Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
Basics
Writer for US Fish & Wildlife Service & pioneer environmentalist, who grew concerned about widespread use of chemical pesticides after World War II. Resigned in 1952 to devote herself to teaching appreciation for the natural world, & inculcating understanding that human beings are a vulnerable part of our ecosystem, capable either of altering it irrevocably, or of living within it wisely & responsibly. Her work, published work, especially Silent Spring (1962), influenced government environmental policy & led to banning of DDT.
Women in History (Rachel Carson entry)
On the Web: Articles
On the Web: Specialized Sites
Racel Carson Council, Inc. (Pesticide Information)
Rachel Carson.org (website devoted to life & legacy of Rachel Carson).
In the Library: Articles
Lear, Linda J. "Rachel Carson's Silent Spring," Environmental History Review 117 (1993):23-48.
Williams, Terry Tempest. "The spirit of Rachel Carson," Audubon 94 (1992):104-07.
In the Library: Non-Fiction Books
Brooks, Paul. [1972] The House of Life: Rachel Carson at Work, with Selections from her Writings Published & Unpublished (San Francisco: Sierra Books, 1998).
Carson, Rachel. Under the Sea-Wind: A Naturalist's Picture of Ocean Life (NY: Simon & Schuster, 1941).
__________. The Sea Around Us (NY: Oxford, 1951; rev. eds. 1961 & 1980).
__________. The Edge of the Sea (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1955).
__________. Silent Spring [1962] (40th anniversary ed.; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002).
__________. The Sea (London: Hart-Davis MacGibbon, 1964).
__________. The Sense of Wonder (NY: Harper & Row, 1965).
__________. The Rocky Coast (NY: McCall, 1971).
__________. Always, Rachel: the Letters of Rachel Carson & Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964 (ed. Martha Freeman; Boston: Beacon, 1995).
__________. Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson (Boston: Beacon, 1998).
Lear, Linda J. Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (NY: Henry Holt, 1997).
__________ (ed.) Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson (Boston: Beacon, 1998).
Waddell, Craig (ed.) And No Birds Sing. Rhetorical Analyses of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (Carbondale: Southern Illinois U, 2000).
In the Library: Fiction
In the Library: For Young Readers
Harlan, Judith. Sounding the Alarm (?: Dillon, 1989).
Kudlinski, Kathleen V. Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology (?: Puffin, 1988).
Reef, Catherine. Rachel Carson: The Wonder of Nature (NY: Henry Holt, 1992).
Wadsworth, Ginger. Rachel Carson: Voice for the Earth (?: Lerner, 1992).
In the Library: Poetry
In the Library: Drama
In the Library: Photography
CD & Audio
Film & Video