IF YOU'VE ever watched Oprah or been a fan of self-help books, then no doubt you will have come across Elizabeth Gilbert's international bestseller eat pray love.
So popular was the book - which detailed her life-loving adventures back from crushing divorce - that "Elizabeth Gilbert parties" were held by women around the globe, pilgrimages made to destinations outlined in the novel and a movie starring Julia Roberts is now in the making.
The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert. Bloomsbury, rrp $22.95
Gilbert's latest work is, however, nothing like her bestseller.
It details the life of Eustace Conway, a modern day American Daniel Boon, who she met through working on a cowboy ranch.
Conway lives in a teepee in the mountains, growing or killing everything he needs.
It follows his adventures and loves, crossing the 3200km Appalachian Trail, travelling the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe and hiking the German Alps.
In between, Gilbert editorialises, adding her thoughts and commentary.
The Last American Man is a more subtle book - her trademark humour, self-deprecation and naked honesty found in eat pray love do not emerge as strongly.
Instead, it has a serious note and is more a social study into adolescence, manhood, families, the environment and, annoyingly for Australian readers, what it is to be American.
Most importantly, it examines how modern day mass consumption has created a generation of sleepwalkers, far removed from our hunter-gatherer roots.
It is different from her bestseller, but nonetheless a valuable, intriguing read.
