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On a farther shore : the life and legacy of Rachel Carson

Author

Souder, William, 1949-

Title

On a farther shore : the life and legacy of Rachel Carson / William Souder.

Format

Book

Edition

1st ed.

Published

New York : Crown Publishers, c2012.

Description

496 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. 477-486) and index.

Contents

• Miss Carson's Book
• Bright as the Mid-day Sun
• Biologizing
• The English Connection and the Ocean Deep
• This Beautiful and Sublime World
• Author Triumphant
• Dorothy
• The Enduring Sea
• Earth on Fire
• Collateral Damage
• High Tides and Low.

Summary

Rachel Carson, founder of the modern environmental movement, began work on her seminal book Silent Spring in the late 1950s, when a dizzying array of synthetic pesticides had come into use. Leading this chemical onslaught was the insecticide DDT. Effective against crop pests as well as insects that transmitted human diseases such as typhus and malaria, DDT had at first appeared safe. But as its use expanded, alarming reports surfaced of collateral damage to fish, birds, and other wildlife. Silent Spring was a chilling indictment of DDT and its effects, and it shocked the public and forced the government to take action despite a withering attack on Carson from the chemicals industry. The book awakened the world to the heedless contamination of the environment and eventually led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and to the banning of DDT and a host of related pesticides.

Subject headings

Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964. Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964. Silent spring. Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964--Influence. Environmentalists--United States--Biography. Marine biologists--United States--Biography. Naturalists--United States--Biography. Science writers--United States--Biography. Pesticides--Environmental aspects--United States--History. Environmentalism--United States--History. Environmental ethics--United States--History.

ISBN

9780307462206 030746220X 9780307462220 (ebook) 0307462226 (ebook) 9780307462213 0307462218