Rachel Carson

Legacy and Challenge

Edited by Lisa Sideris and Kathleen Dean Moore

Publisher’s Description

Long before Rachel Carson became an environmental activist, she was a nature and science writer, penning The Sense of Wonder for children, and three books about the ocean and its inhabitants—including the bestselling The Sea around Us. Based solidly on science and written in beautiful prose, Carson’s work issued a practical and moral challenge to her readers: Can we find a way to live on earth with care and respect? In Rachel Carson, the first book to offer a sustained treatment of her work prior to Silent Spring, editors Lisa H. Sideris and Kathleen Dean Moore bring together seventeen writers, activists, and scholars from a range of disciplines to uncover the many sides of Rachel Carson.

Selection

Carson introduced readers to an organic view of the world in which all life is deeply interconnected, humans sit squarely within that web of natural connections, and science and industry are well advised to adopt an attitude of humility and precaution in the face of humankind’s terrible power to disrupt the systems on which their lives depend…Can humans find ways to contain ‘the devils of their own creation’? Can we find the practical solutions, the reverence for life, and the moral and political resolve that will prevent us from making the world toxic to our children?

Reviews

“This is a treasure chest of Rachel Carson studies and appreciations.  Rich, challenging, and surprising, it will reward the close reader with a fresh sense of respect and affection for the essential Carson.” – Robert Michael Pyle, author of The Thunder Tree

Purchase

Your favorite independent bookseller or Powell’s Books, https://Powells.com