Overview

For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature's positive effects on the brain. From forest trails in Korea, to islands in Finland, to groves of eucalyptus in California, Williams investigates the science at the confluence of environment, mood, health, and creativity. Delving into completely new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and ultimately strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas?and the answers they yield?are more urgent than ever.

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9781665147194

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Reviews

[A] lively exploration of what modern research has to say about the myriad health benefits of the great outdoors. -- Wall Street Journal A thoughtful, refreshing book with a simple but powerful message: 'Go outside, often, sometimes in wild places. Bring friends or not. Breathe.' -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Fascinating...She's got the pop-sci presentation down pat--breezy enough to draw in the lay reader, thorough enough to satisfy the expert. -- New York Times Book Review Williams's findings are eminently reassuring and perversely specific. -- Atlantic

"""[A] lively exploration of what modern research has to say about the myriad health benefits of the great outdoors."" -- ""Wall Street Journal"" ""A thoughtful, refreshing book with a simple but powerful message: 'Go outside, often, sometimes in wild places. Bring friends or not. Breathe.'"" -- ""Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"" ""Fascinating...She's got the pop-sci presentation down pat--breezy enough to draw in the lay reader, thorough enough to satisfy the expert."" -- ""New York Times Book Review "" ""Williams's findings are eminently reassuring and perversely specific."" -- ""Atlantic"""

Author Information

Florence Williams is a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado's Journalism School, a contributing editor at Outside magazine, and a freelance writer for the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, Mother Jones, and numerous other publications. Emily Woo Zeller began her voice-over career by voicing animation in Asia. She returned to the United States in 2009 and found a natural fit as an audiobook narrator. Described by AudioFile magazine as doing an extraordinary job of varying the voices in the dialogue without losing the intimacy of the story, Emily's multilingual, multicultural framework brings a particularly unique, clear-eyed, and intimate perspective into Asian American narratives. While she specializes in Asian American narratives, Emily's work spans a broad spectrum, including young adult fiction and such titles as The Whites of Their Eyes by Jill Lepore and The Sex Diaries Project by Arianne Cohen. She also narrated Gulp by Mary Roach, for which she won an AudioFile Earphones Award.

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