Silent Spring

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Lord Shackleton, a preface by Julian Huxley, and an afterword by Linda Lear.

Now recognized as one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, Silent Spring exposed the destruction of wildlife through the widespread use of pesticides. Despite condemnation in the press and attempts by the chemical industry to ban the book, Carson succeeded in creating a new public awareness of the environment which led to changes in government and inspired the ecological movement. It is thanks to this book, and the efforts of environmentalists, that harmful pesticides such as DDT were banned in the US and around the world.

Rachel Carson (1907-64) wanted to be a writer for as long as she could remember. Her first book, Under the Sea Wind, appeared in 1941. Silent Spring, published in 1962, warned about pesticide misuse. Carson's articles appeared in various magazines. She also warned against dumping atomic waste and predicted global warming.

If you enjoyed Silent Spring, you might like John Christopher's The Death of Grass, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

'Carson's books brought ecology into popular consciousness' Daily Telegraph
'Very few books change the course of history. Those that do include Silent Spring' Linda Lear