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Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger #4

Bear Bloopers: True Stories from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Smokies Wildlife Ranger Book 4

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7-Time Wall Street Journal and Audible Top-10 in the USA best selling author and Amazon All Star!
Newest addition to the Wall Street Journal best selling Bear in the Back Seat series. A collection of hilarious, heartbreaking, and terrifying encounters with wild black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Rangers, scientists, wildlife photographers, wilderness guides, tourists, and others do all the wrong things when meeting one of the world famous icons of the Smokies.

Wake up from a nap and discover a bear sleeping next to you, see a bear driving a car through the park, or hear a ranger whisper a warning that there's a bear in the stall next to you in the ladies room. It's all so emBEARrassing.

120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 24, 2014

129 people are currently reading
236 people want to read

About the author

Carolyn Jourdan

25 books169 followers
USA 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

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5 stars
201 (37%)
4 stars
175 (32%)
3 stars
122 (22%)
2 stars
31 (5%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
Profile Image for Jessaka.
1,008 reviews228 followers
October 17, 2023
I am beginning to think that national parks have more black bears than the real wilderness. And maybe this is because food is easier to come by in a park. If you are hiking in a park and see a bear you may have to give him your backpack. If you're sitting at a picnic table with your family or friends and having a great lunch, you may have to share it with a bear. You may also have to share a restroom with a bear. You never know. Or a tree. And if you have a hot tub, Be careful because a bear may already be taking a relaxing bath in it.
Profile Image for Michelle.
160 reviews10 followers
January 6, 2016
A Learning Experience

First off, I want to premise my review by saying that this book is a learning experience. Some of the stories are quite funny, while others are not as funny. I consider some of them a "teachable moment", as in what NOT to do when encountering wild animals. With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I laughed out loud a few times with some of these stories. I have always loved our wildlife, especially bears, and this just makes me love them more. It really shows you how incredibly intelligent bears are and at times, a comedy show. Not that encountering one in the wild would be relaxing, but still. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves bears and our beautiful wildlife.
22 reviews
April 24, 2015
Sucked

This book portraits people as stupid. bears are allowed to terrorize and Rob at will. Hunting them would restore their fear and people to enjoy the park from "outside" their cars.
Profile Image for Pamela Tracy.
Author 41 books59 followers
May 15, 2015
Some really good snippets and some a bit confusing. I like the ones that involved students and the camp bird watcher. Good message about not feeding bears.
Profile Image for Ursula Johnson.
2,034 reviews20 followers
May 21, 2020
This was an enjoyable and entertaining collection of stories with mishaps involving bears. Several former park rangers, visitors, wildlife photographers and others contributed to this fun audiobook. The narrator and producer has an authentic regional accent that perfectly accompanies the stories from the region. As the author says, don't try any of this at home. Some gems include, the visitors who tried to kidnap a bear in the backseat of their car, the woman who mistook her bear for a dog, the wife who thought her husband was trying to get frisky only to find out it was a bear swatting her and much more! A great selection when you need a smile and a laugh.
644 reviews
August 17, 2019
This is a GOTTA READ!!!!

Guess what! It’s valid to expect a bear to be dangerous, but so are the tourists—-even more so. If you’re not a tidy tourist the odd are good you may pay a high price. And you may become a character in one of these stories, a very high price in that it may appear in a book like this making you famous
144 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2023
I was surprised

Got this book for an easy read. Really surprised at how people think. These are bears and the park rangers told some really good stories about the bears. So some are funny some are scary but its a good book
Profile Image for Arlene.
82 reviews4 followers
July 13, 2023
Most dangerous animal in the park

Isn't the bear. But bears plus humans equals some very funny stories. From 5 lines to 5 pages, these stories are very entertaining, as bears prove they are often smarter than the tourists and the rangers.
6 reviews
July 30, 2023
Wonderful stories!

I really enjoyed the various stories. It was very informative regarding ways to be cautious and careful around bears. Most people don't know these things and need to be made aware! Very entertaining adventures!
Profile Image for Jan Dunlap.
Author 17 books56 followers
August 23, 2023
Got a few laughs from reading about idiotic tourist questions and really dumb moves around wild bears. If you plan to go into the woods, maybe you should read this as a cautionary tale in preparation!
Profile Image for Amanda.
495 reviews3 followers
April 26, 2020
I am sorry that people are so stupid but it was a good listen. I got the audio book through audio books unleashed and this is my voluntary and honest review.
53 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2020
Too funny!

I just Lmao at some of these stories! I recommend this book to any nature or animal lover. Definitely worthy of your time.
Profile Image for Douglas Reedy.
396 reviews5 followers
August 5, 2020
Cute stories.

The enclosed stories of the bears and park rangers of the Smoky Mountains is entertaining for all. Readers of all ages will enjoy this book.
Profile Image for Quinn Nicole.
350 reviews
September 7, 2020
Fun and easy read. I enjoy hiking and this was an entertaining way to learn what to (and what not to) do if you encounter a bear.
227 reviews6 followers
July 10, 2023
Interesting book - and people really are stupid!
Profile Image for Carl Nelson.
955 reviews5 followers
March 5, 2015
A fast and fun read featuring tales of rangers on the job, ranging in length from a paragraph to a couple of pages. Readers of previous "Bear in the Back Seat" volumes will enjoy these capsule tales, featuring many of the same rangers from other books. First-time readers of the series may find it too anecdotal; this is definitely filler material (but filler material that I enjoyed). One of the best parts of the book are the "stupid questions" passages, in which park visitors ask rangers such thought-provoking, insightful questions as "when do you turn the waterfalls off?" and "at what elevation do the deer become elk?"

A perfect hour-long read for the outdoor lover, nothing more and nothing less.
Profile Image for Deborah.
Author 12 books112 followers
December 5, 2014
When humans and wild black bears accidentally get too close to each other, chaos ensues. A deeply funny collection of memorable encounters with bears from rangers, scientists, wildlife photographers, and others. An entertaining read for the whole family. Carolyn's books are always a delight. Her humorous stories tickled my funny bone while they taught me about bears and the respect we should all have for them.
1 review
April 25, 2015
Bear in the woods

I have experienced a bear encounter at Glacier National Park. Very scary.We had separated from our kids before we encountered a bear on the trail. The bear was more into eating berries than us .When we met the kids back at the car park they didn't believe our story.
Profile Image for Kasey Giard.
Author 1 book65 followers
January 5, 2016
I enjoyed the stories of park rangers and visitors about various bear encounters. For me, the tales were cute and often ended with a bit of a lesson. There were a couple stories that literally made me laugh out loud. Perhaps the greatest success ofthe book, though, is its ability to remind readers that bears are wild animals deserving of respect.
95 reviews
January 26, 2016
I'm always fascinated by wild animals and the lives of rangers who try to protect them. The only downside to this book is that you are finished almost before you've started. Very fast enjoyable read. Right now it is only three degrees outside which made it very easy to picture myself outside at a park listening to a ranger tell of past escapades. Great way to escape the winter blahs!
Profile Image for Sue.
224 reviews
September 8, 2016
Loved the stories from the Park Rangers. Some were quite funny, and some had me wondering what was going to happen next.
BUT I can't believe the stupidity of some of the tourists to the park! Really? These are WILD ANIMALS you're trying to interact with, not Fido or Fluffy! Here's yer sign...next time, think people!
Great fast enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Lori.
1,175 reviews10 followers
October 7, 2016
Entertaining stories from people who actually work or worked in the Smokies. Laugh out loud as you hear about Dwight McCarter (who I've met) whispering through a vent at a woman in the restroom to let her know there is a bear in there with her. Or the ranger who learned that sometimes rangers can fly!
Profile Image for Eileen Carter.
2,053 reviews9 followers
November 16, 2015
Good book

This book certainly has done funny bloopers about bears and the rangers. It was amazing to me how people can be so careless when dealing with wild animals. I really enjoyed the stories and the fact that I had been to some of the places mentioned.
Profile Image for Kevin Muir.
56 reviews1 follower
April 19, 2015
Great read.

As a lover of the GSMNP, I enjoy just about every book written about the park and it's surrounding areas. This book is well written and contains stories that almost any frequent visitor to the park can identify with.
Profile Image for Jan.
19 reviews
April 23, 2015
Bears

Always a pleasant diversion, I have read several bear antic books and while theyre all pretty much the same, there still fun. Also, great lessons in what not to do while hiking
27 reviews
December 29, 2015
Funny, funny, funny

Having grown up in the Appalachian mountains, this was especially funny to me. I have hiked the Appalachian Trail and can only imagine what it would be like to be a ranger working there.
Profile Image for Paula Hilston.
50 reviews2 followers
January 1, 2016
Fun quick tead

A collection of short vignettes about the interactions between humans and bears in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The stories are cute, sometimes scary and always informative.
Profile Image for Dawn Dorsey.
155 reviews3 followers
January 2, 2016
Here is a great collection of stories from Rangers and tourists in the Great Smokey Mountains national park. It includes adventures, misadventures, humorous questions, and amusing aspects of life among the wildlife of the park.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews

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