This memoir, co-written by a retired U.S. park ranger and a professional author, consists mostly of discrete incidents involving bears, skunks, and wild hogs. There’s some bio science and some appreciation of the glory of the Great Smoky Mountains.
But the book is tedious and repetitive, and written on a very basic level. My intense interest in bears and US wildlife in general kept me turning the pages.
Proceed at your own risk. ( )

This one's a keeper. Many of the anecdotes are lighthearted—a few turns of phrase brought to mind Patrick McManus. There are some sad, cautionary stories too, in which DeLozier emphasized the importance of safety and responsibility. It's clear he loves animals, particularly the bears of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Recommended to animal lovers and fans of the outdoors. ( )

It wasn’t as funny as I thought from reviews but it was entertaining. I love being in the mountains. I love bears. It was a good fit for me. I do find it sad that the stories were from the 1980’s and the ranger was talking, often, of people being more dangerous to bears. Here we are in 2021 and, living in Alaska, I can tell you people are still dangerous to bears...for the very same reasons as 1980. I found that a sad commentary on people and their inability to respect wildlife. The only bear I know named Yogi is on tv.
The narrator, Carey Jones, was great. My family is from Appalachia and the Smoky Mountain area. I love that the narrator sounded from the region. It enriched my experience with the book. I felt like I was listening to stories from the front porch. I truly loved that. ( )

nonfiction; park ranger anecdotes. Potentially very interesting, but I've read better--got bored with this 40-some pages in. ( )

Stories by a wildlife ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains park. Nothing particularly unexpected or insightful, but a good collection of representative stories. Definitely makes visiting the park sound attractive, and appreciative of the hard work of the rangers. ( )