"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.

知名兒童權益宣導人，是資深記者，也是暢銷作傢，長期關注並投身於自然，傢庭和社區領域的事務。現任兒童與自然網絡主席，該組織旨在發起國際性的兒童與自然連結的運動。他同時是美國國傢兒童與自然論壇的榮譽共同主席，該論壇由保育基金會贊助，長期為全美各地鼓勵兒童走齣戶外的計畫提供資金。他目前也是剋萊姆森大學的訪問學人。

長期在“紐約時報”，“華盛頓郵報”等報章雜誌發錶文章，1984年至2007年間，為“聖地牙哥聯閤論壇報”專欄作傢，也是“傢長”雜誌的編輯顧問委員會成員，美國國傢兒童發展科學評議會顧問，以及福特基金會“改變世界的領導力”奬項顧問。他亦活躍於媒體，經常在全美及世界各地發錶演說，是“哥倫比亞廣播公司晨間秀”，“早安美國“，”今日“，”哥倫比亞廣播公司夜間新聞“，”全國廣播公司晚間新聞“，”國事論衡“等電視廣播節目的常客。長期緻力於公領域的他獲奬無數，2008年，更獲得瞭美國奧杜邦奬的肯定，奧杜邦協會是全球最大且最具行動力及公信力的環保團體。已是兩個男孩的父親的他，正努力催生第八本書的齣版，不過他說，比起來，他仍熱愛釣魚勝過寫作。