Rachel CarsonIn 2012 we invite you to join us in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of this great work.
read full description
reviews
Apr 27, 2011
Ken-ichi
rated it: 
I picked this up because it's a a classic of American nature and environmental writing, and ostensibly marks the beginning of American environmental activism in the modern sense (i.e. more "we deserve not to be poisoned" than "leisure grounds for posterity"). I found the rhetorical style interesting. She breaks the book up into chapters on where toxins come from, how they accumulate and spread, and what effects they have on wildlife, food, and human health. In each, she of
More...
4 comments
like
(10 people liked it)
Nov 18, 2008
Jim
rated it: 
I've re-read this after maybe 30 years & it is still scary. It is a classic environmental book, detailing how we're changing our ecology & poisoning it. How long the effects linger is just scary & the links to cancer is horrifying.
She occasionally goes over the top, but most often makes good points on how our current practices of bludgeoning nature into our ideal form - which is often mistaken - is not working well & will eventually spell our doom. It was written over 45 years a More...
She occasionally goes over the top, but most often makes good points on how our current practices of bludgeoning nature into our ideal form - which is often mistaken - is not working well & will eventually spell our doom. It was written over 45 years a More...
3 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Apr 08, 2008
MAP
rated it:
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson can be considered a pivotal work, and must reading for those who are concerned about the environment. Published in 1962, it has taken the rest of us a couple of generations to catch up to her understanding of ecological systems. A marine biologist by training, and also a writer of three other works, Silent Spring was not received with acclaim. Rather, she was accused of having no scientific basis for her findings. To my non-scientific reading, it seems like evidenc
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 16, 2009
Pete
rated it:
I had heard of Silent Spring for a long time, and when I stumbled upon it recently I knew right away I had to read this book. Rachel Carson wrote this when JFK was president, and he being the man he was took action straight away. The afterword, by Linda Lear was written in 98.
I can't believe that a book dealing with hydrocarbons could be so poetically written and so clearly explained. I can't believe that I've read such a book. The case studies are, of course, from America in the main, an More...
I can't believe that a book dealing with hydrocarbons could be so poetically written and so clearly explained. I can't believe that I've read such a book. The case studies are, of course, from America in the main, an More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Aug 13, 2008
Erin
rated it: 
After being in the environmental field for 15 years, I decided it was about time to finish reading the book that started it all, at least what we know as the modern environmental movement (I won't get into what I think is happening in the environmental movement right now). If you are of my generation (thirtysomethings), you will probably start to read this and think "Yea, Yea, I know all of this already" because that's what I thought at first. But then it dawned on me that the rea
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 23, 2008
Sarah
rated it:
I have a personal rule when reading books. If I am not completely absorbed into it within fifty pages I put it down. This rule doesn’t work well for assigned reading, and fifty pages into Silent Spring I was so bored I was spending more time thinking of ways to avoid reading the book than actually reading it. Finally it occurred to me the reasons why I felt this boredom. After all, the book is not boring, Carson writes with a feverish passion towards defending nature that simply following he
More...
2 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jun 13, 2007
Jordan
rated it:
I wish this book was not still so poignant. But this book that really started the modern environmental movement and rose the consciences of millions of Americans is still as important today as it was 45 years ago. Whether it’s the use of chemicals still sprayed into are yards and on our food today, or lessons on the importance of questioning how our actions affect our world, Rachel Carson broke the mold. Every person needs to read this book.
“What has already silenced the voice More...
“What has already silenced the voice More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 21, 2007
Janet
rated it:
What is there to add to the universal praise for Rachel Carson? This book isn't a walk in the park, and it's crammed with (accesible) Scientific data, but it changed the world.
I was more fascinated by Carson's rhetoric than in her findings, which are now more than 45 years old. I read this book to learn how she built a case that challenged every major scientific, political and corporate institution in the country. And she did it by connecting with the shared values of average Ame More...
