What I'm Reading This Month
By Nadine Holder
July 2006
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. One of the most enjoyable books I have read for quite awhile - quite a few laughs and ultimately my favorite, “food for thought.”
The subject of the book is Eustace Conway and I had never heard of him either. If you want a quick tour about him before reading the book try the Web Site “Turtle Island” about his preserve in North Carolina.
Eustace grew up as an abused child and took his escape in nature, becoming the very epitome of our pioneer ancestors who lived off the land. He too has lived off the land, and very recently, as he is now only in his forties. He has then made his living by giving seminars in elementary schools as well as to adults about nature and the natural life. His dream was to create a sanctuary where he could bring people for training and he has fulfilled his dream by acquiring 1000 acres of prime North Carolina land with tactics that would be the very envy of a Wall Street mogul.
Once his dream of acquiring the land and beginning to build on it in the old fashioned pioneer way was complete, he discovered that young people today were just not up to his dream. With their heads full of fluff and foolishness from our so-called educational system today where everyone is equal, they are simply not up to any kind of disciplined life. As an, ahem, “older person” who has noticed this phenomenon I could really relate to the book but as I progressed toward the end of the book I also began to understand what is really happening with the immigration problem today. Our country is being run over by people from agricultural and poverty stricken areas of the world where these people have grown up with the massive hardships that come with living totally by hand off of the land. And so yes they do take jobs that no American kid in his/her right (modern) mind would touch. In a way it leaves you with a sense of hopelessness for our country, but then again maybe the immigrants can once again bring us closer to our roots.
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