The last child in the woods, by Richard Louv expresses of the risks and downfalls of the electronic, technological, and overall, synthetic lifestyles of children in this generation. The book focuses on the search for fulfillment through interaction with our natural environment, and it affirms the recent scientific discoveries of the connections between humans and nature. Richard Louv does an outstanding job tying scientific knowledge in with stories of families and children who have experienced similar encounters in their lives. The reader will find the book compelling and will be surprised to find the close relation between the lack of natural exposure and many of the problems the world is facing today, from ADD to childhood obesity and diabetes.
The book opens up with a personal introduction to the author which allows for the reader to get to know the writer and his views on the topic of the book. It then continues into part one, describing the “new relationship” between children and their “natural” environment. Richard talks about the alienation of simply playing outside and enjoying the great outdoors. He tells stories of children he interviewed for the book and how much their views on nature differed from those of their elders and what role recent technology plays in these situations. In parts two and three, Louv describes the effects that “Nature-Deficit Disorder” has on children and how nature stimulates all of the senses rather than just eyes and ears that we get from television and video games.
“Our children,” says Louv, “are the first to be raised without meaningful contact with the natural world.”
Within parts four through seven, author Richard Louv begins to talk more about the possible use of nature as a source of therapy and treatment for such common complications as ADD, childhood depression, as well as obesity and childhood diabetes. In the final chapters, Richard transitions from facts and knowledge, into using what we’ve learned and applying it to our lifestyles, creating a more friendly environment for our children, and incorporating nature into our everyday lives.
Throughout the entire book, the reader feels a close relation to the author and his ideas in a way that is less common in other science books. This is because the author paints a very distinct picture by using things that are important to him and uniting the wisdom of the latest scientific discoveries to interesting stories of how nature touches our lives.
To emphasize his points, Louv includes the thoughts and words of dominant minds and writers like Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Henry David Thoreau. He doesn’t dwell on what cannot be changed in today’s developing society, but instead provides us with plausible solutions and reversals on what can be done about the situation.
Overall, the book is an eye-opening, fresh, and thought-provoking read that enables the reader to learn more than just what is written in the pages of the book, but also learn a thing or two about themselves in the process. It creates an environment where the reader is free to learn and apply the knowledge in whatever way he/she feels, taking with them whatever they so choose and creating a possible turning point, small as it may be, for the instantly gratified society of today.
