The Last American Man

Rating:
Summary: A modern-day Daniel Boone. . .
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: male archtype
Review: I think Elizabeth Gilbert did an excellent job looking into Eustace life. She drilled down a lot of corners that lets you see into the soul of a great adventurer. It was interesting hearing a woman's perspective on the "male" archtype. I don't disagree with any underlying stances she took. I also liked how she avoided putting him into any neat little boxes. Complex man vs. simple life (hard life). I appreciate any hero worshiping that was avoided. Eustace is truly a remarkable man, and his is a man in this book. Thank you for the great view into a wonderful man.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't even finish it
Review: It takes real talent to ruin such a fascinating life. Certainly Eustace Conway is a great subject for a biography, and given his unusual skills and apparently irresistably personal manner with others, I was floored by how dull and quaint Gilbert made it all seem. Why this was nominated for any award at all is beyond me. The three pages of positive reviews at the head of the book are either taken out of context, or based more on hype than an actual reading of the book.

I really think Gilbert misjudged her audience with this book. If you are going to pick this up to read, you probably have some idea what Conway is about already, and you probably agree with his ideals to some extent. Gilbert, however, comes off as a very NYC-centric city writer who is trying very hard to understand what makes this crazy backwoodsy guy tick.

There is no story-telling here, no attempt to engage the reader, just a cold and largely condescending analysis of Conway's life. Gilbert spends whole chapters musing on what motivates the fellow, when it is completely obvious from the first few pages. She shows a real lack of confidence in her reader's abilities, constantly reminding him/her of things that have already explained (such as always restating that Conway's mother as "his mother" rather than only using her name). In her "jaunty" asides and wry comments, Gilbert herself comes off as phony and self-centerd, often spending whole paragraphs on her own life and obsessions (one being the contemplation of strangers' sex lives, apparently).

If the audience for the book were urban, urbane and jaded New York folks, it would work perfectly. But if you're someone with a real interest in Conway's style of outdoorsmanship, pick up "The Tracker" by Tom Brown instead of this.

Rating:
Summary: Man for All Seasons
Review: GREAT STUFF, people -- a fast, engaging read that has WOWED everyone I've recommended it to. Elizabeth Gilbert pulls off an amazing trick, writing a subjective biography with the flair of a true [objective] journalist. As a story, I thought I had learned everything there was to know about Eustace Conway, and then: wham. Another astonishing revelation. Every chapter or so we find out more about someone we thought we knew everything about--no mean feat, and wildly compelling. Look up the definition of "page turner" in the dictionary and this book should be pictured.

And then there is Eustace. As complex and transparent a character as you could possibly imagine, at times endearing, at times frustrating, and always fascinating. I hope he hasn't been bombarded by tourists wanting to get a look at what may indeed be The Last American Man.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic, thought provoking book.
Review: The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert was a very interesting piece of literature that I thouroughly enjoyed. I think that at one point in every person,s life they envision what it would be like to leave everything behind and be free in the wild. The Last American Man took you there. At some points in the novel I could actually picture things as if I were there. I saw deer, trees, flowers, and the mountains. Sometimes I even felt the wind or the cold of the snow as if I were there due to the profoundness of imagery.
To those who are free spirited and want to get away from it all I would gladly recommend this book. It takes you to new places and opens you up to new adventures to the point that you can see yourself riding through open pastures or living in a teepee. The book opens you up to new thoughts and ideas about how to live your life. The way Eustace Conway portrays himself makes you want to be like him and unlike him all at the same time.