Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

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Last Child in the Woods

Reclaiming Childhood

Too much of the same thing

Taking Back Nature ....

Finally, a ray of hope

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
Richard Louv
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Adolescent Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1565125223

Book Description

In this influential work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, 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 the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Last Child in the Woods is the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. More than just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to heal the broken bond—and they are right in our own backyard.

Customer Reviews:

Last Child in the Woods.......2007-10-09

As humanity goes deeper and deeper into materialism and our children are displaying symptoms in their emotional, behavioral and physical health, this book brings us back to the understanding that children are not little adults and human beings are not machines. The importance of self-discovery is being undermined through our over intellectualization on one side and on the other side the over protectionism of little ones. This surpresses the development of the imagination and intuition, which is so needed if our society is to refocus on humanity instead of amassing material good and consumption!!

Thank you Professor Louv for your timely and VERY important book!!

Reclaiming Childhood.......2007-10-08

I grew up in a very small and rural town. Growing up I was surrounded by nature and even though video games were popular neither my siblings nor myself nor any of our friends ever had to be forced to spend more time outside. We liked being outside. We enjoyed playing in the fields, woods, yards, and vacant lots that were around. Having become a secondary teacher and also having spent many summers working at a summer camp, I have noticed that many children and young people no longer have the same connection to nature that I had as a child. There are some who may ignore this shift in child development and reason that it's not significant and is simply an expected result of an increasingly technologically based society. But, as Richard Louv points out in LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS, such an attitude is severely misguided and ignores the disturbing consequences of what can happen if children aren't connected to nature. Though scientific in nature, the book is written for lay people. Therefore, the text is fairly easy to read and comprehend. Highly recommended for parents and people who work with children.

Too much of the same thing.......2007-09-27

The whole concept is an interesting one but the book drug on with the same message.

Taking Back Nature ...........2007-08-05

I would have never heard of this book if it wasn't for my sister-in-law, who is battling lung cancer. She and I were talking about whether or not I should bring her some books to read while she was undergoing chemo and she happened to mention this book, as her school system was recommending that she read it before school starts in a few weeks. Naturally, I had to pick up a copy of it and was sold.

This book (with a wonderful front cover, by the way ~~ my boys kept saying, "Mom! That kid's going frogging too!" ~~ they love frogs) is chock full of information and data and statistics. It is a book full of common sense and while Louv was very very careful to say that studies have not been done yet to proven that kids with ADHD disorders can be weaned from their medicine if they were outside in nature more, he offers that as a possible solution to solve a lot of mental disorders in today's society among kids and adults. He also offers a lot of other solutions as well ~~ different types of studies or programs that other people are trying to start up to recruit people back into living in a greener world.

As a kid, I was not very interested in playing outside. I lived in a neighborhood in a small town. BUT my parents signed me up for junior naturalist programs, they took my siblings and me camping, they took us to the parks, they encouraged all kinds of outdoor activities. I did not get a chance to go into the woods by myself in the morning like my dad did while he was growing up (he lived in a very rural area), but when we were camping, I took advantage of playing in the woods. We were not encouraged to watch a lot of tv. That is a trend that a lot of my friends look down on me at ~~ I only have one tv in this house. My boys probably do watch a lot more tv than they should but whenever we get a chance, we are outside, working in the yard, playing or going camping someplace now that they are older and we can start introducing canoeing, hiking ... things that take you back to nature.

Louv writes very compelling though throughout this book about today's generation and how they are drifting away from nature. He writes about the irony of people driving ATVs into the desert with their children to look at wild life and basically destroying the terrain with the automobiles and kids are "being exposed" to wildlife but from the safety of the vehicles. Or encountering kids who show no interest whatsoever in the wild life that the author had just spotted. There are a lot of stories that he shared ~~ personal and from other people. He also writes of the connection between kids being locked up in their houses all day and the rising concidences of obesity among today's children ... and so on.

This is definitely a book for parents to read. I cannot write an accurate review of this book because there are too much information in here and one cannot honestly know where to begin. Yes, it can be dry reading in spots, but keep on reading because it gets better and more interesting. However, I do have a question for all those global warming experts out there ~~ how come none of you have read this book and tried to implement some of the theories into practice? I'd like to see this book touted more in the media.

8-5-07

Finally, a ray of hope.......2007-08-02

Until I read Richard Louv's book, "Last Child in the Woods," I only had two books on my shelf that merited permanent allegiance: Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)" and Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." Both works were thoughtful and intelligent observations on the natural world and how we affected, and were affected by it. But they also left me slightly depressed. I felt hopeless and unsure of how to regain the ground we had lost. Although "Last Child" has numerous examples of what we've lost (including old-fashioned goofy play outdoors and an early-learned appreciation of nature), his research and interviews also focused on ways individuals and communities are turning dire predictions into positive ways to return childhood to children, and nature to families who have forgotton, (or maybe never learned,) how much we need it to survive and be healthy. Louv gathered and stitched together ideas that previously many others have tried to communicate, and this book is now my backup when I am trying to explain why I am hopeful about the future. What started as a catchy phrase ("nature deficit disorder") has morphed into a growing movement, and maybe this time the children will lead us all back into a more healthy and balanced way of living.

