Book silent spring was written by

R achel Carson educated a planet: her book At the time, exploration of the deep ocean had hardly begun. Scuba technology was in its infancy, the remotely operated submersible not even a fantasy. Space exploration was still a daydream; continental drift and sea-floor spreading a preposterous heresy. So her book was one of the goads that spurred on the next generation of oceanographers and marine biologists. In 1962, already dying of cancer, she published If you had to choose one text by one person as the cornerstone of the conservation movement, the signal for politically savvy environmental activism, and the beacon of worldwide lay awareness of ecological systems, Silent Spring would be most people's clear choice. Its impact was immediate, far-reaching and ultimately life-enhancing: it earned her a posthumous presidential medal and put her face on the 17 cent US postage stamp. It also earned her sustained vitriolic assault from the chemical industry and a claim from a former US Secretary of But how does it read now? It is brilliantly written: clear, controlled and authoritative; with confident poetical flourishes that suddenly illuminate pages of cool exposition. The pesticide residues in US drainage systems are unexpectedly counterpointed with "the sight and sound of drifting ribbons of waterfowl across an evening sky." Soil bacteria and fungi become a "horde of minute but ceaselessly toiling creatures". Analysis of the incidental damage attendant upon agribusiness sprayi...

Rachel Carson was an important figure in modern American environmentalism, whose work is sometimes credited with creating the grassroots movement that led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, and then earned a master’s in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932, while working in research labs to earn money for tuition. When her father’s sudden death left her without the time or funds necessary to continue on to a doctorate, Carson found a job with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, later known as the Fish and Wildlife Service. While there, she began writing and published articles in newspapers and magazines. The first books that earned her fame were written on the topic of marine biology. With their success, she was able to quit her job and focus on writing full time, and her interests began to shift more toward conservation. She began work on Silent Spring, her most lasting legacy, in 1958, gathering research and soliciting contributions from major experts. The process of writing the book was slowed by family issues, and then by sickness when Carson was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died of a heart attack two years after its publication, in 1964. Carson’s decision to report on the dangers of pesticides was a result of a fire ant eradication program in 1957 in which DDT mixed with fuel oil was sprayed on private and public land in Long Island. After its publication, Silent Spring inspired a grassroot...

Rachel Carson in woods near her Maryland home in 1962, the year in which Silent Spring was published. Photograph: Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image Rachel Carson in woods near her Maryland home in 1962, the year in which Silent Spring was published. Photograph: Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image N ear a brook in south-east England, the bird-spotter JA Baker stumbled on a grim little scene in 1961. "A heron lay in frozen stubble. Its wings were stuck to the ground by frost. Its eyes were open and living, the rest of it was dead. As I approached, I could see its whole body craving into flight. But it could not fly. I gave it peace and saw the agonised sunlight of its eyes slowly heal with cloud." The bird's plight was clearly unnatural. Nor was its fate unique. That year, large numbers of dead birds were found strewn across the countryside. On the royal estate in Sandringham, for example, the toll included thrushes, skylarks, moorhens, goldfinches, sparrowhawks, chaffinches, hooded crows, partridges, pheasants, and wood pigeons. Nationally, more than 6,000 dead birds were reported to the Royal Society for the Protection of The UK was not alone. For years, reports in the US indicated that numbers of birds, including America's national bird, the bald eagle, were dropping alarmingly. Ornithologists also noted eggs were often not being laid while many that were laid did not hatch. Something was happening to the birds of the western world. Sever...

Silent Spring, nonfiction book written by Silent Spring was widely read by the general public and became a New York Times Discover magazine’s list of the 25 greatest science books of all time. The title Silent Spring was inspired by a line from the Carson was a biologist and science writer who earned a The Sea Around Us (1951), she quit her job with the Bureau of Fisheries in 1952 to concentrate on her writing career. Although she had been aware of the use of Silent Spring was first published as a serial in The New Yorker and then as a book by Houghton Mifflin. Documenting the many harmful effects pesticides have on the environment, Carson argued that pesticides should properly be called “biocides” because of their impact on organisms other than the target pests. Specifically, she noted the harm DDT inflicted on bird populations and warned of a future spring characterized by the lack of birdsong. She highlighted the fact that Silent Spring did not call for the cessation of all Upon publication of Silent Spring, Carson was attacked as an alarmist and was accused of trying to reverse scientific progress. The chemical industry mounted a counterattack and presented the book as an example of how an overzealous reformer can stir up

Silent Spring is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. The book was published on September 27, 1962, documenting the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting the industry’s marketing claims unquestioningly. Starting in the late 1950s, prior to the book’s publication, Carson had focused her attention on environmental conservation, especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result of her research was Silent Spring, which brought environmental concerns to the American public. The book was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, but, owing to public opinion, it brought about numerous changes. It spurred a reversal in the United States’ national pesticide policy, led to a nationwide ban on DDT for agricultural uses, and helped to inspire an environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.In 1996, a follow-up book, Beyond Silent Spring, co-written by H.F. van Emden and David Peakall, was published. In 2006, Silent Spring was named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time by the editors of Discover magazine. Source: