Why is Eustace Conway the Last American Man?

Elizabeth Gilbert makes the assertion that Eustace Conway is the last American man in her book “The Last American Man”. Gilbert has interviewed almost every person Eustace has ever known and spent a great deal of time with Eustace. She has worked by his side, elbow deep in dirt, never receiving a break. She has had long talks with him about his family, lovers, and friends. She has even gotten drunk with Eustace. She knows him better then he probably knows himself. After all this quality (and quantity) time spent with Eustace she can probably make the assertion that Eustace is the last American man with self confidence. But before I would begin to explain why Gilbert is correct in her assertion I must define what she means by ‘the last American man’.
In the early days of America, the land was nothing but flora and fauna. The earliest settlers could do with it what they wished all they had to do was step upon the ground and claim it as their own. These people had vision, drive, and heart to reach their goals. They must prepare for every possible outcome because whatever it could be it may be their last. In a simple term, the earliest peoples of the world lived ‘awake’. They must be ‘awake’ to predators at all times to protect themselves and their food. They must be ‘awake’ to the weather at all times to protect themselves and their shelter and clothing. They must be ‘awake’ to other peoples because who knows when another tribe or ‘white man’ could attack. The people of today live exactly in the opposite manner.
The people of today live in a ‘sleep’, or better described as ‘stupor’. We are intoxicated by drugs, alcohol and sex; the behavior commonly publicized. We don’t have to worry about the weather because with today’s technology the weather can easily be avoided. We don’t have to worry about predatory animals because we’ve killed plenty of them and they don’t normally migrate toward cities or towns. We don’t need to depend on ourselves because society cares for us. We are coddled and brainwashed through the education system, no expectation to think for ourselves. Most of us don’t think because we don’t have to. But this is not the way Eustace Conway lives.
Eustace fights animals with his bare hands. If he loses… He eats what the earth gives him and what he can hunt on his own. He lives in whatever he can build for himself. Eustace works hard both physically and mentally for everything he attains in life. Eustace is quite literally ‘the last American man.’