Nurture by Nature: How to Raise Happy, Healthy, Responsible Children Through the Insights of Personality Type

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this is a book that every parent should own, a baby shower gift
The Fastest Way To Understand How To Be A More Effective Parent or Teacher
This is the tenth copy I have bought of this book!
Recommended
One Important Tool for the Parental Toolbox

Nurture by Nature: How to Raise Happy, Healthy, Responsible Children Through the Insights of Personality Type
Paul D. Tieger , Barbara Barron-Tieger , and E. Michael Ellovich
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316845132

Book Description

A groundbreaking guide that shows you how to harness the power of Personality Type to develop the parenting strategies that work with your child. Every parent knows that children, even babies, have distinct personalities. Now, with this one-of-a-kind parenting guide, Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger show you how to use Personality Type analysis, a powerful and well-respected psychological tool, to better understand your child and become a more effective parent. You'll learn: Which of 16 distinctly different types best matches your child's personality.How this personality type affects your child in each of the three stages of development--preschool, school age, and adolescence. How you can adapt your parenting style to your child's type, and get better results when communicating, supporting, motivating, and disciplining. Whether your child is a tantrum-prone toddler, a shy third-grader, a rebellious teen, or somewhere in between, Nurture by Nature will give you the power to understand why children are the way they are--and to become the best parent you can be.

Download Description

A groundbreaking guide that shows you how to harness the power of Personality Type to develop the parenting strategies that work with your child. Every parent knows that children, even babies, have distinct personalities. Now, with this one-of-a-kind parenting guide, Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger show you how to use Personality Type analysis, a powerful and well-respected psychological tool, to better understand your child and become a more effective parent. You'll learn: Which of 16 distinctly different types best matches your child's personality. How this personality type affects your child in each of the three stages of development--preschool, school age, and adolescence. How you can adapt your parenting style to your child's type, and get better results when communicating, supporting, motivating, and disciplining. Whether your child is a tantrum-prone toddler, a shy third-grader, a rebellious teen, or somewhere in between, Nurture by Nature will give you the power to understand why children are the way they are--and to become the best parent you can be.

Customer Reviews:

this is a book that every parent should own, a baby shower gift.......2007-05-28

How I wish I had had this book when my 28 year old daughter was born. We no longer have a relationship even tho we love each other but we are 16 (the farthest) personalities apart. I am an extreme extovert ESTJ and she is and extreme introvert (infp)just about the worst combo for mom and child. because she held it all in. She didn't have a chance to speak nor did she like conflict so it wasn't until she found a safe rock to jump to when she got engaged at 25, and she jumped all the way off my rock and never intends to return. I can't blame her looking back, but it wasn't my fault either, my biological family was definitely not introverted and I didn't know they would hold it all in. I am so sorry for what pain I caused her and never knew it, I was a great great mom,and elem teacher,but never knew my own daughter probably highly disliked me. Not until way too late, if only I had known. My heart is broken as I now have a grand daughter I will never get to be a grandmother to, and you may not understand this, but I am very extoverted and it is almost impossible for her to be around me even when I tone down 90% because of the experiences she probaby endured ages 0-5. So I'm sharing with you so you don't suffer the horrid pain I have suffered but have come to accept over the last 3 years since she married.I want only for her to be happy and I think that means she gets to be free of me :)

The Fastest Way To Understand How To Be A More Effective Parent or Teacher.......2007-04-16

I work with students in an alternative K - 12 public school. We have found that it is always necessary to improve the understanding and communication between parent and child if academic and behavioral performance is to be improved.

This book is extremely valuable in helping an adult understand the child and the child to understand him/her self.

The book makes it easy for the adult to determine the adult's and children's styles that are interacting. It then goes on, for each style of child, to provide a brief overview, and then sections dealing with preschool, school-aged, and adolescent child. Within many of these age sections the authors have a sub-section that talks about "the joys and challenges of raising the child," and concludes each type with a page that recaps what works with that particular type of child.

I read the appropriate section to a mother and student and both agreed that it was a perfect description of how the child functioned and how the parent needed to deal with the child.

The advice given in the book on how my meetings with the student could be structured to maximize the achievement of goals I had set for the meeting produced results.

I strongly recommend this book to teachers and parents that wish to make a difficult objective easier to reach.

I also suggest you review the author's other books.

I use Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type to narrow down the types of jobs a student may be interested in before administering a career interest survey.

I use Just Your Type: Create the Relationship You've Always Wanted Using the Secrets of Personality Type to improve my understanding of how a person of my type can best interact with the type of person I am dealing with in a particular meeting or teaching / mentoring situation.

