The Last American Man Paperback – May 27, 2003

I read this book for one reason and one reason only: it was written by Elizabeth Gilbert. After finishing Eat, Pray, Love I was in love with Gilbert's writing and found the book to be utterly compelling. Yet when I went to write the review I was in shock to find so many critics.Likewise with this book. So many disgruntled readers, but why?To each's own is all I can say. I loved it. Though I had no idea who Eustace Conway was when the book began, by the end I felt like I knew him well.Not only is naturalist Conway intriguing but Gilbert makes him all the more so. She gets to the heart of the man, what drives him, what inspires him and what hurts him too. She shows his triumphs and failures, strengths and weaknesses.It's such an interesting read, I had a hard time putting it down. And despite having no interest in this stranger before I started, after finishing I wanted to know more. Where is he now? What has become of the guy who calls himself a spokesperson for Earth? To my surprise, he's on a reality show! Who would have guessed?It does indeed make sense. If Eustace wanted to reach more people with his message of primitive living, television is a sure way to do it, ironic as it is being that he doesn’t watch television and wants the world to get away from materialism and instant gratification and return to nature. On the flip side, how else can he reach them if not by entering their world before bringing them to his?I was also impressed with Gilbert, spending so much time on Turtle Island and doing back-breaking work herself. It adds a new dimension to Eat, Pray, Love, demonstrating the author's eternal desire for a basic and spiritual existence despite her city life and financial wealth.Bottom line: Eustace Conway is an interesting subject, and Elizabeth Gilbert’s beautiful writing and storytelling make him shine. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed reading this book and I have often dreamed of living the type of lifestyle that Eustace Conway lives, though not quite so harsh. It seems to me that his many hang-ups have created a personal "river" that no one is able to cross and join him. He seems to be a carbon copy of his father, with just enough minor differences to convince himself that he is nothing like him. Sadly, he has decided to turn away from the only source that could give him true happiness, a relationship with Jesus Christ. I think the old saying, "no one is as blind as he who refuses to see" fits Eustace well. His desire for acceptance from his father has blinded him to the joys of life. The disatisfaction that his apprentises experience and which Eustace cannot understand appears to stem largely from his use of them as slave labor. The expectations of those who come to work on Turtle Island are not the expectations of Eustace himself, which seems to be based on a phylosophy of, " hey, I dug a one hundred foot long ditch, three feet deep through solid rock! It took me two months and nearly killed me, and though I didn't really learn anything about living off the land, by golly I know I can dig a ditch through solid rock and knowing that gives me a warm feeling about who I am." No. The book gives the impression that the apprentises thought they were there to learn how to live off the land but Eustace failed to tell them that they were there to find out what he himself had always practised, "I will do one thing no matter how hard or how impossible it may seem until it kills me or I master it. Then I can stand straight and in my mind know that I am worth something if to no one but myself."This is somewhat of a harsh review of a book about a man I've never met but it is based on the impression I got from the book. I wish you eventual happiness Mr. Conway. You've certainly strived for it.I recommend this book.

I had no idea that Elizabeth Gilbert had another book before Eat, Pray, Love -- and it's really great! After just a few pages, you can really see how Eat, Pray, Love took shape, I think, because this is also a book about someone who found himself, marched to the beat of a different drummer, and broke out of just about every mold out there.As an avid reader of all kinds of outdoor literature, with an emphasis on adventure literature, I really appreciated and enjoyed this book. It's a detailed account of a guy who did things differently and always was one with and comfortable in the natural world. He's politically engaged, too, which is interesting -- so not a total recluse.For me, this book is deeply personal and also somewhat spiritual, as it's an exploration of finding meaning in this world that can be so meaningless for so many of us. Gilbert really gets into his life, and it's an engaging read.