Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Last American Man

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 3,743 ratings · 642 reviews

Finalist for the National Book Award 2002

In this rousing examination of contemporary American male identity, acclaimed author and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert explores the fascinating true story of Eustace Conway. In 1977, at the age of seventeen, Conway left his family's comfortable suburban home to move to the Appalachian Mountains. For more than two decades he has lived...more

Paperback, 271 pages

Published May 27th 2003 by Penguin Books (first published January 1st 2000)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Real Man Books

83rd out of 381 books — 160 voters

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Road Trip

162nd out of 231 books — 114 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 31, 2007 Brice rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Last American man is attempting to save our once great nation from its own greed and sloth by living in harmony with nature. Which obviously is not the exciting part of the book. Eustace Conway’s smaller and more successful journeys may be the exciting part of the book. What this guy has done in the name of fun, adventure, and self exertion kept my attention through the first halfish. Then rooting for Eustace to save our nation from the sedentary lifestyle, TV, and stupidity kept me in it fo...more

12 likes · like · see review

Jun 21, 2008 G (galen) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, social-political-environmental

This was my introduction to Elizabeth Gilbert. It was a random meeting, a freak of fate. Walking into my local public library I saw this book on a shelf I was passing, and thought "What... there aren't any men in America anymore?" Intrigued, I picked it up, positive it was some take-back-the-country-from-the-feminists spiel from some conservative talking head. I was a bit surprised to see it was written by a woman. What the heck… I’d check it out (mostly to see what had happened to all the men i...more

15 likes · like · see review

Aug 29, 2008 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Jim Heetmann

I picked up The Last American Man thinking I was going to read about some environmentalist guy livin' out in the woods to prove a point to the world. While that is basically what the book is about- the author outlines a very different kind of man than you would expect to be living life in the woods. Eustace Conway is not only living on his 1000 acres of land, killing his own food and making his own shelter and clothing from surrounding materials- he is surprisingly a well versed businessman, a t...more

12 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2008 Angie rated it 5 of 5 stars

After devouring Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, I ran to the bookstore and picked up this fascinating biography of Eustis Conway, who may or may not be the Last American Man, but he IS the last person you would want to live with or work for. He is in his own idealistic world that shuts out others and has no tolerance for varying levels of compentence or preferences that differ from his. Gilbert attempts to show why Conway is who he is, and the reader does develop empathy for this lost, misplaced-in-t...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jun 30, 2011 Herbie added it

I love this story.
I love people who dream an intense, crystal clear dream, and then arrange their lives to see it come true.
I love people who work hard.
I harbor a strange and conflicted love for old-fashioned living and values, and for primitive living. Gilbert describes the conflicts I feel so acutely. The wilderness life she descries combines backwards attitudes about gender and the impracticality and seeming irrelevance of it all with sublime moments, connection with nature, and the inner str...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 28, 2008 Jeff Nicholson rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who has a huge crush on Eustace Conway

Shelves: i-give-up

Eustace Conway could teach us all a thing or two about how we should live on this earth. Unfortunately, all Elizabeth Gilbert wants to teach us is about his father issues and his relationships with women. There is almost no wilderness ethic to be had; the book reads like the diary of a 12-year-old girl smitten by a mountain man. It's difficult to think of Gilbert as a serious journalist when she constantly fawns over her subject and actually appears (unflatteringly) in the narrative herself. She...more

18 likes · like · see review

Sep 21, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

Eustace Conway is a terribly fascinating and tremendously unique individual, exactly the sort of person that deserves a biography. Unfortunately, this is not the book he deserves.

Too many biographers (which is to say, more than none) make the mistake that Elizabeth Gilbert makes here. She has trouble staying out of the way of the story that would be conveyed by nothing more complicated than a straight narrative with some judicious focus on key events. That, I believe could have made for an excep...more Eustace Conway is a terribly fascinating and tremendously unique individual, exactly the sort of person that deserves a biography. Unfortunately, this is not the book he deserves.

Too many biographers (which is to say, more than none) make the mistake that Elizabeth Gilbert makes here. She has trouble staying out of the way of the story that would be conveyed by nothing more complicated than a straight narrative with some judicious focus on key events. That, I believe could have made for an exceptional read, because Conway is so fascinating all by himself. And of course, that approach should not be considered unusual - the burden of proof should always be on the author to show that additional embellishments will add, rather than subtract, from the finished work.