This is the tenth copy I have bought of this book!.......2005-09-14

Why? Because I give them away and wear them out with people I care about. It is that practical. OK, I admit to being a certified instructor in the Myers Briggs and a licensed children's counselor now working as a leadership development consultant, but TRULY the insights of Type have helped me to be a better parent (my most important role)to my beloved children. Try it. Take a MBTI assessment for yourself and learn about what each aspect of your own Type means. Follow thorugh with helping you child learn about their type. You will see the bridges to cross together that lead both of you into a richer, more productive relationship with greater joy.

Recommended.......2003-08-26

I bought this book before I had children because I was trying to understand my own personality a little better. Now I am trying to type my 2-year-old son-at least I am having a great time trying, even though I suspect I won't have any final answers until he is able to express himself a little more. Even at this age though, it helps me to identify different traits and not worry about the differences between him and other children in his environment. I think my son is an ESTJ and I am an INTP-so this book has helped to remind me that my son's way of relating to the world is different from mine, and that I need to consider his actions and needs in his context. Also, I like the fact that different learning styles, activity levels, and verbal abilities are discussed as well as the standard introversion vs. extroversion Myers-Briggs typing.

One Important Tool for the Parental Toolbox.......2003-05-01

It is hard to underestimate the value of understanding personality type for developing effective business, spouse, peer, and parent-child relationships. I would speculate that many family conflicts are due to different personality types not being able to communicate with one another, or a child not fitting the behavior model established by the parents or siblings. Still, this is only one tool in the parental toolbox. Personality type should not be the only tool used, it doesn't mean that the tools of common sense and tradition are totally thrown out the window, yet it is a very useful tool and one that many parents are not aware of.

If you are not familiar with personality type, this book serves as a great introduction to understanding both your own and your child's, and may well be the first of a number of books you explore in this area of psychology. If you already have some knowledge about personality type (such as having read 'Please Understand Me II' by David Keirsey), it is still worth picking up a copy of this book. You will find the specific examples and descriptions of how personality type manifests itself in children at different ages to be helpful and insightful.

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Separate Lives: Why Siblings Are So Different
Judy Dunn , and Robert Plomin
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Stranger in the Nest: Do Parents Really Shape Their Child's Personality, Intelligence, or Character?

Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives

ASIN: 0465076890

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Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Adolescents: Nature, Assessment, and Treatment

Manufacturer: The Guilford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Assessment of Childhood Disorders, Third Edition

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Clinical Assesment of Child and Adolescent Personality and Behavior

ASIN: 1593852258

Book Description

Bringing together leading authorities, this comprehensive volume integrates current knowledge on psychological problems of adolescence in ways clinicians will find useful. Coverage includes conduct problems, substance abuse, mood and anxiety disorders, developmental and learning disabilities, eating disorders, abuse and trauma, and more. Chapters present in-depth information on the core features of each disorder; its etiology, course, and outcome; diagnostic issues specific to adolescents; and effective approaches to assessment and treatment. Also provided are cutting-edge perspectives on the broader processes underlying healthy or maladaptive development in this period of rapid change and transition.

From Neurons to Neighborhoods : The Science of Early Childhood Development

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Good condition at all levels
super terrific
Review of From Neurons to Neighbourhoods.
Great resource!
From Neurons to Neighborhoods : The Science of Early Childhood Development

From Neurons to Neighborhoods : The Science of Early Childhood Development
Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development , Youth, and Families Board on Children , Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development , and National Research Council
Manufacturer: National Academies Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adolescent Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0309069882

Book Description

Authoritative yet accessible, Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the newest evidence about early brain development and how children learn to speak, think, get along with others, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the surrounding context-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Are the early years a time of vulnerability or resilience? To what extent are our future prospects constrained by how well we navigate them? How can we get all children off to a good start in life? When should we worry? The committee provides a framework for approaching such vital questions and explores how scientists know what they know about childhood development.

This timely release will be important to all those who care about children and their families: policy makers, educators, researchers, program administrators, advocates, journalists, caregivers, and parents.

Customer Reviews:

Good condition at all levels.......2007-03-22

I received the book in in a timely fashion, and the book is in great condition.

super terrific.......2006-10-24

This book is a staple in the early childhood mental health field. It represents everything good in the promotion of social-emotional development in our society. Creating neurobiologically friendly environments for young children is a crossroad our society faces in an effort to have a positive impact on the mental health for our time. Implications for risk and resilience research contributions are included.

Review of From Neurons to Neighbourhoods........2006-08-04

I purchased this book, because I am doing a Graduate Diploma in Maternal & Child Health in Australia. Many of our lecturers were taking quotes from this book and referring to Jack Schonkoff's remarks contained within, pertaining to new evidence on myelination and the importance of interaction and stimulation of small children and the relationship between this and brain growth. It is easy to read and I am confident that both the lay person and health professional alike will glean valuable insight. I find myself constantly referring to this book and know that this will have an effect on my future practice as a Maternal and Child Health Nurse.

