The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert

This book was a fascinating portrait of a really complex man, written from the interesting perspective of a kind of friend. Eustace Conway is sort of a mountain man/naturalist, but has also been intent on sharing his way of life, sometimes fairly aggressively. Gilbert's style of writing is laid back and casual, like friends talking at brunch or over beers, and is extremely easy to read. I read two of her other books along with this one, one fiction and one memoir, and it's cool to see how her voice changes or stays the same as she works in different styles. Some of her themes overlap as well. More on the others to come.