my family and I really enjoyed the stories told from the perspective of a seasoned park ranger. It gave my son a detailed glimpse into a career as a wildlife ranger.
February 16, 2015
Short stories of a ranger
I really liked the second book best. It is a very good book to read before visiting The Great Smokey Mountains. It's very educational about the wild animals in the park.
I really liked the second book best. It is a very good book to read before visiting The Great Smokey Mountains. It's very educational about the wild animals in the park.
November 7, 2015
Passed the time pleasantly but not much of substance. Once you read the first short story you'd pretty much read them all.
August 2, 2021
Fun reads...as an animal lover, I cringed at some of the painful parts, but my overall view of the book was positive, and I wish there was more. I love that they tried their best to keep the animals alive by educating the humans. As someone who lives in Virginia bear country, it's good to remind myself how to live in harmony with these beautiful animals.
November 18, 2019
If you like the Smoky Mountains and/or animals, this is a really good read.
September 5, 2022
Wonderfully entertaining books.Loved them both .Wish there were more.
September 27, 2022
Bears elk and more
Great stories - loved reading everything - so many good laughs - also a lesson in how to respect wildlife
Great stories - loved reading everything - so many good laughs - also a lesson in how to respect wildlife
January 2, 2024
I enjoyed this very much. Author has a humorous way of writing and describing the idiots that don't follow the rules and get their comeuppance.
May 8, 2024
Really enjoyed these books ,Many Thanks
December 1, 2015
I really enjoyed this memoir full of stories during the author's time as a wildlife ranger in the Smokeys. I learned a lot about the park, it's wildlife and conservation efforts. Makes me want to get out on the AT.
December 4, 2014
Interesting stuff. I'm less afraid of black bears but more afraid of wild boar. Still hoping to never cross paths with either.
August 8, 2015
Great stories and advice about dealing with wildlife. A very entertaining read.
October 17, 2015
Good practical advice. The people that need it the most are not the ones who will heed it. And I'm glad we don't have wild hogs in our parks out west.
Read
December 13, 2016I only read the first part of this book and then gave it up.
April 10, 2017
I own these Kindle copies. I admire those who defend and care of animals and people.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews