About this title: A new edition of the classic environmental tract with an introduction by Al Gore. Carson's muckraking book, originally published in 1962, brought about revolutionary changes in laws that affect our air, land, and water, in addition, to a banning of DDT. Considered one of the most influential books of the last 50 years, according to a panel of 22 distinguished Americans including Jimmy Carter, Sandra Day O'Connor, Russell Baker, and George Will.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett
Date Published: 1981-06-12
ISBN-13:9780449238714ISBN:0449238717
Description: Good. Normal reading wear. May have some worn edges or bumped edges. Sticker damage to spine. Front cover bent. A few dogeared pages. Underlining and highlighting. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Fawcett Publications, NY
Date Published: 1963
Description: Good. Periodical. 4to-over 9¾"-12" tall. (USA) Some wear to spine edges, mailing label to cover, Good. Wraps showing Arabs on camels, 138pp. Colour and B&W photos and illus. In this issue, Silent spring is hailed as the most importasnt chronicle of this century for the human race. Other articles on Jose Meiffret, the racer; plans for a home-made arm chair; fishing in Argentina, the Wonderful Wallendas. (1.1 WL MAG 10. read more
Edition: Later Printing
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Crest Books, New York
Date Published: 1970
Description: Very Good. 304 pp. Fawcett Crest Book M12268. Light edge and corner wear with some minor creasing on the spine; no interior markings. The Chapters are: A Fable for Tomorrow; The Obligation to Endure; Elixirs of Death; Surface Waters and Underground Seas; Realms of the Soil; Earth's Green Mantle; Needless Havoc; And No Birds Sing; Rivers of Death; Indiscriminately from the Skies; Beyond the Dreams of the Borgias; The Human Price; Through a Narrow Window; One in Every Four; Nature Fights Back; ... read more
Edition: First Paperback Printing
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Crest Books, New York
Date Published: 1964
Description: Very Good. 304 pp. Fawcett Crest Book T681. Light edge and corner wear with a bindery ripple on an uncreased spine; no interior markings. The Chapters are: A Fable for Tomorrow; The Obligation to Endure; Elixirs of Death; Surface Waters and Underground Seas; Realms of the Soil; Earth's Green Mantle; Needless Havoc; And No Birds Sing; Rivers of Death; Indiscriminately from the Skies; Beyond the Dreams of the Borgias; The Human Price; Through a Narrow Window; One in Every Four; Nature Fights ... read more
Edition: 11th Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Date Published: 1962
Description: Darling. Very Good in Very Good jacket. EX-LIBRARY. EXPECTED MARKINGS AND ATTACHMENTS. ILLUSTRATED DUST JACKET WRAPPED IN MYLAR. GREEN CLOTH COVER, LIGHT SHELFWEAR TO EDGES. INTERIOR PAGES CLEAN, BRIGHT AND TIGHT STAMPED "DISCARD" WITH LIBRARY STAMPS MARKED OUT. read more
Description: Darling. Very Good. No Jacket. EX-LIBRARY. EXPECTED MARKINGS AND ATTACHMENTS. GREEN HARDCOVER COVER. INTERIOR PAGES HAVE LIGHT FINGERING TO MARGINS WITH LIBRARY STAMPS MARKED OUT. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Date Published: 1962
Description: Very Good. 1962 First Edition hardcover. No jacket. FIRST PRINTING STATED on copyright page. Clean, unmarked pages and firm binding. Green cloth is also clean with extremely minor shelf-rubbing only. First Printings of this renowned book are not common. A nice, clean, sturdy copy despite the lack of dustjacket. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Date Published: 1962
Description: Louis and Lois darling. Fine in fine dust jacket. fine book in a very good d.j., stick removal mark on spine(1/2"), edge and spine rubbing. Includes: illustrations, index, bibliography. 1st printing read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Date Published: 1962
Description: Lois and Louis Darling. Fine in fine dust jacket. Signed by author. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Boston, Houghton Mifflin 1962, The Riverside Press, Cambridge. First edition and First printing stated on copyright page. Near Fine in a Near Fine dustjacket with a bit of rubbing but no chips whatsoever. This copy is signed "With best wishes Rachel Carson" on the half title page. This book is considered to have started the North American environmental movement. Since the author died of cancer ... read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Good. By Rachel Carson; ISBN: 0449238717; Pub. : Fawcett; Pub. Date: 1981-06-12; Media: Mass Market Paperback; Normal cover wear. Clean text. Read creasing at the spine. Pages toned. Same day and Saturday shipping, Excellent customer service. Order inquiries receive prompt attention. Check out our feedback! by Rachel Carson; ISBN: 0449238717; Pub. : Fawcett; Pub. Date: 1981-06-12; Media: Mass Market Paperback; Normal cover wear. Clean text. Read creasing at the spine. Pages toned. Same day and ... read more
"My 8th grade social studies teacher was all about saving the environment long before it was the fashionable thing to do. I was in her advanced class and she made all of us read Silent Spring and write a very long report on it. At the time, I thought it was torture, mainly because the assignment involved a review of every chapter, but at the same time I knew that I was being forced to read a very important book. Many of the stories told in the book are still vivid to me, especially those involving the use of DDT in my hometown of Long Island and the subsequent high incidence of breast cancer there. It is a wonderful book and should be read by all. I myself need to re-read it, as I am sure it will mean more to me 15 years later."