I was more fascinated by Carson's rhetoric than in her findings, which are now more than 45 years old. I read this book to learn how she built a case that challenged every major scientific, political and corporate institution in the country. And she did it by connecting with the shared values of average Ame More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Aug 04, 2011
This may have been a "brilliantly written book" when it came out in the early 60s, but time has not been kind to Ms Carson.
At times, her dry, overly-scientific approach to her subject makes the head hurt.
That said, however, Silent Spring does deserve it's 'classic' tag, and it is as relevant today as it ever was.
From detailing man's arrogant bid to rid the world of 'pests' using the new toys found in the chemistry lab, Carson shows just how much damage can be done if we don't pay atten More...
At times, her dry, overly-scientific approach to her subject makes the head hurt.
That said, however, Silent Spring does deserve it's 'classic' tag, and it is as relevant today as it ever was.
From detailing man's arrogant bid to rid the world of 'pests' using the new toys found in the chemistry lab, Carson shows just how much damage can be done if we don't pay atten More...
Jan 30, 2009
I've been meaning to read this book for awhile, and just recently ran into it on my dad's bookshelves and had to go for it. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was thinking it'd be something poetic and romantic in its appreciation of nature. I didn't realize "silent spring" referred not to a tranquil spring, but a spring made silent by the pervasive poisons we pour into our environment...quite a stilling reality. She spent many parts of the book relating example after example of differ
More...
Nov 28, 2011
Lo
rated it:
You know, this was a truly excellent book and succeeds at spreading forth the message Rachel Carson wants us to take home:
You are what you eat, and if you try to protect your food you will succumb to the same fate as those you are trying to protect it from.
Silent Spring is a scientific novel (which is probably why I enjoyed it so much) - she methodically goes through every possible loop hole you could think of as to why we should put chemical sprays on our foods. Ironically, we More...
You are what you eat, and if you try to protect your food you will succumb to the same fate as those you are trying to protect it from.
Silent Spring is a scientific novel (which is probably why I enjoyed it so much) - she methodically goes through every possible loop hole you could think of as to why we should put chemical sprays on our foods. Ironically, we More...
Oct 25, 2011
Gaurav
rated it:
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is one of the most informative and enlightening books I’ve read in the past 10 years. A non-fiction account of the horrors of DDT and its effect on our environment. A book that anticipated the creation of the EPA - Environmental Protection Agency, Silent Spring is thoroughly researched and filled with some of the most wonderful prose I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. What makes this so striking is that this is a non-fiction account and so one does not expect s
More...
Jun 27, 2011
Bryan
rated it:
As Edward O. Wilson observes in his afterword to this classic environmental text, while the effects of broad spectrum chemical insecticides had been documented in certain quarters of the scientific community prior to Silent Spring, no one had offered such a comprehensive vision of the problems posed by chemical insecticides. Indeed, Carson displayed a remarkable ability to see across the boundaries dividing various scientific disciplines and synthesize results in a way that was accessible an com
More...
May 28, 2011
Colin
rated it:
Being the 'environmentalist' that I am, I had of course heard of this book for years. Fortunately, the opportunity to read it came to me: it was assigned reading for a the IPM (integrated pest management) class I'm still currently taking. And yes, it was one of the most discouraging books I have ever read. To know just how deeply and completely the world (in 1962, even!) has been soiled by agrichemicals is a very rude awakening, yet I'd rather be cured of my ignorance in this and all . . . ok
More...
May 02, 2011
Silent Spring
My grandpa once owned a t-shirt that read, “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” As I began to read through the pages of Silent Spring I thought about that powerful message. I wondered what pictures we will have for our future generations? The author Rachel Carson, who was a marine biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service warned back in 1962, over forty-five years ago about the effects of chemical usage on our environment and felt obli More...