In the book we have here, Gilbert is apt to state the key lessons of a story - as she sees it - after she is finished telling the story. At best, this is unnecessary, and at worst it is a distraction to find yourself disagreeing with someone's interpretation of events. The idea of biography is to bring a person into relief for the reader by removing as much inter-mediation as possible. Instead, her approach implies that "more is more", that by assaulting the facts with analysis, we can go deeper. In this case, quite the contrary.

This habit is at its worst when Gilbert spends long passages talking to herself, it would seem, as she attempts to figure out what makes Conway tick. It is clear in these passages that she subscribes to another common biographical illusion - that people's behavior follows some explicable narrative. That is to say, to believe that a person's behavior is internally consistent with itself. And what a shame. Biography is the ideal medium to illustrate how far from reality this belief usually is. In the world I live in, every person retains some degree of mystery. The narratives we construct to attempt an explanation of a person's decisions, compulsions, or flaws are almost always inadequate. People say one thing and do another, usually innocently, often without themselves realizing it. We build these illusions about ourselves and about each other, with equal failure.

This "narrative illusion" makes Gilbert wonder at length about the nature of Conway's relationship with his father. She is amazed that his father seems to say one thing and do another, as if he is breaking some kind of rule. She is equally impressed that the son continues seeking approval after so many years, though she shouldn't be, since it is likely compulsion that drives Conway, not any sense of dedication. All of this fuss is unfortunate, because the imperfect truth is endlessly fascinating - more fascinating than her explanations, which seldom seem to hold water.

Eustace Conway is truly extraordinary. What combination of environment, chance, circumstance, and determination produced this life? As always, it is difficult to separate what was inevitable from what was luck of the draw. But it is illuminating after the first half of the book - where Eustace is painted as doing no wrong (another error - Gilbert even makes an attempt to try to justify away his bad grades in school) - to see that he is ultimately predisposed to failure at critical things - he is unable to maintain a healthy relationship, given his other character traits. Even more amazingly, he is a virtually complete failure at his professed mission of getting other people to fundamentally change their lifestyle. The strongest redemption for the book - and perhaps enough to make me recommend it despite my misgivings - is that Gilbert manages to show, in clear and appropriate light, just how rare and precious the times are when he succeeds. By staying out of the way, she betrays that it is not Conway's dedication alone, but the additional preponderance of circumstance and luck that blesses him with those successes.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 16, 2009 Marissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this in the car, again. Found it to be well-written and interesting, about a real man, Eustice Conway, whose goal in life is to live as naturally as possible, meaning on his land, in a teepee, growing his own food, etc. He also wants everyone else to live this way.

I didn't find Eustice to be a very nice guy, overall, although he did have some redeeming qualities, so I guess he's just pretty human, but so driven and so ego-centric that he was almost unlikeable. The story chronicles...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 03, 2013 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthropology, botany, environment, history, outdoors, philosophy, spirituality, non-fiction, wilderness

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's got it all; history, spirituality, primitive living skills, botany, you name it! I came across this book some where many years ago and have always meant to read it. I'm glad I finally took the time to do so.

As a therapist who specializes in working with folks on the Autistic Spectrum I was only in to the 2nd or 3rd chapter when it struck me; "Holy cow, this guy has Asperger's!" Just like a textbook example he had all the special interests (his interest in nat...more I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's got it all; history, spirituality, primitive living skills, botany, you name it! I came across this book some where many years ago and have always meant to read it. I'm glad I finally took the time to do so.

As a therapist who specializes in working with folks on the Autistic Spectrum I was only in to the 2nd or 3rd chapter when it struck me; "Holy cow, this guy has Asperger's!" Just like a textbook example he had all the special interests (his interest in nature often comes across like an obsession to others), the social impairments (he lives in a teepee in the woods!, actually prefers to be alone and struggled greatly in intimate relationships and to foster any lasting commitment from any of his interns), his difficulty with communication (including non-verbal cues), and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, though, nowhere in the book did the author say anything about Asperger's Syndrome. After reading the book I did a google search for "Eustace Conway Asperger's" and came across a blog in which the author had a conversation with Eustace where he said that "recently he’d figured out that he has a mild form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome". Not only was this validating to my inner diagnostician (pat on the back) but also gave me a huge sense of relief that he was finally able to stumble upon a diagnosis. My experience in helping others achieve this insight is that it gives most "aspies" a sense of relief to finally have a word to package all the years of feeling different, misunderstood, etc. It also gives them a common language and culture by which to begin obtaining support, learning how to build on their inherent strengths, and developing compensatory techniques to manage some of the deficits. So the clinical aspects of this book were interesting to me on many levels.

