Silent Spring
Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death. Presented with thorough documentation, the book opened more than a few eyes about the dangers of the modern world and stands today as a landmark work.
First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water."Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . [It is] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one of the greatest nature writers in American letters" (Peter Matthiessen, forTime's 100 Most Influential People of the Century). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates Rachel Carson's watershed book with a new introduction by the author and activist Terry Tempest Williams and a new afterword by the acclaimed Rachel Carson biographer Linda Lear, who tells the story of Carson's courageous defense of her truths in the face of ruthless assault from the chemical industry in the year following the publication of Silent Spring and before her untimely death in 1964.
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- ISBN: 9780618249060
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133 Reviews
| From: Amazon Posted: Jan 28, 2008 Type: User Review |
What about malaria in Africa?
While Rachel's theories were ahead of her time 40 years ago, many now believe DDT is not the toxin/poison that her book helped label the chemical as. One thing is for SURE: malaria kills millions, including children, in Africa each and every...
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 2.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Jan 18, 2008 Type: User Review |
the beginning of environmental science
An amazing woman and book: the beginning of the us taking responsibility for pollution thanks to this book.
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 5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Aug 07, 2007 Type: User Review |
The Facts!!
Perhaps her cause was just in writing this book, but her short-sighted ignorance of the repercussions was inexcusable. Because of the ban on DDT which largely resulted from Silent Spring, the WHO has estimated that around 20 MILLION children have...
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 1.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Jun 13, 2007 Type: User Review |
Important but boring
I thought that "Silent Spring" would be an interesting book to read. After all, is supposedly launched the modern environmental movement. However, after reading about 80 pages into the book I started to feel like I was reading the same thing over...
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 3.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: May 11, 2007 Type: User Review |
A Classic Read
Joni Mitchell perhaps most aptly summarizes the driving idea of Silent Spring in her song "Big Yellow Taxi": "Hey farmer farmer / Put away that DDT now / Give me spots on my apples / But leave me the birds and the bees. Please!" While both the...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 04, 2007 Type: User Review |
last minute purchase
My daughter had to have this for English and of course she waited till the last minute. To her surprise, she enjoyed the book and the author's writing very much. As usual Amazon saved the day with a huge selection and fast shipping.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Mar 26, 2007 Type: User Review |
Al Gore surely loves this
Hurrah for "sustainability" and "biodiversity"! Down with the human race!
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1.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Feb 19, 2007 Type: User Review |
classic
We needed more than 30 years to understand that Rachel Carson was not an alarmist. This prophetic book about our environment is very well written.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Feb 19, 2007 Type: User Review |
What would DDT opponents say if mosquitoes carried HIV instead of malaria?
I've seen many reviewers argue that the use of DDT to prevent malaria deaths in the developing world is unjustified because 1) it may cause greater long-term harm to the environment, and 2) mosquitoes will eventually develop resistance to the...
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1.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Jan 10, 2007 Type: User Review |
Silent Spring by Pachel Carson
Rachel created a saga of facts about what damage we have done with insecticides and herbicides throughout the US without any thought to the environment or ourselves. She showed in this book our many errors in judgement and backs everything up with...
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5.00/5 |
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