CHILDHOOD'S FUTURE - Softcover

Journalist Richard Louv is a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune and other major newspapers. He has appeared on ABC-TVs Good Morning America, NBC-TVs Today Show, National Public Radios Fresh Air and many other television and radio programs. He has also been a commentator on Monitor Radio Network. Louv is senior editor of Connect for Kids, a Web site dedicated to reporting on the conditions of children and families in America. In 1997, Connect for Kids was the recipient of more than $100 million in donated media, making it the year's top public service campaign in America. He is a partner in The Citistates Group, an association of journalists, academics and urban designers helping cities and regions shape their future. He serves on the joint journalism advisory board of the UCLA Center on Communications and Community and FrameWorks Institute. He has also served as columnist, contributing editor and member of the editorial advisory board for Parents magazine; and as senior associate for the National Civic League, where he helped launch the Alliance for National Renewal.

He is the author of six books: AMERICA II (Penguin, 1983), about the rise of the new urban form and reinvented communities. CHILDHOODS 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 CHILDRENS FUTURE (Anchor, 1994), described by Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor of Psychology, Yale University, as "a comprehensive and creative guidebook for building a supportive, family-friendly community, one neighborhood at a time." It was selected by the Coalition for America's Children and ABC-TV as a centerpiece in the network's Children First campaign. 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 childrens 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. FLY-FISHING FOR SHARKS: AN AMERICAN JOURNEY (Simon & Schuster), his sixth book, 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."

Louv has been a key participant and speaker at conferences moderated by Vice President Al Gore, California Gov. Pete Wilson, and Colorado Gov. Roy Rohmer on the future of the family. In 1995, he was asked by the United Nations to write the Year of the Child white paper, "Reinventing Fatherhood." In 1996, Louv addressed the Domestic Policy Council at the White House on the issues of fatherhood, family and community. He has received numerous journalism and community awards, most recently a 1999 C. Everett Koop Media Award.

Journalist Louv spent three years interviewing children, parents, and educators about the problems afflicting childhood today and the ways in which the new "family liberation movement" can bring about positive changes. He offers myriad ideas, including an increase in family time, parent networks, family-oriented workplaces, and stronger ties between schools and the community. The interviews form the core of the book, but they are sometimes contradictory and lacking real cohesion. Rita Kramer's In Defense of the Family ( LJ 2/15/83) and Marie Winn's Children Without Childhood ( LJ 5/15/83) provide more thoughtful and well-written treatments of the subject. Expect some demand, however, since The New York Times Magazine and Sierra magazine plan to publish excerpts.
-Ilse Heidmann Ali, Motlow State Community Coll., Tullahoma, Tenn.
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