I spend a fair amount of time living in nature throughout the year but nothing like Eustace Conway. I can wholeheartedly respect the amount of hard work, knowledge and tenacity it takes to do what he has done. A part of me yearns for primitive living and the ultimate commune with nature. The other part of me likes my xbox, packaged meals and warm bed too much!

All in all I was fascinated by Eustace's story and touched by the way he has tried to inspire others to live more simply. As Eustace continues building up his social skill set and decreasing the behaviors that push others away I believe he will begin to have more of a profound impact upon this world.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2012 Johanna Dieterich rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: made-me-laugh, activism, favorites

Elizabeth Gilbert strikes again; her subject matter is unique, her insights are novel, and her writing is eloquent. I love that she openly includes herself in the story, a subtle reminder that _she_ is telling a story, rather than the story objectively existing.

But of course this book isn't about her, so my review isn't about her either. Gilbert writes about Eustace Conway, a man who is torn between a desperation to live off the land in isolation and to publicly urge others to follow his lifesty...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 21, 2008 anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elizabeth Gilbert has an ideal voice for this subject... though she obviously respects her subject, she displays the necessary healthy amount of skepticism needed to make palatable the biography a die-hard naturalist who feels he is destined to educate Americans about the evils of consumer culture. No one wants to be lectured, and Gilbert makes it clear that Eustace Conway -though he's arguably right- has spent his life alternately enamoring and alienating people doing just that.

On the other ha...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 10, 2008 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fic

This book is about an extraordinary, ambitious and complex man. Elizabeth Gilbert, the writer of Eat, Pray, Love, wrote this a few years before her blockbuster memoir. It's equally engaging to learn about a modern American "Mountain man" as it is to read about her own worldly travels. The best thing about this portrait is that she doesn't forget to turn a critical eye towards this somewhat iconic man. He is a visionary, a hard worker, a genius, but he's also difficult, demanding, and remote. A l...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 21, 2008 Cagney rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a portrait of an extraordinary man with very ordinary flaws. In all actuality the take away message of this book is a not as revolutionary as Eustace Conway seems at first glance. Ambition drives Eustace and it is the catalyst for many of the incredible stories Gilbert relates. In the end, however, the depth of the book comes from Eustace failing to find happiness in his ideals, but struggling to make compromises in order to get through this beautiful thing called life. This book co...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 22, 2012 Kiki Bolling rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love books that not only inspire me to do something different with myself and my life, but give me a muse for daydreaming. lol. i am a complete KID, in the deepest parts of me, so i am never afriad to turn inward and just DAYDREAM, and inmagin like children do. lol. with this said, THAT is exactly what this book inspired me to do. It tells the life story of Eustace Conway, a naturalist who moved into the woods when he was 17 years old armed with only his hand made teepee, a knife, and knowledg...more

like · see review

Sep 08, 2012 Pawan rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://iandbooks.wordpress.com

Elizabeth Gilbert became famous with her book “Eat, Pray, Love”. This book “The Last American Man” was written before that and it was not such a famous book. I also went to this book after reading Eat, Pray, Love. The idea of the story looked good to me and I was curious about what she was writing before her famous book. This book is a biography of Eustace Conway, who left his home at the age of 17 to live in the nature and more importantly to live off the nature.

Wh...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2012 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

This is one of those books that stir up strong opinions and heated controversy. Eustace Conway, the back-to-nature mountain man of the title, is someone you can see as a living American myth or a nut case. The author's portrait of him, full of ironies right from the title onward, lends itself to either point of view. And depending on how the book is read, you can see either admiration or skepticism in what she says about Conway.

Or you can see subject and author in all of these ways which, as I u...more This is one of those books that stir up strong opinions and heated controversy. Eustace Conway, the back-to-nature mountain man of the title, is someone you can see as a living American myth or a nut case. The author's portrait of him, full of ironies right from the title onward, lends itself to either point of view. And depending on how the book is read, you can see either admiration or skepticism in what she says about Conway.

Or you can see subject and author in all of these ways which, as I understand the book, is what the author intends. Eustace Conway is full of contradictions. He's both immensely appealing and stridently off-putting. A rigorous thinker, naturalist, and walking whole-earth-catalog, he is still a babe in the woods in knowing how to negotiate just about any kind of relationship with another human being - including the many, many young women he attracts. By the author's account, few men so lucky in bed have been so unlucky in love.

