Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962) was one of the landmark books of the 20th century. It described how DDT entered the food chain and accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals, including human beings, causing cancer and genetic damage. Silent Spring not only exposed the hazards of the pesticide DDT, but eloquently questioned humanity's faith in technological progress and helped set the stage for the environmental movement that followed.
 

Rachel Carson as Environmental Hero: http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp

Rachel Carson's role in the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/epa/15c.htm

Rachel Carson - seen as a founder of the modern environmental movement: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/4547/carson.html

Originally published by Houghton Mifflin Books in 1962 (after serialisation in the New Yorker) Rachel Carson's lasting influence can be seen in the 40th anniversary (April 2002) re-printing of the book with a foreword added by Vice-president Al Gore.

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by Brian Payton