Great resource!.......2006-03-27

An amazing breadth and depth of neuroscience and its implications for how we treat children. Must reading for anyone wishing to get beyond prejudice and rhetoric to the core of what needs to be done in public policy to protect and preserve childhood in modern America. Should be 5 stars, but now a little dated, although references are excellent and it's not hard to follow the themes into the most recent research.

From Neurons to Neighborhoods : The Science of Early Childhood Development.......2005-10-09

The book was iin better condition than i expected, and it sent out the day after i ordered it.

The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design

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The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Adolescent Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0674224574

Book Description

To understand the way children develop, Bronfenbrenner believes that it is necessary to observe their behavior in natural settings, while they are interacting with familiar adults over prolonged periods of time. His book offers an important blueprint for constructing a new and ecologically valid psychology of development.

The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

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A touch of Abbey
Desert solitaire . . .
One of the best books i've read, period.
The Fundamental Life Source of the "Wasteland."
very good

The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
Craig Childs
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0316610690

Amazon.com

The travels that Childs recounts in this vivid narrative take him from places sometimes parched, sometimes swimming, from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the dry limestone tanks of the lava-strewn Sonoran Desert. As he travels, Childs gives a close reading of the desert landscape ("the moral," he writes at one point, "is that if you know the land and its maps, you might live"), observing the rocks, plants, animals, and people that call it home. Some of his adventures will remind readers of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire--save that Childs writes without Abbey's bluster, and with a measured lyricism that well suits the achingly lovely back canyons and cactus forests of the Southwest. By turns travelogue, ecological treatise, and meditative essay, Childs's book will speak to anyone who has spent time under desert skies, wondering when the next drop of rain might fall. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The "essence of the American desert," as the subtitle of Craig Childs's book has it, is water. A desert, by definition, lacks it, but when water does come, it comes in torrential, sometimes devastating abundance. Childs, a thirtysomething desert rat with a vast knowledge of the Southwest's remote corners, knows this fact well. "Most rain falling anywhere but the desert comes slow enough that it is swallowed by the soil without comment," he observes. "Desert rains, powerful and sporadic, tend to hit the ground, gather into floods, and are gone before the water can sink five inches into the ground." The travels that Childs recounts in this vivid narrative take him from places sometimes parched, sometimes swimming, from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the dry limestone tanks of the lava-strewn Sonoran Desert. As he travels, Childs gives a close reading of the desert landscape ("the moral," he writes at one point, "is that if you know the land and its maps, you might live"), observing the rocks, plants, animals, and people that call it home. Some of his adventures will remind readers of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire--save that Childs writes without Abbey's bluster, and with a measured lyricism that well suits the achingly lovely back canyons and cactus forests of the Southwest. By turns travelogue, ecological treatise, and meditative essay, Childs's book will speak to anyone who has spent time under desert skies, wondering when the next drop of rain might fall. --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews:

A touch of Abbey.......2007-08-27

I would agree this has a touch of Ed Abbey in it. It is educational and hisorical intertwined with interesting stories and a touch of suspense. If you love and cherish the beauty and harshness of the desert, you will appreciate this book.

Desert solitaire . . ........2006-12-26

This book by naturalist Craig Childs belongs on any Edward Abbey bookshelf, where writers have fallen in love with the desert Southwest and portray it eloquently on the printed page. Childs is more scientist than environmentalist, but he has Abbey's fascination with wilderness adventure, which takes him in search of what he regards as the most elemental aspect of the desert - the water to be found there. These searches take him far into remote areas of the vast Colorado River watershed, mostly in Arizona, including the canyons that feed into the Grand Canyon.

The book is divided into three sections: still water, streams, and flood. We discover that if one knows how to search for it - and the first inhabitants of these areas did know - there is water to be found in plentiful supply. Likewise, there are spring-fed streams that flow during certain seasons, and in and along both kinds of water there is a host of different life forms, plants and animals, each place representing a specific and evolving ecosystem. Childs' eye and ear for detail and his scientific knowledge join to create vivid accounts of the discoveries he makes as he explores. We learn, for instance, how pools of rainwater in the desert wastes become populated with forms of aquatic life and how these survive, even through long periods of extreme drought.

For me, a particularly harrowing adventure was his exploration of a system of caves from which a stream of ice-cold water emerges high on a canyon wall near the Grand Canyon. Others include his pursuit of floods in the making in this same system of canyons following summer cloudbursts, and he underscores the perilousness of his curiosity by describing the deaths of other hikers and campers taken by surprise by flash floods. Often he travels alone for days and weeks at a time; sometimes he takes along a companion. What he writes of his experiences is consistently full of wonder, as well as a realization that human interference with the natural order (pumping from aquifers, as just one example) is rapidly and permanently altering ecosystems that have adapted to the desert environment over millennia.

One of the best books i've read, period........2006-08-02

gorgeous language and imagery. an amazing adventurer (but the adventures aren't really the point) and incredibly in tune with his foibles, strengths and desires. if i could follow in even 1/100th of his footsteps (literally and metaphorically)...

