The Last American Man

The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert is a true story about Eustace Conway. Every since Conway was a little boy he had always been fascinated with nature and animals. When he was just seventeen years old he moved out into the Appalachian Mountains. Living only off the land by making a tepee for shelter, wearing the skins of animals, and eating only what he had hunted. Conway had done some extraordinary things like riding his horse across America, beating the world record, and hiking the two thousand mile Appalachian Mountains.

Conway believes anybody can live off the land if they wanted to. He believes the world would be a better place if people started living off the land instead of depending on technology or other things society thinks someone needs for survival. Conway believes he could make an impact on the world by sharing his knowledge with as many people as possible and more people would want to live off the land. Conway goes to schools and teaches kids about the environment and how someone could live off the land like he does. Later on in Conway’s life he buys a bunch of land and turns it into a camp called Turtle Island for people who wants to get away from society’s way of thinking and start living off the land.

I feel the author Elizabeth Gilbert does a good job of showing the reader what kind of person Eustace is. I was intrigued by every page and could not wait to see what was going to happen next. The story made me feel like I was actually in the woods.