Synopses & Reviews
The immediacy of Richard Louv 's message in Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder galvanized an international movement to reconnect children with nature. Now, in The Nature Principle, Louv reaches even further with a powerful call to action for the rest of us.
Our society, says Louv, has developed such an outsized faith in technology that we have yet to fully realize or even adequately study how human capacities are enhanced through the power of nature. Supported by groundbreaking research, anecdotal evidence, and compelling personal stories, Louv shows us how tapping into the restorative powers of the natural world can boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds. As he says in his introduction, The Nature Principle is about the power of living in nature not with it, but in it. We are entering the most creative period in history. The twenty-first century will be the century of human restoration in the natural world.
Richard Louv makes a convincing case that through a nature-balanced existence driven by sound economic, social, and environmental solutions the human race can and will thrive. This timely, inspiring, and important work will give readers renewed hope while challenging them to rethink the way we live.
Review
“There is a great urgency to this work . . . This book makes utter sense and Louv is gentle with his simple agenda: more green in schools, more access to nature in communities, the importance of giving people the tools and the health they need to create a better world.”
—Los Angeles Times
Review
“The Nature Principle tackles the ambitious task of mapping our way to a more connected future . . . Page after page we learn that in working to heal the world through restoration, we end up healing ourselves.”
—Orion magazine
Review
“The Nature Principle manages to both teach and delight. Think of it as a refreshing hike for the mind and soul.” —Oprah.com
Review
“Louvs 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
Review
“This book provides a way back to where we belong, a world full of reverence, joy, and discovery.”
—David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance
Review
“Louvs vision is not a rejection of technology or a back-to-the-land trend like the one that came out of the environmental movement 40 years ago. Instead, he wants to tap nature to boost our mental acuity, creativity and health. At its heart, the movement seeks to replace the apocalyptic vision that modern society has created….[ Louv] outlines this new nature movement, and its potential to improve the lives of all people no matter where they live, in his latest book, “The Nature Principle.” — McClatchy Newspapers
Review
"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, Chariman, The Sierra Club
Review
"A refreshingly personal and eloquent case for building nature-smart communities." --David Yarnold, President & CEO, National Audubon Society
Review
"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 Austin Chronicle
Review
"[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 Chicago Tribune
Review
"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 Westword
Review
"An exploration of the many happy repercussions of getting in touch with the environment." -
Austin ChronicleReview
"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 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Review
"[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 Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review
"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 ObserverReview
"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 Kirkus Reviews
Review
"
The Nature Principle is, in essence, a book for grown-ups who crave -- and need -- nature just as much as kids" -
Minneapolis Star Tribune Robert Michael Pyle
Review
"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 Carl Pope, Chairman of The Sierra Club
Review
"A sound argument for the importance of the natural world... Age-old wisdom, but it bears
repeating in an asphalt-coated world."--Kirkus Reviews
Richard J. Jackson
Review
"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 ForeWord reviews
Review
"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 ClubReview
"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 PublicHealthReview
“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 Luovs 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
Synopsis
For many of us, thinking about the future conjures up images of Cormac McCarthys The Road: a post-apocalyptic dystopia stripped of nature. Richard Louv, author of the landmark bestseller Last Child in the Woods, urges us to change our vision of the future, suggesting that if we reconceive environmentalism and sustainability, they will evolve into a larger movement that will touch every part of society.
This New Nature Movement taps into the restorative powers of the natural world to boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds. Supported by groundbreaking research, anecdotal evidence, and compelling personal stories, Louv offers renewed optimism while challenging us to rethink the way we live.
About the Author
Richard Louv is a journalist and the author of seven books about the connections between family, nature, and community. His most recent book,
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder