Silent Spring

Description

'Carson's books brought ecology into popular consciousness' -- Daily Telegraph Now recognized as one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, SILENT SPRING exposed the destruction of wildlife through the widespread use of pesticides. Despite condemnation in the press and heavy-handed attempts by the chemical industry to ban the book, Rachel carson succeeded in creating a new public awareness of the environment which led to changes in government and inspired the ecological movement.

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) spent most of her professional life as a marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By the late 1950s, she had written three lyrical, popular books about the sea, including the best-selling The Sea Around Us. An ardent ecologist and preservationist, Carson warned against the dumping of atomic waste at sea and predicted global warming. Silent Spring, which alerted the world to the dangers of the misuse of pesticides, was written against formidable personal odds. With its publication in 1962, Carson shaped a powerful social movement that has altered the course of history.

Silent Spring is often cited as the book which launched all modern environmentalism, but here is its equal in terms of the Orwellian strength and clarity of its prose, the depth of its author's research and the moral weight of his arguments. The surprise is that Monbiot manages to be undogmatic and even entertaining and funny, while also presenting a devastating critique of our agricultural abuse of the biosphere -- Mark Cocker * Spectator *Books of the Year* *