For every amateur psychologist the author provides more than enough back-story to puzzle over Conway's behavior. There's a tyrant father who heaps withering scorn on his son, starting at the age of two. And there's his great-outdoors-loving mother, who rescues him from his father by encouraging his unsupervised forays into the woods. By the time he is out of high school, he's already living in a teepee, beading his own moccasins, killing game for food, skinning animals, and hiking the entire Appalachian Trail wearing nothing more than two bandanas, weather permitting.

Meanwhile, his epic journeys on foot and on horseback and his pioneering in the North Carolina backcountry are mythic Americana. While our first reaction to all this may be admiration, Gilbert writes in a wisecracking tone that heightens the ironies and more than once made me laugh out loud. And she reminds us that if there's anyone to fault, it's not Conway but the gullibly romantic Americans who believe literally in their own national mythology and heroes. Looking back to Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, for instance, she reveals that they were in fact no different. Like Conway, they were supporters of the myths and legends that grew up around them and good old-fashioned American entrepreneurs and self-promoters.

Anyway, there's much to enjoy in this book. And it's full of surprises - right up to the last pages, as Gilbert tells a poignant story of how Conway touched the life of a troubled teenager who spent a week with him in the woods building a fence. And the author's closing image captures the spirit of the entire book - Conway getting out of his truck and shouting, "I love you!" at a buck deer that refuses to move off the road. The image is moving, ridiculous, or both; take your pick. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 27, 2011 Leticia Vega rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I truly enjoyed this book. The narration and the writing were superb. From the first few sentences I was completely captivated by this story. There is an easiness and rhythm to the storytelling that is magical. What I particularly liked about this biography was how easily it would have been to romanticize Eustace Conway, yet EG didn't do this. She wrote about this man with a dignified honesty: a man with grand noble ideals who at the end of the day is just a man; flawed and haunted.

EG’s biograp...more

like · see review

Jul 08, 2011 Torre DeRoche rated it 5 of 5 stars

You don’t have to be a fan of Eat, Pray, Love to like Gilbert’s biography about the extraordinary (and peculiar) life of Eustace Conway. Gilbert reveals a story of a man who rejects society from an early age to live in the wild. In the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, Eustace Conway hunts his own food, sleeps in a teepee and wears, at times, nothing but an animal-skin loin cloth. Preaching his philosophies to any listening ear, Eustace urges greedy, earth-destroying Americans to sell up t...more You don’t have to be a fan of Eat, Pray, Love to like Gilbert’s biography about the extraordinary (and peculiar) life of Eustace Conway. Gilbert reveals a story of a man who rejects society from an early age to live in the wild. In the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, Eustace Conway hunts his own food, sleeps in a teepee and wears, at times, nothing but an animal-skin loin cloth. Preaching his philosophies to any listening ear, Eustace urges greedy, earth-destroying Americans to sell up their homes and go feral.

Which sounds really cool, up until the part where Gilbert begins unravel Eustace Conway’s background, and we discover that there’s more to this buckskinned, bearded hillbilly than first meets the eye. His emotionally abused childhood has messed with his wiring a teeny bit, and he can’t quite grasp the message of his own teachings. While his speeches are powerful enough to inspire the sudden urge to drop everything now and go live at one with nature, the more we learn, the more difficult it becomes to separate Eustace from any regular workaholic business man (apart from the Davy Crockett buckskins, of course).

Eustace Conway has a website (!) and on it, his title is ‘The Dictator.’ Yes, I know, I’m a little scared too.

Through Gilbert’s detailed psychological inquiry and personal relationship with Eustace Conway, The Last American Man is a multi-dimensional biography, which exemplifies Gilbert as the masterful wordsmith that she is. My nose was plastered in the folds of this book for two sweet days and I’ve yet to pick up another book — I’m still coming down from the high of indulging in all my favourite story features rolled into one biography: nature, adventure, psychology, idealism and excellent writing.

The lessons I learned

We don’t need as much stuff as we think we do. Or do we … ? **scratches non-existent beard in a contemplative manner**
Elizabeth Gilbert is so much more than Eat, Pray, Love.
I need to learn how to kill and skin an animal to sew me up some buckskins.

