"I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth-grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in—and so out of touch with the natural world. In this groundbreaking new work, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as rises in obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and depression.

Some startling facts: By the 1990s the radius around the home where children were allowed to roam on their own had shrunk to a ninth of what it had been in 1970. Today, average eight-year-olds are better able to identify cartoon characters than native species, such as beetles and oak trees, in their own community. The rate at which doctors prescribe antidepressants to children has doubled in the last five years, and recent studies show that too much computer use spells trouble for the developing mind.

Nature-deficit disorder is not a medical condition; it is a description of the human costs of alienation from nature. This alienation damages children and shapes adults, families, and communities. There are solutions, though, and they're right in our own backyards. Last child in the Woods is the first book to bring together cutting-edge research showing that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development—physical, emotional, and spiritual. What's more, nature is a potent therapy for depression, obesity, and ADD. Environment-based education dramatically improves standardized test scores and grade point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Even creativity is stimulated by childhood experiences in nature.

Yet sending kids outside to play is increasingly difficult. Computers, television, and video games compete for their time, of course, but it's also our fears of traffic, strangers, even virus-carrying mosquitoes—fears the media exploit—that keep children indoors. Meanwhile, schools assign more and more homework, and there is less and less access to natural areas.

Parents have the power to ensure that their daughter or son will not be the "last child in the woods," and this book is the first step toward that nature-child reunion.

知名儿童权益宣导人，是资深记者，也是畅销作家，长期关注并投身于自然，家庭和社区领域的事务。现任儿童与自然网络主席，该组织旨在发起国际性的儿童与自然连结的运动。他同时是美国国家儿童与自然论坛的荣誉共同主席，该论坛由保育基金会赞助，长期为全美各地鼓励儿童走出户外的计画提供资金。他目前也是克莱姆森大学的访问学人。

长期在“纽约时报”，“华盛顿邮报”等报章杂志发表文章，1984年至2007年间，为“圣地牙哥联合论坛报”专栏作家，也是“家长”杂志的编辑顾问委员会成员，美国国家儿童发展科学评议会顾问，以及福特基金会“改变世界的领导力”奖项顾问。他亦活跃于媒体，经常在全美及世界各地发表演说，是“哥伦比亚广播公司晨间秀”，“早安美国“，”今日“，”哥伦比亚广播公司夜间新闻“，”全国广播公司晚间新闻“，”国事论衡“等电视广播节目的常客。长期致力于公领域的他获奖无数，2008年，更获得了美国奥杜邦奖的肯定，奥杜邦协会是全球最大且最具行动力及公信力的环保团体。已是两个男孩的父亲的他，正努力催生第八本书的出版，不过他说，比起来，他仍热爱钓鱼胜过写作。