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 ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Crest, Greenwich, Conn.
Date Published: 1964
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Has some wear, cover have a little scuffing and a few creases. Pages tanned. Bibliography: p. 263-292. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Edition: No Edition Stated
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Premier, New York
Date Published: 1962
Description: Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Inch chunk torn from top corner of front wrap. Some creasing to wraps. More of a reading copy with clean pages. read more
Description: Good. No Dust Jacket as Issued. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Book shows moderate wear/ spine tight, pages clean/ covers creased and slightly scuffed; moderate edge wear/ corners and spine creased/ several pages and page tips creased/ previous owners name inside front cover/ top corners of most pages slightly wrinkled. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Near very good, little edge wear, tight binding. Some dogearred pages, a few underlines. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 400 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. pink and yellow highlighting. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. 1962-Paperback---Used-Good. Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. 304 p. 18cm. Several chips from front cover. Pages solid and clean. No hand-writing, marks etc. inside. Fairly worn covers and spine. Worn but very readable copy. read more
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Front cover corner torn. Clean text. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 304 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. No names, no remainder marks, no stickers. Binding is tight and square. Text is clean and bright. Cover is slightly soiled and sun-faded. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend EXPEDITED MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Crest
Date Published: 1964-01-01
Description: Fair. Paperback. Cover shows moderate wear to edges, minor spine creasing. Bottom corner of front cover is creased. Top corner of back cover is missing. Pages are lightly sunned to edges, no markings. Binding is good. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780395683293ISBN:0395683297
Description: Good. Text pages clean & tight with no markings or highlighting. Cover has scattered scratches & corner creases. Name of former owner & bookstore on inside cover. A deeply felt book about the environment that changed history. Very readable copy. read more
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 5th printing of this trade paperback edition. Nice copy of this modern classic. Introduction by Al Gore. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Crest, Greenwich CT
Date Published: 1970
Description: Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Wraps scuffed with edgewear, corner creases. Pages clean with no markings. Doodle on front reverse. read more
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. A very good paperback copy, lightly used. The spine is solid and square. The cover shows mild wear, namely some light rubbing and a little softening of the corner tips. A few pages in the first chapter contain some highlighting, otherwise the text is clean and unmarked. ---------------------------------This edition of Rachel Crason's classic of activist nature writing contains an Introduction by Al Gore written when he was Vice President. Given his office, it ... 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."
"An excellent book that helped start the environmental movement. Unfortunately many of the same problems plaguing the eath the time the book was written still are. A good book, especially for environmental students/activists and anyone who cares about our planet."
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