In this sanguine, wide-ranging study of how humans can thrive through the "renaturing of everyday life," Louv takes nature deficit disorder, introduced in his seminal Last Child in the Woods, a step further, to argue that adults need nature, too. "A reconnection to the natural world is fundamental to human health," he writes, asking, "What would our lives be like if our days and nights were as immersed in nature as they are in electronics?" Louv's "Nature Principle" consists of seven precepts, including balancing technology excess with time in nature; a mind/body/nature connection, which Louv calls "vitamin N," that enhances physical and mental health; expanding our sense of community to include all living things; and purposefully developing a spiritual, psychological, physical attachment to a region and its natural history. The book presents examples of these precepts, from studies of how exposure to a common soil bacteria increases production of serotonin in the brain to designing shopping malls inspired by termite mounds. Although lightweight for longtime nature lovers, the book may be just what our high-tech, urban culture needs to bring us down to earth. (May)
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“Louv’s vital, inclusive, and inspiriting call to better our lives by celebrating and protecting the living world marks the way to profound personal and cultural transformation.”—
Booklist, starred review
(
Booklist )
"Louv takes nature-deficit disorder, introduce in his seminal
Last Child in the Woods, a step further, to argue that adults need nature, too . . . [This] book may be just what our high-tech, urban culture needs to bring us down to earth."
--Publishers Weekly (
Publishers Weekly )
“[Louv’s] onto something important here, something lasting, and by the time you turn the final page, you’ll not only understand why you should make or deepen your own connections to nature, you’ll know how… His book is a stirring argument for not waiting a moment longer.” —
San Diego Union Tribune (
San Diego Union Tribune )
“Louv's writing style is clear and raises many valid points…Louv's latest isn't much more than age-old wisdom, but it bears repeating in an asphalt-coated world.” –
Austin American Statesman (
Austin American-Statesman )
“What would life be like if we were as immersed in nature as we are in electronics? In Richard Louv’s world, we’d be happier and healthier. We’d experience fewer cases of depression, anxiety and attention deficit disorder. And we’d build smarter, more sustainable communities.” –
Chicago Tribune (
Chicago Tribune )
“[A] forward-looking book for NDD sufferers of all ages.
In The Nature Principle, Louv takes stock of exactly what we’ve lost in leaving the natural world behind and how we might get it back.” –
Westword (
Westword )
“Louv describes the many ways in which reconnecting to the natural world is fundamental to human well-being…I believe [Louv’s] onto something important, and not just for children…So consider this a bit of health care advice: Get outside and dive in - nose first.” –
Charlotte Observer (
Charlotte Observer )
“Parents, Richard Louv doesn't hesitate to tell you that your kids should spend more time outdoors, in nature. And that you should, too.” –
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel )
“
The Nature Principle is, in essence, a book for grown-ups who crave -- and need -- nature just as much as kids” –
Minneapolis Star Tribune (
Minneapolis Star Tribune )
“Louv takes his ideas about the healing power of the outside world and adds layers of how-to action to help make his vision a reality…One thing you’ll likely come away with after reading
The Nature Principle is that, while time is of the essence where protecting and preserving nature is concerned, it’s not too late to make a difference.” –
Cascadia Weekly (
Cascadia Weekly )
“A sound argument for the importance of the natural world… Age-old wisdom, but it bears
repeating in an asphalt-coated world.”—
Kirkus Reviews (
Kirkus Reviews )
“Louv's proposal is for a "renaturing of everyday life," and his lively discussion of how to accomplish this is likely to inspire many readers. His is not a doomsday prognosis but rather an inspired prescription for health, happiness, and a world in which humans and nature are in alignment… His last book spurred a movement to get kids outside because to do otherwise "threatens our health, our spirit, our economy and our future stewardship of the environment." Based on the timeliness and breadth of Luov’s research, it seems likely that
The Nature Principal will build on that momentum and change more than a few lives for the better.”—
ForeWord Reviews (
ForeWord reviews )
“In
The Nature Principle, Rich Louv has given us once again exactly the book we most need, for now and for all time. Our expanding species hasn't a chance to continue living well and happily in a finite world unless we adapt our hungry lives to the rest of nature better than we have. This elegant, original, good-humored, and stunningly thorough work shows us our way home in the world: it is no less than a new Law of Nature, and we had better pay attention.”—
Robert Michael Pyle, author of
The Thunder Tree: Lessons from an Urban Wildland and Mariposa Road (
Robert Michael Pyle )
"Deprive an individual of everything that nurtured them -- and you're going to have a mess. Deprive a species of everything that nurtured us -- you have 21st century Americans. We grew up in the wild, and when we moved from the African veldt to the European and North American forests, the wild went with us. Now we have set up an elaborate society designed to strip us of the environment that made us -- and Richard Louv is speaking out, inspirationally, on why it doesn't have to be this way." --
Carl Pope, Chairman, The Sierra Club (
Carl Pope, Chairman of The Sierra Club )
“We have created environments that make us sad, fat and unhealthy. Richard Louv has made an insightful diagnosis and offers powerful treatment with the medicine we all need, Vitamin N.” --
Richard J. Jackson, MD, Chair, Environmental Health Sciences, UCLA School of PublicHealth (
Richard J. Jackson )
