Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, a book that changed the environmental world. With so many new chemicals coming into the world during her time she decided to take a stand to the negative things going on around her that every other person in the world seemed to be blind to. Chemicals being sprayed, such as DDT, were taking over quick and fast and she noticed the terrifying effects of that and ran with it. She had a different eye for nature, giving her the ability to analyze and take in so much research informing the United States on the craziness that was occurring at the time. Little did she know she would be leaving behind a legacy of what some people consider one of the best scientific novels yet.
The novel was heavily filled with research. By saying this, I am in no way disrespecting Carson for her amazing sense of knowledge on the subjects she discussed and all of her research, but personally as someone who is not a big into science, eventually it became a lot to take in. There was so many facts that at some point in each chapter everything began to blur all together. The points she made were strongly backed up when it came to facts, but I think I would have liked it better if it was more simpler and to the point. Although, the overall message of the book is strong and leaves you thinking. Carson ends the book by saying, "The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we profess with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road - the one "less traveled by" - offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of our" (Carson, 277). In a way these few sentences sum up the entire 300 paged book, leaving us with her main message that there is a way out of the mess we as humans have created. In "Afterword", a review by Edward O. Wilson on the book, he addresses the question of how Rachel Carson would feel if she were alive in our world today. His opinion is, "If Rachel Carson were alive today, I believe she would give America a mixed grade" (Wilson 358). This is also a positive aspect of the book because it leaves you thinking if people were so oblivious to what was going on with chemicals and their environment back then, how oblivious are we right now? I liked how this review brought up this topic, because it shows how much of an impact the book made. It was a novel written about 50 years ago, yet is still being read now.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in science, especially environmental science, and also feminism. This book drags you into the science world with a bit of feminism on the side. During the time period Carson grew up in, writing a book that went against the norms of society so aggressively, as a women, was a bold move. But that bold move ended up being one of the biggest successes in her life. It is informing to anyone who is interested in the scientific aspects of the novel and motivational to women with big dreams. In conclusion I think this book is worth the read, especially in this day in age with all the discuss about the environment. Although at times it can be slow, the message throughout it remains powerful and strong and is something that needs to be talked about.
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