The Fundamental Life Source of the "Wasteland.".......2006-03-04

Although I had planned to do so, I had not gotten around to reading this wonderful book until I had some time while I was waiting in an airport recently. I immediately understood the author's reverence for the waters of the desert because I grew up in southwestern Arizona and intimately know some of the places he mentions, as well as others that he does not. The water tanks of the area near and on the Camino del Diablo and the life-giving stream called Sycamore Canyon are well known to me and I am very familiar with tadpole shrimp and some of the other smaller organisms of the tinajas, playa lakes and puddles. Indeed, Craig Childs has caught the not so easy to define wonder that one feels when seeing water in the desert. "The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert" voices what many desert rats (as I was when I was younger) would have difficulty saying- that water in the desert is almost a holy entity, a substance that defies definition (despite our knowledge of the chemical structure) because it is manifestly the material of life.

As a scientist I can find fascination with the multitude of creatures that live in the springs, creeks, rivers and tinajas, but the awe goes much deeper than just collecting facts, necessary and interesting as they are. It is, as Childs has so eloquently described, a visceral feeling that one gets- a deep satisfaction - when one sees the surface of deep and cool pools of water in hidden rocky tanks (such as Tinajas Altas, which I have not seen, but have been close to, or another group he does not mention, Cinco Tinajas in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas, which I have seen), or of a stream flowing in a thin sheet over the bedrock of a desert canyon, as in Sycamore Canyon.

I have only one very minor bone to pick. He says his mother was born in the Sonoran Desert, but no part of that desert reaches the Texas-Mexico border. I think he means Sonoran Life Zone. But this is a minor quibble in a book that is a gem of writing about the natural world of the North American deserts.

Read this book if you would understand the reverence for water that is engendered by a life in the desert.

very good.......2004-12-03

I was surprised that I liked this book as it started out so slow. But stick with it. It's fascinating.

Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection

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A Triumph!
Must-read for any woman or parent (especially working moms!)
A must read for any evolutionary psychologist
Evolution from a female viewpoint
An Honest Search For Truth

Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection
Sarah Hrdy
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Motherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0679442650
Release Date: 1999-09-21

Amazon.com

Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection should be required reading for anyone who happens to be a human being. In it, Hrdy reveals the motivations behind some of our most primal and hotly contested behavioral patterns--those concerning gender roles, mate choice, sex, reproduction, and parenting--and the ideas and institutions that have grown up around them. She unblinkingly examines and illuminates such difficult subjects as control of reproductive rights, infanticide, "mother love," and maternal ambition with its ever-contested companions: child care and the limits of maternal responsibility. Without ever denying personal accountability, she points out that many of the patterns of abuse and neglect that we see in cultures around the world (including, of course, our own) are neither unpredictable nor maladaptive in evolutionary terms. "Mother" Nature, as she points out, is not particularly concerned with what we call "morality." The philosophical and political implications of our own deeply-rooted behaviors are for us to determine--which can be done all the better with the kind of understanding gleaned from this exhaustive work.

Hrdy's passion for this material is evident, and she is deeply aware of the personal stake she has here as a woman, a mother, and a professional. This highly accomplished author relies on her own extensive research background as well as the works of others in multiple disciplines (anthropology, primatology, sociobiology, psychology, and even literature). Despite the exhaustive documentation given to her conclusions (as witness the 140-plus-page notes and bibliography sections), the book unfolds in an exceptionally lucid, readable, and often humorous manner. It is a truly compelling read, highly recommended. --Katherine Ferguson

Book Description

We are tempted to think of maternal instinct as a quality a woman has or lacks. But the belief that mothers instinctively nurture their offspring--one of the West's most cherished ideals and a view widely accepted even in scientific circles--has become increasingly controversial. Mother Nature presents a radical new way of understanding how mothers act and why, and how this new understanding is changing the way scientists think about how evolution works.

Drawing on anthropology, history, literature, developmental psychology, and animal behavior, Sarah Hrdy examines the distinct biological and genetic elements that constitute maternal instinct. She strips away the biases implicit in conventional stereotypes of female nature to give us very different and provocative perspectives on maternal ambivalence, the links between maturity and ambition, mother love and sexual love, and why age-old tensions between the sexes persist--and are being played out today in efforts to control women's reproductive choices.

Combining decades of research with her own experience as a mother, Hrdy makes clear in this remarkable book what it means--from a historical and evolutionary perspective--to be a mother and explains how this knowledge has transformed our understanding of human development and behavior.

Customer Reviews:

A Triumph!.......2007-05-13

Utterly fascinating and, when it comes to understanding what makes human beings tick, is of greater reality, to my mind, than the phantasmagorical reaches of psychoanalysis, and more fundamental. Painstakingly researched. A scholarly book written in an accessible and engaging style.

