Books by Richard Louv
Last Child in the Woods—New Updated & Expanded Edition
The new edition of Last Child in the Woods reflects the enormous changes that have taken place since the book was published. It includes: 100 actions you can take to create change in your community, school, and family; 35 discussion points to inspire people of all ages to talk about the importance of nature in their lives; a progress report by the author about the growing Leave No Child Inside movement; and new and updated research confirming that direct exposure to nature is essential for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.
Explore more: read an overview of the book or an excerpt of the introduction, find out what others have said about the book, explore the field guide, watch a video of Richard Louv, and purchase the book (available for pre-order now; in stores on April 22, 2008).
Other Books by Richard Louv
Richard is also the author of six other books: America II (Penguin, 1983), about the rise of the new urban form and reinvented communities. Childhood's Future (Anchor Books, 1993), described by The New York Times as "a passionate call for rebuilding community and family life." The book was the subject of a Bill Moyers PBS program. 101 Things You Can Do for Our Children's Future (Anchor, 1994). Fatherlove (Pocket Books, 1994), about which Ann Pleshette Murphy, editor-in-chief of Parents magazine, wrote: "I cannot think of another book that has so passionately defined the role fathers must play in their children's lives." The Web of Life (Conari Press, 1996), which explores the connections of family and community, and was chosen by the American Booksellers Association as top choice for reading groups for 1997. And Fly-Fishing for Sharks: An American Journey (Simon & Schuster), which is about the cultures of fishing in America and our relationship with nature. Of it, Jim Lehrer of PBS says,"Here's a book about fishing that is for people who do not fish. . . . That's because its real subject is people, not fish.
The The Web of Life and Flyfishing for Sharks are both available in paperback.
The Web of Life
The importance of connecting through memory and common humanity is the overriding theme that concerns Louv, a journalist and author (Childhood's Future), in this collection of thoughtful, persuasive essays. Because the family is the first community a child knows, the author believes that family stories handed down from one generation to the next are a unique gift that helps people put their lives in context. Louv describes the power of oral history in Native American life and expresses concern that an overload of information and lack of leisure prevent many of us from preserving our family memories. Louv also describes his efforts to connect his own children to nature by teaching them to fish and to become aware of their relationship to wildlife. Although not traditionally religious, Louv advocates cultivating a spiritual awareness to stay in touch and connect with a world outside the individual or the family.
You can purchase this book from Amazon.com.
Fly-Fishing for Sharks
For three years, Richard Louv listened to America by going fishing. To explore the cultures of angling, he traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific and to the Gulf Coast, too; from bass waters north and south to fly-fishing waters east and west. He joined a professional bass tournament on Lake Erie and got a casting lesson from fly-fishing legend Joan Wulff in Colorado. He angled with corporate executives in Montana and stoic steelheaders in the Northwest. He went ice fishing on Michigan's Upper Peninsula and fly-fishing for sharks in California. In the Midwest, he fished with the host of the nation's longest-running television fishing program. He spent time with the captains of Florida, the poachers of the West, and the regulars who fish the Harlem and Hudson Rivers in New York City.
Fly-Fishing for Sharks is the delightful result of Richard Louv's journey, a portrait of America on the water, fishing rod in hand. From Whitefish Willy to Bass'n Gal's Sugar Ferris, the people Louv writes about are simply unforgettable.
You can purchase this book from Amazon.com; a new audiobook version of this book is coming soon: pre-order it now.
