The Last American Man - Softcover

Gilbert, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408801167 ISBN 13: 9781408801161

Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks, 2009

Synopsis

At the age of seventeen, Eustace Conway ditched the comforts of his suburban existence to escape to the wild. Away from the crushing disapproval of his father, he lived alone in a teepee in the mountains. Everything he needed he built, grew or killed. He made his clothes from deer he killed and skinned before using their sinew as sewing thread. But he didn't stop there. In the years that followed, he stopped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, bolder challenges. He travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two-thousand-mile Appalachian Trail; he hiked across the German Alps in trainers; he scaled cliffs in New Zealand. One Christmas, he finished dinner with his family and promptly upped and left - to ride his horse across America. From South Carolina to the Pacific, with his little brother in tow, they dodged cars on the highways, ate road kill and slept on the hard ground. Now, more than twenty years on, Eustace is still in the mountains, residing in a thousand-acre forest where he teaches survival skills and attempts to instil in people a deeper appreciation of nature. But over time he has had to reconcile his ambitious dreams with the sobering realities of modernity. Told with Elizabeth Gilbert's trademark wit and spirit, this is a fascinating, intimate portrait of an endlessly complicated man: a visionary, a narcissist, a brilliant but flawed modern hero. The Last American Man is an unforgettable adventure story of an irrepressible life lived to the extreme. The Last American Man is a New York Times Notable Book and National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist.

About this title

Review:

'It is almost impossible not to fall under the spell of Eustace Conway his accomplishments, his joy and vigor, seem almost miraculous' New York Times Review of Books 'A vigorous, engaging book Elizabeth Gilbert presents a warts-and-all portrait of Mr. Conway and a sophisticated understanding of why those warts are only natural' The New York Times 'A vivid, nuanced portrait of an endlessly complicated man' San Francisco Chronicle 'Gilbert artfully taps into this unique life to create a fascinating, deeply-thought-out and enthralling narrative' Los Angeles Times

Synopsis:

At the age of twenty-two, Elizabeth Gilbert was doing everything she could to avoid a nine-to-five job. She worked on ranches in Wyoming, rode horses pretending to be a cowgirl, and fell for the smooth-talking cowboys who were the last vestige of the American frontier that she longed for. And then she met Eustace Conway. Eustace Conway is like no other man. At the age of seventeen, he ditched the comforts of suburbia to escape to the mountains where he lived alone in a teepee. Twenty years on, he is still there. Everything he needs he builds, grows or kills. Over the years, he has stopped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, bolder challenges: he travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two-thousand-mile Appalachian Trail; he hiked across the German Alps in trainers. Dazzled by his tales of daring and adventure, Elizabeth Gilbert set off on her own adventure to discover the last American man. Written with her trademark warmth and humour that made Eat, Pray, Love an international bestseller, The Last American Man is an unforgettable story of an irrepressible life lived to the extreme.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1408801167
• ISBN 13: 9781408801161
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288