Sometimes there are books that keeps getting referenced again and again in book I read. Silent spring is one of them. ——————————————
Being the book that kicked off the American environmental movement, I thought it would be interesting to see what it was all about.
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Rachel Carson describes the damage being done to plants and wildlife by using chemical pesticides like DDT. She shows how nature has checks and balances and when they are being disrupted, consequences are often unexpected and unwanted.
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The book was published in 1962 and a lot of the issues raised in “Silent springs” have been addressed or are being taken very seriously in today’s world. Readers today should look at this as a history piece rather than a way to learn about pressing environmental issues. ——————————————
It reads beautifully, like horror story with a touch of poetry. But I think you will get by just with knowing about the book and not necessarily having to read it. The reason is that most content is outdated and there’s probably more value in spending your time learning about contemporary issues elsewhere. But I can see how this book really stirred up feelings back in the day! ————————————————
“Silent Spring altered the balance of power in the world. No one since would be able to sell pollution as the necessary underside of progress so easily or uncritically.”
H. Patricia Hynes
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Naturalist Sir David Attenborough has stated that Silent Spring was probably the book that had changed the scientific world the most, after the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
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“Nature has introduced great variety into the landscape, but man has displayed a passion for simplifying it. Thus he undoes the built-in checks and balances by which nature holds the species within bounds.”
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
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3/5.
What books do you see referenced everywhere and you feel you need to read?
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