The Last American Man

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: Last American Man
Review: I thought the book was very interesting. Being a outdoor enthusiast it locked me in from the being. Stories of the Appalachian trail were bizare and entertaining. I wish he would not have turned out to be such a perfectionist like his Dad. It seemed at times that he was more interested in making money than living in the wild. Maybe the book would have been better if it did not go into the boring details of buying land and his search for a dream girl. At the end I did feel the same on some of his points on getting back into the wild.

Rating:
Summary: The Last American Man
Review: I would definitely recommend The Last American Man to anyone who favors conserving nature. Eustace Conway definitely emphasizes this throughout the book. What I liked most about the book was the in depth detail that the author goes through to explain the nature journeys that Eustace goes on. The journeys really show how Eustace's character is shaped through his adventures in the wild, and every adventure is filled with excitement and suspense. The Last American Man is a book that I would surely would not put down after starting. The book has such a precious message about setting and achieving one's goals in life. Eustace starts out with a goal to teach a primitive way of life to everyone in America. Although in the end he does not succeed in doing so, his effort and determination were precise and accurate from the beginning to the end. Eustace set his goal, spoke to his people, and in a sense created his own little teaching empire. These are all tremendous efforts toward achieving one's goal. I think the book could greatly encourage others to strive to achieve their goals.

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: Broken
Review: It's too bad that Eustace Conway's story had to be told by Elizabeth Gilbert. She's totally immature as a writer, and she doesn't know how to maintain any sort of distance from her subject. Last American Man reads like you'd expect it would, coming from a city gal who has a little romp in the woods with an outdoorsman. She is completely clueless. She retells Eustace's stories without skepticism. She quotes liberally from the work of Richard Slotkin, a hip scholar -- perhaps to bring some heft to this otherwise lightweight work. I travelled to Boone, N.C., shortly after the book came out and talked to folks who knew Eustace, had him in a class, etc. They thought the book was a laughable piece of trash, too -- a not-very-accurate picture of the man, and certainly not an accurate picture of that corner of Appalachia. Don't waste your time. (I notice that most of the reviewers here focus more on whether they like Eustace as a person, and not whether the book is any good. Which it's not.)

Rating:
Summary: Another American Male
Review: Ok, ok I take issue with the title. Being married to an avid outdoorsman, committed and wonderful husband and father, resourceful, talented and extremely soul-full and mature American man left me wondering about the proclamation Elizabeth has for Eustace Conway. Speeding through the out of doors across the country in record time, skinning animals and eating roadkill, mistreating loved ones, and teaching without self-reflection does not a man make. But, I enjoyed the insight Elizabeth understood and relayed about how we project our need for the expression of our Wild Men onto Eustace and people like him who are merely human beings. Eustace is another bright and searching, creative man who has been cast under Saturn's shadow and unable to see his own light. I hope he finds it the way others find it in him, and need to find it in themselves.
Found the book chock-full of great characters, her delivery is precise and deep as an objective witness without ever becoming sloppy sentimental. This is not the courageous story of an independent, mature American man, but the poignant story of an entangled, co-dependent American Family ~ the tragedy, the comedy, the drama and the survival. Bless the Conways and all of us who are struggling to love each other in spite of our humanity.

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.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good!
Review: This book was very fascinating and interesting. I found a lot of enjoyment in reading it. Eustace Conway is a very unique individual. He has had many trials and tribulations. His childhood was extremely horrible. His father never acknowledged any of his accomplishments. This had to be very hard.I also feel that the author's voice was interesting. However, I feel that the author had feelings for Eustace. This book is not one that I would recommend for anyone under the age of 18. It had a lot of profane language. Overall, this book is one that I found pleasure in reading.

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: The Last (Thank Goodness!) American Man
Review: When I saw this book advertised in a periodical, I knew I would enjoy it. My own boyhood fantasies of wild independence were stirred by what appeared to be this great man's life.

While not a great man, Eustace is an incredible human being. Anyone with but a passing interest in wilderness living and primitive human heritage will be riveted by every other page of this book. The intervening pages may be a bit tedious for action-oriented types as these examine the finer points of Mr. Conway's psychological uniqueness, his family relationships, and his romantic (?!) adventures.

The writing is superbly done and the quality of the author makes reading a pleasure. My attraction to the story is based on my love of Appalachia (wilderness in general) and the extraordinary drama of life it stages every day. This book does not disappoint on that score - the wild exploits of Mr. Conway will captivate you. A great gift for that man or woman in your life who bemoans our civilization's increasing detachment from nature.