In The Last American Man, Gilbert explores the fascinating true story of Eustace Conway, who left his comfortable suburban home at the age of 17 to move into the Appalachian Mountains, where for the last 20 years he has lived, making fire with sticks, wearing skins from animals he trapped, and living off the land. A charismatic and romantic figure, Conway has always seen himself as a "man of destiny," whose goal is to convince modern Americans to give up their materialistic lifestyles and return with him back to nature. To Elizabeth Gilbert, Eustace Conway's mythical character challenges all our assumptions about what is it to be a modern man in America. From this example, she delivers an intriguing look into the archetypal American man and - from the point of view of a contemporary woman - refracts masculine American identity in all its conflicting elements of inventiveness, narcissism, isolation, and intimacy.