Best quote

“There is not way that you can have a decent life as a man if you aren’t awake and aware every moment. Show up for your own life. Don’t pass your days in a stupor, content to swallow whatever watery ideas modern society may bottle feed you through the media, satisfied to slumber through life in an instant gratification sugar coma. The most extraordinary gift you’ve been given is your own humanity, which is about consciousness. So honor that consciousness.”(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 09, 2011 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars

Interestingly, I’m attracted to that type of books these days: I read the book on John Muir [Search for Muir in this blog, on the left menu], and some time before watched The No Impact Man.

These 3 men try each in his own way, to connect deeply with mature and show us how to do so, for the survival of our planet and our own sanity.

I have developed the habit of listening to XM Bookradio while driving. One day, I heard this captivating excerpt, about a certain “Justus” – I thought thhis was the nam...more

like · see review

Apr 26, 2011 Chad Carson rated it 4 of 5 stars

A good friend of mine Aaron El Leon Boyd gave me this book while we were traveling in Costa Rica and being that we are both 'American', and in a way running from the false and tired system of Western Capitalism, I was engaged by the title alone. The main character Eustace Coneway depicts in many ways a lost archetype within the psyche of The United States, in that he lives entirely off of the land and has a deep respect for the Native American traditions that he learned from. This tenacious cha...more

like · see review

Dec 16, 2010 Mary Ellen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked Gilbert's lively, well-rounded portrait of Eustace Conway, but my enjoyment was tempered by one overriding thought: "Boy, that guy is a DICK." This has nothing to do with Gilbert's breezy, funny style. As a matter of fact, in anyone else's hands, I would have filed Conway's story in the "dull, thudding tract" section of my library. It boggles me that a man who is so aware of his natural surroundings, who lives WITH the earth, who conforms himself to the seasons and doesn't expect Nature...more I liked Gilbert's lively, well-rounded portrait of Eustace Conway, but my enjoyment was tempered by one overriding thought: "Boy, that guy is a DICK." This has nothing to do with Gilbert's breezy, funny style. As a matter of fact, in anyone else's hands, I would have filed Conway's story in the "dull, thudding tract" section of my library. It boggles me that a man who is so aware of his natural surroundings, who lives WITH the earth, who conforms himself to the seasons and doesn't expect Nature to yield her supremacy to him, can be such a complete and utter dolt when it comes to relationships with people. His demand for strength, competence, and complete submission to his will (and that applies to both men and women in his life) is straight from the Army. It WORKS in the Army. But the Army has the infrastructure, the personnel, and the resources to tear someone down completely and then build that person up as a fighting machine. The Army attracts people who know that's what is going to happen, and go to their fate willingly (if not happily).

The people who are initially attracted to Conway's lifestyle are the exact opposite. You need to be an individualist to live as Conway does, and individualists don't like to lose their individuality and their autonomy. Expecting accolytes to strip themselves of...well...THEMSELVES, so they can adhere to the rigid doctrine of one man, is a naive expectation. Conway himself wouldn't do it for anyone, and I can't imagine how he could entertain the notion that thousands of people would flock to him for that purpose.

And don't get me started on his criteria for the perfect mate. Of course this woman would need to be strong, and competent, and patient, and savvy. That is logical, and since Conway worships at the altar of logic (or so he says), I can get behind it. But the only reason she needs to be beautiful is because Conway wants a hot chick to screw. And then leave to tend their 13 kids so he can preach the gospel of Conway. And I'll wager he expects her to stay gorgeous and lustful forever, regardless of the fact that she is the one raising the kids and tending the farm when he's gone.

I like it when people follow their dreams. I don't like it when people impose those dreams on others, expect complete obedience, and get all pouty when those people say "Screw you, buddy. If I had joined the Army at least I'd get 3 hots and a cot. You can't even give me that."

Conway has the life he deserves. Surrounded by beauty he can't appreciate, abandoned by people he can't understand. He's still not married, still doesn't have kids. If that doesn't tell him something, he's not listening.

