How Do I
Legacy of Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) won no great prizes and led no crusades. She attracted considerable attention because she introduced readers to mysterious worlds, combining the eye of a scientist and the sensibility of a poet with a clear commitment to nature's scheme of things. Carson was a memorable teacher who found herself at the center of the biggest controversy in the history of the conservation movement with the publication of her book, Silent Spring, which alerted citizens throughout the world to the subtle dangers of "An Age of Poisons".
Carson's writings stressed three philosophical concepts: a belief that people have a right to live unassaulted by toxins; a belief that maintaining a diverse web of life is the key to ecological survival; and a belief that environmental preservation is a moral human instinct. Today Love Canal, three Mile Island, Bhopal, Chernobyl, and Exxon Valdez remind us of her concern that a fascination with chemicals must continuously be tempered with some wisdom in their use.
April 2002 marked the 40th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's groundbreaking book, Silent Spring.
Books by Rachel Carson
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Carson, Rachel
Silent Spring SB959.C3 QH545.P4 C38 |
| In his introduction to the twenty-fifth anniversary edition, Vice-president Al Gore writes that he read this book at his mother's insistence and discussed it at the family dinner table. He states that it had a "profound impact" on him because it showed an eloquent concern for the human stakes in a chemically uncorrupted nature. Carson posed the question in her bestseller, "Why should a poison dust or spray, however greatly it may advantage a grower or a housewife in a private project, enjoy immunity while there is any reason to suspect that it may endanger the public health or damage the natural scene?" She pressed for a research program to enable men to use pesticides safely and effectively, reducing their use to a minimum by the development of alternate means to keep insects in check. | |
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Carson, Rachel
Under the Sea Wind QH92.C29 This classic in nature writing provides an education in marine science that features Rynchops, a black skimmer; Scomber, a mackerel; and Auguilla, and eel. Through their lives Carson details the workings of currents, migration, life cycles, and general survival while these creatures search for food and try to avoid becoming it. |
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Carson, Rachel
The Sea Around Us 551.46 C23 Modern geological theories about how the earth acquired the oceans are employed by the author to describe the world's last great frontier of mystery and darkness, the great oceans. A list of reading materials is included. |
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Carson, Rachel
The Edge of the Sea QH95.7.C385 The ground bounded by the rise and fall of the tides is described by Carson in beautiful prose that appeals to the mind's eye as well as the physical eye. This part of the world is filled with unfamiliar plant and animal forms, including the tiny periwinkle with its 3500 teeth, and the sea pansy, which survives by turning itself into a colony. |
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Freeman, Martha (ed.)
Always Rachel: the Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964 QH31.C33 A4 1995x These lightly edited letters by Freeman's granddaughter shed light on Carson's creative process, family burdens, and the devastating illnesses that interrupted her work on Silent Spring. Readers interested in biography, women's studies, and the history of the environmental movement as well as nature writing will find this correspondence dotted with vivid observations of the natural world and a perceptive commentary on friendship, family, fame, and life itself. | |
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Lear, Linda (ed.)
Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson QH81.C3546 1998 This collection of essays, includes "Lost Woods" which accompanied a 1956 television program that warned of the hazards to island ecosystems and analyzed cloud formations. The most scientific and politically powerful piece in the collection is Carson's speech attacking the detractors of "Silent Spring", delivered shortly before her death. This is required reading for corporate managers in environmentally sensitive industries, environmental scientists, and the general public interested in environmentalism. |
Books about Rachel Carson
Additional books about Rachel Carson can be found in our online catalog by searching for Carson, Rachel as Subject.
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Lear, Linda
Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature QH31.C33 L43 Linda Lear gives a compelling portrait of this heroic woman, illuminating the origin of her connection with nature and of her determination to save what she loved. |
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Levine, Ellen
Rachel Carson: a Twentieth-Century Life Discusses author and marine biologist Rachel Carson's efforts to protect the environment, from her childhood nature outings through the impact of her 1962 book, "Silent Spring." PENNA QH31.C33 L48 2007x |
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Lytle, Mark H.
The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement |
Web Sites of Interest
- The Rachel Carson Institute
At Chatham College in Pittsburgh. Rachel Carson attended Chatham when it was called the Pennsylvania College for Women. - Rachel Carson Homestead
Rachel Carson was born May 27, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania, located just north of Pittsburgh. - Rachel Carson
A website by Linda Lear, author of the biography, Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature - Rachel Carson Council
promotes alternative, environmentally benign pest management strategies to encourage healthier, sustainable living. - Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge
Dedicated in 1970 to the memory of Rachel Carson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, author, environmental advocate -
The Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century: Rachel Carson
"Before there was an environmental movement, there was one brave woman and her very brave book." -
Wikipedia: Rachel Carson
Includes a biography, a bibliography and links to articles of interest about Rachel Carson.
