Richard Louv's New Book

Thanks to the generousity of Workman Publishing, I have acquired an advanced copy of Richard Louv's new book,

The Nature Principle,

 (available for purchase May 10, 2011).

It's no secret that I am a big fan

of Richard's previous epochal book,

The Last Child in the Woods,

which has been translated into nine languages and published in thirteen countries. 



Now, Richard goes one step further to show 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”. 
He predicts that “the twenty-first century will be the century of
human restoration in the natural world.” 
After reading Richard's book, I believe that it CAN be.
And I HOPE he is right.

In his new book, Richard is targeting adults.

He’s challenging us to see life through new eyes, to not just look up from our technological immersion and gaze out the window in momentary admiration of the view, but to physically get out there and place ourselves into that view.
To feel it, to become engaged within it, to make it part of our own stories, and, in doing so, to 'save ourselves', and hopefully, our earth, thus putting an end to our
"growing alienation from the natural world".

Throughout, Richard is encouraging the reader not to foresake one world for the other, but to find a healthy balance between the demands on our lives as we multi-task our way through the twenty-first century and nature.

Richard has a keen sense of how to write to be understood, injected with just enough humor.  He sites several studies from all over the world, gives real life examples to illustrate their relevance, and weaves the knowledge, wisdom, and experience of dozens of naturalists and scientists, both from the past and present day, into the pages of his book.  And, you know, it all makes so much sense.

Here is just one example - "At the University of Michigan, researchers demonstrated that participants' memory  performance, and attention spans improved by 20% after just an hour of interacting with nature."  Hmm, how do you spend YOUR lunch hour?

And on the mental health front, Richard provides pages full of convincing stories and research that indicate experiencing nature is often as good as taking medication, but with no side effects. 

The Nature Principle is a compelling argument for integrating nature into our everyday lives and encouraging others to do the same.  My personal journey with nature has made an enormous impact on my life and with my health, and I just shook my head 'yes' as I read, all the way through, from the introduction to the last page.  But I'm one of the more fortunate, who threw caution to the wind, made the necessary sacrifices, and planted myself right smack dab in the middle of it. 

Richard is calling for 're-naturalization', and I quote:  "Opportunities to find the natural world are all around us, even in the densest of cities.  But, unless we act quickly to conserve and restore these places, and create new ones, then nearby nature will become a quaint artifact of another time." 

Be "nature smart".

Read Richard's book.
Then pass it along!

(You can even pre-order your copy right here, today.
And considering the average price of books these days, the cost for this book is very affordable!  Why not order two, one for you and one to pass on
to a friend or a loved one.)