Must-read for any woman or parent (especially working moms!).......2005-11-18

I find myself raving about this book to every woman (and man) I know. This is the most astounding and thought-provoking book I've read in recent years. Professor Hrdy is an emeritus professor of anthropology at UC Davis who puts the behavior of mothers and infants into an evolutionary context, using a comparative approach and drawing from sociobiology, anthropology, and psychology. I enjoyed this book from my perspectives as a student who did doctoral research in behavioral ecology; as a scientist who's tired of the superficial stereotype of instinctive, selfless maternal devotion; and most profoundly as a mother who's trying somehow to balance the equation of doing good for my family, myself, and the world as an ecologist with a conservation group. I appreciated the fact that she did not just rely on her own research on langur monkeys, but extensively reviewed other studies (and pointed out the dearth of studies that challenge societal assumptions that all mothers should care for every infant under any circumstance). She also entertains different hypotheses instead of just staking out a prescription based on an idealized version from one point in human evolutionary history (i.e. romanticizing hunter-gatherer societies), as seen in anthropologist Meredith Small's "Our Babies, Ourselves", which is also a wonderful book, but lacks the breadth of Hrdy's scholarship.

I frequently read this book as I rocked and nursed my infant son, which made everything more vivid to me. Hrdy writes with grace and humor about topics such as the origins of lactation (the rapture and thrall of oxytocin), the sensual (and hormonal) appeal of infants (so luscious you want to eat `em up). I was fascinated by the many ways that mothers seek to secure resources for their children (such as the tradition of godparents, or women's "unnatural" ambitions in the workplace). But reading the tragic chapters in European history of unsuccessful wet-nursing and wholescale infant abandonment while nursing my baby was almost more than I could bear.

One theme Hrdy reiterates throughout the book is how mothers throughout history forge workable compromises between infant needs and maternal ambition. She shares her experiences as a mother and scientist, and reflections from other women in the field. I found myself cheering "Yes!" in her final chapters, when she steers the debate of working mothers away from the gender politics of "Is it bad for infants when mothers work?" to the more critical question "How can we ensure that infants are cared for as lovingly and securely as kin?" whether that's by the mother or 'allomothers' [relatives or helpers who care like mothers]. "All early caregivers become the emotional equivalents of kin. Any caretaker is capable of communicating the message infants desperately seek - `You are wanted and will not be set aside'. (p. 509)" While the mother is uniquely equipped to meet that need, with her physical contact, her scent, her milk, she's not the only one who can answer when an infant seeks "the meeting eyes of love." Hrdy has written a passionate and scholarly book that is both an engaging read as well as a profoundly enlightening look into human nature. I cannot recommend this more highly.

A must read for any evolutionary psychologist.......2004-02-20

So many great little factoids. My favorite topics include family planning (abortion, infanticide), maternal bonding, the adaptiveness of menopause, females in social structure, and lots of other tidbits I wish more authors would cover. The most fascinating thing is that these topics come up in the animal kingdom, not just with us.

Only complaint might be that it's a dense read, and doesn't have a nice "backdrop" to organize it like Robert Wright's books (which I highly recommend). For this reason, you might need to read it twice to get everything. The facts themselves are tremendous, however. This book illustrates many more complexities about females that her male contemporaries might gloss over. Hrdy offers balance to anyone who's read other books on the same topic -- albeit great ones -- by male authors. (Come on, they can't help it.)

One more interesting thing that Hrdy adds is that science in her field is limited because neither feminists nor conservatives want to explore the evolutionary basis of womanhood. For conservatives, they know they are baby machines. For feminists, all that matters is that women are now free. Hrdy takes issue with both camps.

Evolution from a female viewpoint.......2003-11-13

This is a fascinating look at evolution with particular reference to the female of the species. Packed with fascinating information about female behaviour through the ages. Descriptions of life among hunter-gatherer groups are particularly interesting. Subjects like infanticide, wetnursing, abandonment of infants, etc are gone into in great detail. I learnt a lot from this book. I particularly enjoyed the splendidly bloodthirsty lullabye from the Napoleonic era printed at the end of this book, my children love it. One small complaint, at one point in this book Ms. Hrdy compares housewives to laboratory rats. Now, I am used to the abuse routinely heaped on housewives, but this is really going a little too far. The big difference between a laboratory rat and a housewife is that I, a housewife, can leave my house any time I like (maybe it's different in America, perhaps housewives are kept locked up there, I don't know), and I frequently do. i have alot more freedom of movement than I would if I were, say, stuck in an office all day long. I quite accept Ms. Hardy' point that children do not have to be cared for full-time by their mothers, but it would be nice if she could refrain from abusing those of us who actually enjoy being full-time carers.

An Honest Search For Truth.......2003-07-01

Biology has an agenda. Squirrels, whales, and crickets do not have our language facility, thus they do not have self-help books, preachers, or legions of well-meaning advisors. Yet they are born with the genetically provided rules (feelings) that allow them to be successful squirrels, wonderful whales, and competent crickets. We too have genetically provided rules, which sociobiologists and such are trying to discover. This wonderful book is the author's attempt to explain some of the conditions of motherhood, the relations between mothers and babies, and sometimes tough choices mothers have to make. This work is, in my opinion, magnificent.