My grandpa once owned a t-shirt that read, “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” As I began to read through the pages of Silent Spring I thought about that powerful message. I wondered what pictures we will have for our future generations? The author Rachel Carson, who was a marine biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service warned back in 1962, over forty-five years ago about the effects of chemical usage on our environment and felt obli More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 22, 2010
Galicius
rated it:
Classic of the environmentalist movement
Man's attempt to control environment and nature was born out of arrogance and has its roots in a primitive stage of biology that assumed that nature exists for man to do as he will with it. Carson calls the use of chemicals to control plants and insects a stone age method. She proposes a variety of biological solutions to the insect problems and more effort to study them instead of resorting to the chemical menace. She describes how the scre More...
Man's attempt to control environment and nature was born out of arrogance and has its roots in a primitive stage of biology that assumed that nature exists for man to do as he will with it. Carson calls the use of chemicals to control plants and insects a stone age method. She proposes a variety of biological solutions to the insect problems and more effort to study them instead of resorting to the chemical menace. She describes how the scre More...
Jun 04, 2010
Jo
rated it:
This is one of my top favorite books of all time. I re-read it last year for the first time since high school, and was bowled over by the superb quality of both Carson's writing and science-- and deeply touched by her personal story. Unknown to the public, she herself was battling cancer while being viciously attacked by the chemical industry whose ill-effects her book illuminates. Her work was vindicated-- but she still hasn't won, has she? While her writings did lead to some important polic
More...
Sep 08, 2009
Suzie
rated it:
Dry, dry, dry.
I'm conflicted on this. Rachel Carson's imagery is beautiful and profound. I also loved the narrator on the audiobook - in fact, I think that's how I survived the dryness. I don't think I would have made it if I had to read it. Hmm...
Here's how Rachel Carson structures her her entire book:
"Chapter 1. Look at the beautiful birds in the sky. See how they glide across the meadows of grasses. See how they dive for their prey. See how they gat More...
I'm conflicted on this. Rachel Carson's imagery is beautiful and profound. I also loved the narrator on the audiobook - in fact, I think that's how I survived the dryness. I don't think I would have made it if I had to read it. Hmm...
Here's how Rachel Carson structures her her entire book:
"Chapter 1. Look at the beautiful birds in the sky. See how they glide across the meadows of grasses. See how they dive for their prey. See how they gat More...
Aug 29, 2011
Molly
rated it:
It's a curious thing to read a book that inspired such policy change so many years later. In many ways, the book is dated, of course, but in others, I can see how the world hasn't changed all that much. One only has to count the flags warning of chemical applications on the lawns of our neighbors. Keep those pets and children off. I wonder if our neighborhood deer and rabbits and whatnot can read those signs.
The book itself was evenly written with little narrative for me to grasp More...
The book itself was evenly written with little narrative for me to grasp More...
Jan 15, 2011
Emily
rated it:
It's hard to imagine that this was the first of its kind - a popular science discussion on why __ is bad for us and what we have to look forward to as its consequences in the 21st century. Isn't it true that most of these books are apocalyptic, if not obviously at least subtly? In this one, Carson warns us against relying on chemicals to treat agricultural bug infestations because as we know today the main chemical used in her time (1950's) was DDT which happens to range from somewhat-deadly t
More...
Feb 13, 2011
Scott
rated it:
Not at all what I expected. I was expecting a diatribe, but what I got was an honest, well-documented discussion about everything from pesticides to bugs to cellular biology to nature's resilience in the face of catastrophe. Really, truly, a brilliantly written book that I am sorry I didn't read before now.
Along the way there are some, to me, shocking accounts. Entire cities being dusted with pesticides such that people's driveways looked like they had new fallen snow. Unthinka More...
Along the way there are some, to me, shocking accounts. Entire cities being dusted with pesticides such that people's driveways looked like they had new fallen snow. Unthinka More...
Mar 24, 2010
Dave
rated it:
Don't get me wrong, I like this book in its position as the historical spark for the contemporary environmental movement. At the same time, I have two main problems with it, both of which are instances of my holding Carson up to today's standards. Not fair you say? Of course it's fair.