But I really like the book. :^)(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 05, 2010 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book will disappoint if you are looking to it primarily for its ideas about the wilderness, ecology, and U.S. culture, about Conway's proposals for a new way. It is instead primarily a biography, with all the fullness that implies. So, there are many (repetitive) details about Conway's love life and his tortured relationship with his father. Still, there are interesting insights, such as how Conway cannot "manage" his love life as project like he does the other projects in his life, that so...more

like · see review

Nov 13, 2010 Laura Rittenhouse rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This book is a rough biography of a self-made mountain man living in the hills of North Carolina. The hero, Eustace Conway, dropped out of society to build his own version of utopia, living off the land, with his own hands and the help/hinderance of a lot of disciples. Somehow he and Elizabeth Gilbert become friends and through this relationship she gets to know Eustace and many people who orbit him. If the protagonist were happy enough living on his own, his life would have been a simple and pr...more

like · see review

Feb 25, 2010 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: female-author

This book is the true story of Eustace Conway, a man who has been living a self-sufficient lifestyle on Turtle Island, his 1,000 acre property in Appalachia. Throughout the years he has hosted many school groups, apprentices, and other interested individuals on his land. He also tours around the country teaching kids and others about the skills of surviving in the wilderness. The author spends a significant about of time with Conway on his property, working alongside him and learning about his p...more This book is the true story of Eustace Conway, a man who has been living a self-sufficient lifestyle on Turtle Island, his 1,000 acre property in Appalachia. Throughout the years he has hosted many school groups, apprentices, and other interested individuals on his land. He also tours around the country teaching kids and others about the skills of surviving in the wilderness. The author spends a significant about of time with Conway on his property, working alongside him and learning about his philosophy and way of life. She also interviews many of his family members, ex-girlfriends, friends, and former apprentices.

I had a lot of strong and conflicted feelings while reading this book, so this will be a long review. I respect much of what Conway has done and agree with many of his philosophies. I admire his sustainable lifestyle and would love to have all the knowledge he does about surviving in the wilderness. He is not just talking about how he thinks the world should be; he is actually living in accordance with his values. He knows that a truly sustainable lifestyle requires a lot of hard work and isn’t always comfortable. I deeply admire his authenticity in this respect.

That being said, I have very little respect for Conway as a person. He is narcissistic, condescending, and constantly playing the victim. He thinks he has all the answers in life and it is his sacred duty to impart this knowledge upon the lowly commoners, being fully aware that these commoners will never achieve his level of greatness.

Conway professes a belief in interconnectedness, yet fails to allow anyone else to be connected to his vision in any real way. He drives a lot of people out of his life with his stubbornness and high expectations. The apprentices who come to learn from him rarely stay for the amount of time to which they have committed. He has impossibly high standards for them and doesn’t seem to appreciate them, so they generally quit early. He is domineering and verbally abusive to the women in his life, berating them for any choice or action that doesn’t fit in with his vision. One of his ex-girlfriends commented that he doesn’t let good people feel good about themselves, which I would say is a very accurate assessment.

Conway sees himself as a misunderstood visionary who has risen above the evils of American society to become the only authentic human being. His journals are full of rants about how clueless and misguided everyone he meets is and how hard it is to be the only enlightened being among the senseless masses. He blames all of life’s frustrations and struggles on others, never fully realizing that maybe he needs to make some changes in his own life.

Towards the end of the book, one of Conway’s brothers states how he often thinks, “God, wouldn’t it be great to have a brother with all the skills and interests of Eustace, but was humble, too?” Exactly!! Conway is doing so many good and admirable things with his life, but it is so hard to appreciate it because he is such a narcissist.

I struggled with how many stars to give this book. Despite my ill-feelings towards Conway, or more likely because of them, I couldn’t put the book down. I’ll reluctantly admit that I took a fairly significant amount of pleasure in casting judgments upon a man who seemed to thrive upon judging others. I guess I didn’t learn my lesson from Conway about the importance of accepting others with all of their faults and imperfections and refraining from judgments. The book just leaves me asking a lot of questions about how to live a consistent lifestyle with true respect for all the life around me.
(less)

like · see review

Jan 15, 2010 Nick rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Last American Man was an amazing book about the journeys of a man who refused to live like the typical American living in the suburbs. When he was only 12 he walked into the wild with nothing and survived off the land for a week. When he was 17 he moved out of his scary childhood and into the wild with his teepee. This was a fantastic book about the adventures and life stories of Eustace Conway.

Overall the book was very entertaining and enjoyable with a couple of slower parts. These parts di...more

like · see review

Dec 17, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is absolutely one of my most favorite books of all-time. Gilbert captures the tale of the true Last American Man: Eustace Conway. Eustace is the perfect mix between Davy Crockett and Henry David Thoreau; he is a real man of nature. This is the true story of a man who lived his life in nature in the 1960s. He is famous, yet some people (such as myself) heard never heard of him or his story. He has so many stories to tell, so many adventures to share. Gilbert does such a great job of telling...more

like · see review

Oct 09, 2011 Selby rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

While reading The Last American Man I began writing a to-do list:

1. Make a buckskin shirt.

2. Travel the entirety of the Appalachian trail.

3. Begin a small blacksmithing workshop.

4. Grow a grizzly man beard.

Well, okay I'm getting ahead of myself, back to number 1:

Make a buckskin shirt.