Amazon.com

Here's the bottom line according to Bill McKibben: the earth will not be able to sustain its ever increasing population indefinitely. But the population problem is not just a phenomenon of developing nations--the United States is a major environmental threat, gobbling up a huge piece of the resources pie as our numbers grow larger every year. To avoid worldwide catastrophe, McKibben believes that the United States must reduce its birthrate.

Maybe One is more about the concept of having only one child per family, than a sanctimonious sermon on the perils producing more than that lone baby will have on the world. Understandably the implications of overpopulation for the planet's resources isn't something the average American cries into his Cheerios about every morning, but Maybe One argues that we must start thinking about family size and stop thinking of population as an "abstract issue" that has no bearing on our lives. McKibben produces compelling if not controversial arguments for curbing the U.S. population explosion, a population which he believes could grow by at least 50 percent by the year 2050 to possibly 400 million people. That's a lot of mouths to feed, fuel to burn, and waste to dispose! McKibben's arguments are a mixture of the highly personal (he speaks in great detail of his decision to have a vasectomy) to the highly global (McKibben cites scary statistics about the greenhouse effect, species extinction, soil erosion, and food shortages). He is particularly passionate about "only children" and that it really is okay to have just one child, arguing that only children are often more intelligent and confident than their multiple-sibling friends.

Like in The End of Nature an earlier McKibben book concerned with man's catastrophic contribution to the greenhouse effect, McKibben urges us in Maybe One to really think about our relationship with the earth. He writes, "No decision any of us makes will have more effect on the world (and on our lives) than whether to bear another child." Prophetic words, but words many parents will find difficult by which to abide. --Naomi Gesinger

Book Description

In Maybe One, Bill McKibben argues that the earth is becoming dangerously overcrowded, and that if more of us chose to have only one child, it would make a crucial difference toward insuring a healthy future for ourselves and our planet.

But the environment alone may not persuade most people to consider having just one child, as eighty percent of Americans have siblings. Powerful stereotypes about only children--that they're spoiled, selfish, or maladjusted in some way--still persist. McKibben, the proud father of an only child himself, debunks these myths, citing research about the many emotional and intellectual strengths only children possess. Contrary to the old folk wisdom, only children are very much like everyone else; they are no more likely to be lonely, shy, or difficult to get along with than children with siblings. Only children also receive the benefits of more parental resources and time that are denied to kids with siblings: higher test scores and levels of achievement in school, and greater development of positive personality traits, like maturity and self-control.

At once a powerful personal argument and an accessible exploration of what overpopulation could mean to human life, Maybe One is a provocative yet well-reasoned opening to what will be an important and lasting debate.

"Eloquent...Wonderfully illuminating." --Publishers Weekly (starred)

"An absorbing, important environmental book, likely to stimulate long overdue discussion for its frank grappling with one of our most intimate taboos." --San Francisco Chronicle

Customer Reviews:

Only children turn out normal.......2005-11-05

I am grateful to Bill McKibben for making it clear that I don't have to worry about my son being harmed by being an only child. McKibben makes a good case for smaller families. I am frequently puzzled by the peculiar blindness to this issue in the media. When a family with five or ten children complains that they can't afford the necessities of American life, you don't have to look far for a reason, yet this gets constantly overlooked. I have known far too many people who want to leave the number of their children in God's hands. In my opinion, God helps those who help themselves.

McKibben supports maintaining immigration into the U.S. at a somewhat reduced level. I think he does not go far enough here. I think legal immigration should be limited to no more than a few thousand persons a year. Stopping illegal immigration should become a national priority. If that sounds selfish and intolerant to you, please consider that ALL our lives depend on healthy ecosystems. Those ecosystems simply can't withstand a continually increasing population.

Argument Based on Fallacy.......2003-02-09

Why did I have to even give it one star? The problem that someone should point out is that McKibben's book has as its core basis a fallacious argument. The United States, like every other developed nation is not growing because of the rate of reproduction of its population but because of immigration. If he had chosen to focus on a way to slow population growth and improve economies in the developing nations and thereby probably reduce the rate of immigration his argument would be stronger but since he didn't it doesn't matter what he says because once the core reason for his book is proven wrong, why should we believe any other argument he wishes to make?

Do the math...........2002-10-05

The idea presented in this book has to be the worst proposal ever to come out of the over-population myth. First of all if every family had only one child, the human race would eventually die out. (Example: 500 people make 250 couples, if each one had only 1 child, then the next generation would have only 250 children, making it possible to have only 125 couples.)

One point of contradiction is that the author professes his belief in Jesus Christ, but denies the first commandment given to man (multiply and replenish the earth).

The solution to all of the problems cited by over-population rumourists isn't population control, its better resource management.