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 gather worms and insects for their young. See how they tenderly care for their little ones, whose mouths are eager and eyes are full of wonder. Big, bad, stupid men spray chemicals they know nothing about on their fields, and what has happened as a result? The birds are gone. No longer do they grace the flowery pastures with their song. The bird feeders hang untouched. The world is dreary and lifeless without their vibrant colors and gentle wing beats. Who sanctioned this spraying of pesticides? Who thought it was a good idea to poison our environment? Who among us will stop this?
Chapter 2. Look at the beautiful fish in the sea . . . "
Ok, this is hyperbolic and maybe I should give her a little more credit. This book WAS ahead of its time (which I think was my mother's time). Maybe at the time she wrote it, the idea of replacing "biocides" with other "less harmful" chemicals that cause infertility in their target seemed like a good idea. I did have to kind of laugh at the experiments though. When testing alternative pesticides (because let's face it, that's what they are) on the gypsy moth, they couldn't gather enough subjects to test them on, and had to import larvi from Europe. If there weren't even enough moths to experiment on, were they really that much of a threat?? Nevermind that the chemical they were testing caused male moths to copulate with wood chips, vermiculite and over insects not of its species. What affects might they have on other animals? Larger animals? It's bad enough that the neighbor's dog makes amorous attempts at random inanimate objects . . .
I'm also surprised by Carson's heavy endorsement of introducing specific diseases, foreign animals and parasitic species into an environment to combat pests and weeds, instead of chemicals. Maybe I'm out of my area of expertise here, and I could be dead wrong, but can't that be just as destructive to a fragile ecosystem? Shakespeare's Starlings come to mind. Disease warfare sounds just as deadly as chemical warfare.
And that's the issue, isn't it? That we even call it "warfare" seems to me to be at the heart of the problem. I am deeply affected by the Arbinger Institute's book "The Anatomy of Peace," which supposes that when our hearts are at war we tend to perpetuate the very problem we are trying to stop. To her credit, Carson addresses this issue too. Pesticides and herbicides often don't work for long because mother nature has a fascinating and mysterious tendency to restore balance and equilibrium. Insects evolve - they grow immune. Weeds grow stronger, and the need for stronger chemicals to kill them becomes apparent.
I'm beginning to sound like Carson myself, so I'll wrap this up. Chemicals - bad. Nature - good. Find natural ways to fight the bugs, or just leave 'em the hell alone and let nature take care of itself. There are some 10 million species of insects in the world. Like Mom says, "God must be an entomologist, to have made so many.""
"Rachel Carson changed the world when she wrote about pesticides poisoning the food web and the environment as a whole. The book spurred a massive battle with petrochemical companies and led to the banning of (domestic) DDT. She also introduced the concept of biocontrol and a partnership approach to environmental issues that was revolutionary - and perceived as somewhat crazy - in 1962. Carson is still an inspiration for women in science and advocacy work, and is proof that one person really can make a difference. Nice to have E.O. Wilson include some writing in this 40th Anniversary edition."
"This amazing breakthrough in ecological thinking is more important today than ever before. It is extremely clear and delightful prose that fearlessly probes the reality of our destruction of our own habitat. Carson does a wonderful job here showing how our "solutions" to "problems" often create far worse problems than we began with. Among the books many revolutionary observations is this: nothing nature exists alone: everything is connected. Heeding Carson's alarming call to attention regarding human-manufactured ecological devastation today might involve addressing the role of such agribusiness corporations as Monsanto, etc."
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