Okay.

Ummmm.

Where to begin?

Uhhhhh.

Google!

*Googles "how to make a buckskin shirt" *

*sighs*

My revised to-do list:

1. Sit here.

2. Open a Cormac McCarthy novel.

1 like · like · see review

May 05, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, peace-corps

Finally, an Elizabeth Gilbert book I can really get behind! I had a suspicion I would like this book, mostly because it eliminates almost all of the navel-gazing house of cards her other books set up - because it is not, entirely, about her! Her humor and insight shine through, with the perfect amount of her own connection to the material built in to create a viable, genuine story, but leaving the majority of her own baggage at the door. This instead leaves more room for the baggage of her prima...more

like · see review

Jan 11, 2013 Ellie Julio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Many of the negative reviews I've seen of this book decry Gilbert's focus on Eustace Conway's family problems and love life, wishing for more about his Big Dream, environmentalism, and primitive advocacy. These people are missing the point. This is a story about the man underneath the speeches and his search for meaning - not a green how-to or feel-good hippie manual. It's about manliness, humanity, fear, dreams, loss, hope, control, love, and so much more. Endless profiles and investigations ha...more

like · see review

Apr 12, 2012 Sundeep Naidu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-kind, favourites

My expectation of the book from the description is 'a story of a guy who lived off the land'.

But its not just it. The title explains more than the description. Its about the 'American man'.

First of all, its a total distinct perspective of a real-american-man. American, to me, is a chubby guy with shorts, earphones plugged into his ears, rocking his head with the music, lot of extra fat on his body due to lot of junk food. I don't want to offend anyone, but its just my perspective.

But this book g...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
PLEASE HELP EUSTACE!!!!	1	15	Dec 09, 2012 07:00am

combine
Other Editions (16)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

120 users

Biography

83 users

Environment > Nature

18 users

Adventure

9 users

Nature > Outdoors

8 users

Book Club

8 users

Travel

6 users

Autobiography > Memoir

6 users

Environment

4 users

Inspirational

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert is an award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Her short story collection Pilgrims was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award, and her novel Stern Men was a New York Times notable book. Her 2002 book The Last American Man was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award. Since its initial publication in January 2006, her mos...more

More about Elizabeth Gilbert...

Books by Elizabeth Gilbert

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Last American...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Last American Man

“He told me that one of the reasons people are so unhappy is they don't talk to themselves. He said you have to keep a conversation going with yourself throughout your life to see how you're doing, to keep your focus, to remain your own friend. He told me that he talked to himself all the time, and that it helped him to grow stronger and better everyday.” — 3 people liked it

“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the sun. The course of water over the earth is circular coming down from the sky and circulating through the world to spread life and then evaporating up again. I live in a circular teepee and build my fire in a circle. The life cycles of plants and animals are circular. I live outside where I can see this. The ancient people understood that our world is a circle, but we modern people have lost site of that. I don’t live inside buildings because buildings are dead places where nothing grows, where water doesn’t flow, and where life stops. I don’t want to live in a dead place. People say that I don’t live in a real world, but it’s modern Americans who live in a fake world, because they have stepped outside the natural circle of life.

Do people live in circles today? No. They live in boxes. They wake up every morning in a box of their bedrooms because a box next to them started making beeping noises to tell them it was time to get up. They eat their breakfast out of a box and then they throw that box away into another box. Then they leave the box where they live and get into another box with wheels and drive to work, which is just another big box broken into little cubicle boxes where a bunch of people spend their days sitting and staring at the computer boxes in front of them. When the day is over, everyone gets into the box with wheels again and goes home to the house boxes and spends the evening staring at the television boxes for entertainment. They get their music from a box, they get their food from a box, they keep their clothing in a box, they live their lives in a box.

Break out of the box! This not the way humanity lived for thousands of years.” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Last American Man
avg rating	preview: The Last American Man Goodreads rating: 3.77 (3743 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23202.The_Last_American_Man?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347793255l/23202.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23202.The_Last_American_Man?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert[/url]

The Last American Man

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website