Earth issues and broader thoughts on the only child.......2001-06-21

Bill McKibben has written a book that is not only much needed but a wake up call to those who care about the entire earth environment and what effect multi-child families have.

As the mother of one child, a son who is now raised and responsible and happy I am always looking for books that dispel the myths about only children being selfish, spoiled, maladjusted loners (the authors words). The author doesn't just talk theory. And he walks his talk, in sharing the personal choice and experience of having a vasectomy.

His work is thorough in showing how misplaced and out of context religious admonishments to go forth and multiply are. How we no longer need large families to work the farms much less the nine month school year. That we as a society need to rethink what children should be to society at large and get over the whole lug headed logic that as women we are not complete unless we reproduce and do so more than once. Or that real men are only the ones who create an heir, and usually a male one at that.

I also appreciated immensely his challenging people to stop seeing a child as a hobby and start looking at the child as an individual with rights and that an only child that is reared with a mindset of personal responsibility is the best future citizen. And the fact is as his work shows, is this. Todays family with more than one child is the very family who succumbs to guilt buying. Over consuming and children with poor health i.e.obesity and altruistic thought that is not embraced but if taught is done so out of guilt feelings.

the book is split into four sections. Part One: Family Part Two: Species Part Three: Nation Part Four: Self. And am so grateful the author has noted the works of Granville Stanley Hall who was born in 1844 and would go on to John Hopkins and do some earthshaking research as well as create the first research university in psychology.

Go forth and multiply???.......2001-06-04

This is a fine book that gives a measured, objective (as much as possible) analysis on the decision of whether to add another human being to the surface of the earth. I'm constantly amazed how often population is neglected entirely (or casually brushed off) when discussing policies from urban sprawl to species loss to global warming. Of course population isn't the only factor (wealth and lifestyle are obviously key as well), but who can seriously question that our environmental impact on the earth would be more manageable if we had fewer people? Think about your average day....waking up and showering, eating breakfast, driving to work, etc. Go out and surf the Internet and start calculating your individual environmental impact (there are a host of useful sites out there). The coal burned to light your house, your office and all of the places you visit during the day. The metals, woods and plastics harvested, processed, stored and shipped to build your home, the appliances within it, your automobile, your consumer electronics, books, dishes and your clothes. The water, herbicides and fuel used to produce the food you consume. And don't forget waste. Start adding up your sewer impact, the amount of garbage you generate week after week, month after month. And don't forget the garbage you contribute to at work, the park and the restaurant. And so on.... The final toll is staggering. Simply in terms of home electricity use, for example, the average American household will easily burn more than 300 pounds of coal and generate more than 600 pounds of atmospheric CO2 per month. Then start multiplying these numbers by 280 million (Americans), and (although using different and lower multipliers) 6 billion+ human beings.

The inescapable truth glaring through this sort of calculation is that unless you manage a SuperFund site, you are not likely to make a more environmentally important decision in your life than whether to add another human being to the earth (and if so, how many). Perhaps McKibben's book will help reduce the ridiculous spectacles I see where a bountiful family of multiple children scamper from a monstrous SUV (with Earth Day bumper sticker) at a recycle site, offering some newspapers and crushed cans and then hulking home (after gassing up, of course), beaming and self-congratulatory at what they are doing for the earth compared to their wasteful brethren in, say, India. You can reuse and recycle to your little heart's content and not come close to having a fraction of the environmental impact of not having had one of those children-particularly American children.

Book Description

Follow the progress of a little girl and her father as they purchase "a garden," and board the bus to carry it home. The pansies, tulips, daffodils, geraniums, and daisies are lovingly planted in a window box, and the candles on the cake are lighted--just as Mom walks in the door to find her daughter, her husband, and her birthday surprise.

Customer Reviews:

Great for toddlers!.......2005-08-02

I borrowed this book from the public library for my 3 year old daughter and after I returned it, she kept asking for the "flower book." The illustrations are beautiful and the concept is really nice.

Wonderful Beautiful Lovely.......2004-02-12

We have a two-year-old daughter who picks this book out every day and every night to read. The illustrations are breathtaking. The story is simple but relevant; we follow every detail as the father and daughter walk the city street and ride the bus. We love to watch the daughter planting the flowers with her father; the mother coming home from school to see her birthday surprise. I have no doubt that this book will be with us for another generation or more (at least in our house). Thank you to the two wonderful artists who created such a special book.

This book is fabulous.......1998-10-17

I am a student teacher in a three year old preschool classroom. We recently planted mums outside our window, and afterwards read this story to the children. They loved the beautiful pictures and the contrast between the city flowerbox and our daycare garden.

bright colors,wonderful story for all ages.......1998-10-10

my pre-school class found the book to be very exciting and could'nt wait for me to turn the next page.the bright colors of the cover and pages were so liking a good childrens book,that we planted a garden like described in the book.i have had parents ask where can they get this wonderful book for their own child. we really enjoyed it!this book described a family so close and loving,you can't help but smell the flowers and feel the love in that household.

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