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| Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Louv
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $7.69
You Save: $17.26 (69%)
New (1) Used (14) from $7.69
Avg. Customer Rating:  81 reviews
Sales Rank: 100501
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 1565123913
Dewey Decimal Number: 155.418
EAN: 9781565123915
ASIN: 1565123913
Publication Date: April 15, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Spine is cocked, but intact. Sound Copy. Mild Reading Wear.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Last Child in the Woods March 16, 2006
22 out of 35 found this review helpful
Louv makes some excellent points that everyone should consider, however you'll have to ignore his poor, disorganized writing style to get at them. He jumps between unfounded personal declarations and academic studies as evidence for his theories, but straddling these two horses somehow makes his arguments more flimsy, not stronger: it feels like he's using academic backing in a biased way. That said, I agree with many of his conclusions!
 A far from coherent attempt at an important issue January 12, 2008
19 out of 31 found this review helpful
Having bought Last Child in the Woods on the basis of the title without checking as deeply as I might have, I found myself finishing six other books while I was struggling through this, mostly on (southern) summer holidays at a camping ground surrounded by nature where I've seen three generations of youngsters growing.
The topic is clearly worthy and important (so 1.5 points) and Louv does add the further point about youngsters needing outdoor space for its own sake (another 0.5 points) but a poorly structured melding of anecdotes and research results soon had me wondering just where he was going. Being strongly convinced by Judith Rich Harris's The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do (and Harris's clear use of anecdote and research results) I was also thrown by Louv's preoccupation with the role of parents and even more so his repeated identification with the fear epidemic.
It wasn't until chapter 22 of 24 started to unambiguously invoke religion that I took another look at Louv's short bio on the back flap and spotted its admission that his livelihood is generated by the child advocacy scam which put to rest any hopes I might have still had for an outbreak of rationality.
In the finish it became clear that his meandering was always driven by his too cute four year old's question whether God was married to Mother Nature or they were just good friends.
If this book is to be of any value it will be in flashing yet another feel good topic at the attention threshold of those caught up in fear based memeplex that brings us child advocacy and American Christianity. It has no value to anybody looking for a coherent argument about the importance of reconnecting children with the reality of nature outside fanciful human notions of justice (let alone the more recent reinterpretation that justice equals revenge).
If you want a strong story at the intersection of humanity and the natural world, I'd recommend Gabrielle Walker's Snowball Earth: The Story of a Maverick Scientist and His Theory of the Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life As We Know It which I read in one pass during a break from Louv (and looking across a stream at a cliff rich with strata and life). And just let the kids explore. It's their life, not yours.
 Louv hits the nail on the head! August 2, 2005
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
As a parent, grandparent and professional in the field of environmental education, I found Last Child In The Woods an excellent resource that supports what I have discovered first hand as the Director of an environmental center. It is a sad testimony of our times, the disconnection between people, especially children, and the natural world, that this book documents so accurately. Our research indicates that, of the thousands of 10 and 11 year olds that we have worked with (who live in a front range city in Colorado), over 60% have never taken a hike and 80% have never been to the mountains prior to participating in one of our programs. The long term negative implications of such statistics to the future of the environmental movement are clear to me - how will children grow up into adult citizens who advocate for the natural world if they have no direct knowledge of it? What Louv documents so well is how such disconnection from Nature negatively imapcts the health and well-being of individuals. I beleive that all parents and educators, as well as anyone interested in the health of our children and the health of our communities, will find very important information in this book.
Let the children play October 14, 2005
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
This book will rescue children from boredom and angst, if parents will read it. It urges families to lighten up -- to stop excessive worry about traffic, poison ivy, kidnappers, snakes, and broken arms and let children go outside and have fun. It's easy. If you don't live near woods, any small patch of nature will do: This writer sings the praises of vacant lots, where beetles live under rocks and dandelion tufts wait to be blown into the wind. Take your child outside and make a necklace of clover flower. If there's a creek nearby, let him put his foot in. Find blackberries and pick them. If you have woods, encourage a fort.
Oh, brave, new mom am I. A few days this summer, I let my two boys, ages 7 and 9, ride their bikes with neighbor children to a nearby creek. They waded and played and had a picnic. The boogie man didn't get them; a snake didn't get them (though they did see a snake). We called these days "wandering days," quoting a children's book we like. They'll remember these wandering days much longer than any trip to the local science museum.
Thanks, Louv. This book is an act of love for youngsters.
The great outdoors is where the action is! August 2, 2005
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Having grown up on a farm, listening to the earth, and understanding the seasons has always been as essential as breathing to me. The call of the wild is a call we must pass on to our children before they become so hooked to their computers, television sets, and video games that they forget the enchantment of just being in nature. Last Child in the Woods offers research, challenges, and solutions to assist all of us to be active participants in our health and welfare by employing the free gifts of the great outdoors. If you want to sparkle, shine, and star in this performance called LIFE, read this book under the shade of your favorite tree. Once you do, you'll definitely make time to unplug yourself, go outside, listen to the birds sing, smell the roses, take a hike to a lake, then watch the night sky. Bring your children and let them explore. Face the fear and feel the rapture of this amazing planet. It's never to late to have a happy childhood."
Cynthia Brian, NY Times best selling co-author, Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul, Be the Star You Are!, and Daddy's Hands, Mommy's Heart, Children's Memories
www.star-style.com
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