First, a caution about any enthusiastic embrace of Carson's proposed solutions. Biological meddling (as we've well learned in the 50ish years since Silent Spring's publication) can have results even more dis More...
First, a caution about any enthusiastic embrace of Carson's proposed solutions. Biological meddling (as we've well learned in the 50ish years since Silent Spring's publication) can have results even more dis More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 29, 2009
Mrs.
rated it:
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals from the moment of conception until death."
I read this non-fiction book in college for the first time, in one of the best classes I ever took ("Environmental Issues and the Media," or something along those lines.) It was a real eye-opener for me.
Published in 1962, Carson's book was not the first one written about the dangers of More...
I read this non-fiction book in college for the first time, in one of the best classes I ever took ("Environmental Issues and the Media," or something along those lines.) It was a real eye-opener for me.
Published in 1962, Carson's book was not the first one written about the dangers of More...
Sep 10, 2011
Samantha
rated it: 
Unlike A Sand County Almanac, Silent Spring was an enjoyable read. I agreed wholeheartedly with Rachel Carson’s wake up call to the human race, and I think that if more (important) people sat down to read things like this, our planet would be in a lot less danger. Carson uses powerful statements such as “Only within this moment of time has one species-man-acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world,” and “every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals from
More...
Oct 03, 2010
wally
rated it:
my copy has a clipping--that another inserted--from the detroit free press, april 16, '64, "biologist rachel carson dies".
a.ribicoff (d., conn.) is quoted in the clipping:
a.r. said carson "more than any other single person, was aware of the great changes taking place in our environment. rachel carson alerted the entire world to the hazards that were being created by man changing the processes of nature."
my copy also has a library of congress catalog More...
a.ribicoff (d., conn.) is quoted in the clipping:
a.r. said carson "more than any other single person, was aware of the great changes taking place in our environment. rachel carson alerted the entire world to the hazards that were being created by man changing the processes of nature."
my copy also has a library of congress catalog More...
Feb 15, 2009
Erik
rated it:
In keeping with Dad's injunction to spend the summer's constructively and not wanting to work at Dairy Queen or the like, I took Public Speaking between the sophomore and junior years of high school. Don Martello, the instructor, had a good reputation among students which turned out to be well-deserved. I was inexperienced as a public speaker and felt it would be prudent to overcome the fear I had of it.
The way the class was constructed required both research and presentation. One More...
The way the class was constructed required both research and presentation. One More...
Oct 20, 2010
Adam
rated it:
Silent Spring is billed as the classic book that unleashed what we know as the modern environmental movement. I had vague expectations, thus, of emotional entreaties about the biological impacts of a host of human endeavors. Silent Spring is neither of those things. Carson presents, in stubbornly objective terms, the whole slew of consequences invoked by chemical pesticides. The story is an agglomeration of many scientific studies (though many more have been produced since, giving even more
More...
May 22, 2010
AJ
rated it:
I always heard about this book as the book that lead to the ban of DDT, but it's not just about DDT. It's about all of the chemicals that humans use in their futile attempt to tame nature. The sad truth of this book is that of 21 pesticides she wrote about, only 10 have been banned, 2 are in use in limited contexts, and 1 has a proposed ban. (I was unsure about 3.) Some of the banned pesticides were only banned in the past few years, and most weren't banned by the EPA but by the Stockholm Conven
More...
Apr 15, 2010
Samantha
rated it:
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson was incredible. The author, Rachel Carson, started the environmental movement with the publication of this book. Silent Spring was written about two decades ago and discusses the widespread use of pesticides on the environment at the time. Although this book in a scientific aspect isn't relevant to modern times, the overall historical importance Silent Spring has and the major impact it made on science makes it a worthwhile read.
For readers considering this More...
For readers considering this More...
