Author Description

This is the story of the most important science writer of the 20th century. With "Silent Spring" Rachel Carson shocked Americans into reevaluating the man-made chemicals that have polluted our whole environment. Carson "jolted the entire country into awareness of the problem" of pesticides." Her book "launched the environmental movement; provoked the passage of the Clean Air Act…the Clean Water Act…and led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency." By drawing much of his story from the recollections of Rachel Carson's friends and colleagues, the author presents a well-rounded portrait of a woman who was a dedicated scientist and gifted writer, a devoted daughter and friend, and above all, a determined defender of the natural world she understood so well. This biography won the Christopher Award in 1971 which is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, motion pictures and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization founded in 1945 by the Maryknoll priest James Keller.