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Summary: review for silent spring
Review: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson provides an in-depth look of how the world was changing in the 1940s and 50s. After World War II, man began to develop very hazardous chemicals and decided to combat the insects without, many times, legitamste reasons. Carson's analysis of these new chemicals, such as DDT, was revolutionary and changed the scope of how these pesticides were handled in the future. she provides many real life examples and paints a very grim picture in order to try to reach out to the ignorant people of the time. the common person was very unaware of the potential danger these chemicals presented to them. Carson talks about many relevant topics including the effects on wildlife, livestock, the water, and even humans. she is able to tell the story by breaking down complex science terms for the common person to understand. Overall the book was very engrossing, but at times it can be a bit repetitive. It was a stepping stone to awareness of the situation at the time. You can even say with the help of carson the end of the world as we know it was averted.
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Summary: good science book
Review: Rachel Carson's novel Silent Spring was written in order to express the author's many concerns over the affects of DDT and other chemicals on the environment. The author takes facts from personal stories that she has read about, while at the same time incorporating some of her own opinions on those individuals who blindly use chemicals as a way to control the environment. Her charges against major chemical companies opened a new window to the public, and made aware the growing problem of man's abuse of their environment. Carson shows the effects of these chemicals on plants, animals, water and humans through a natural chain of events.The author believes that in this small world all beings are linked, and a defilement of one creature will affect the rest. Rather than use chemicals to wipe out growing species of insects, it is important to use foreign insects to aid in decreasing the number of potentially dangerous species with the aid of Mother Nature. Carson felt that in the end these chemical sprayings were ineffective and potentially harmful to innocent people. Silent Spring has been considered one of the most significant books in the nation's history, because it brought to light the abuse of the environment by man. In the novel's introduction, Vice President Al Gore states that "In 1962, when Silent Spring was first published, 'environment' was not even an entry in the vocabulary of public policy" (Carson xv). The novel forced political officials to take a closer look at this growing problem. Her book even influenced President Kennedy, to call for testing of the chemicals that were mentioned in the text. The book introduced the average citizen to the environment's unstable state, which was caused by man and his chemicals. Overall I was impressed by the novel, because it gave excellent facts that could convince any reader while at the same time incorporating the author's own passionate opinions. A book that has such a profound impact on American politics and society should be read by everyone.
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Summary: Silent Spring - Has it become a silent fall?
Review: While I enjoyed Carson's lyrical yet clear writing style, I was very frustrated by the dated material presented. Weren't DDTs outlawed back in the 1980's? What sort of chemicals are still being used? Is DDT still used in other countries? This book made me ask a lot more questions than were answered. That is perhaps its greatest strength. I dare you to read this book and not become agitated to know more. I would very much like to find an updated, annotated copy of Silent Spring the details the current knowledge, research, and usage of chemical controls.
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Summary: A classic - must reading!
Review: Excellent - and still very relevant today. Rachel Carson had great foresight at a time when DDT was being sprayed everywhere - remember how all the neighborhood children enjoyed running into the DDT fog as it was being sprayed? Unfortunately, DDT is still widely being used in third world courtries today. As follow-up reading to this book, I highly recommend "Our Stolen Future" by Theo Colborn (1997). What Rachel was to the sixties, Theo is to the nineties. Largely because of her work and her book, we are now realizing that in addition to cancer and loss of wildlife, pesticides pose a set of dangers that are more subtle, but may ultimately be more damaging - they may threaten our children's ability to have children. Sperm counts have dropped up to 50% in recent decades. The chemicals have blanketed the earth, and every human, now matter how remotely located, now has significant concentrations of persistent pesticides and PCBs stored in their fat tissues. Another related book I highly recommend is "Toxic Sludge is Good for You - Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry" by John Stauber (1995). It explains how industry continues to manufacture thousands of extremely poisonous chemicals with abandon, despite the efforts of so many environmental groups. It turns out that many (but not all) of the so-called environmental and scientific groups are not much more than clever PR fronts funded by mainly by industry.
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Summary: DONT LISTEN TO BAD REVIEWS
Review: Many people are accusing this book for causing deaths in places like Africa from malaria. They aren't paying attention to what this book is trying to say. She may have said several times that DDT is dangerous, and should not be used, but she also mentioned how quickly these insects are going to evolve and adapt to it. It will not stay poisonous to them forever. Once they have adapted to it malaria will once again be a problem, and our environment will be hurt. This world is meant for many different organisms to live on. We should try our best not to interupt the cycle of nature, because we too make up a small part of nature. I thionk it is time we start thinking about every animal that will be affected, and what might happen in the long run. Please people, think seriously about this situation, don't continue on the same path of ignorance and greed!
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Summary: Background info is needed before judging the book & author
Review: Based on the other reviews I read I think some of the readers need a little background information about the author and the book. At the time of her writing she knew the ideas presented in the book were going to be seen as radical, however, she never exaggerated the many facts that she consistently referenced. Today these ideas don't seem radical and the repetition is obvious, but that is only because we have learned from her writings. The information in this book was purposely repeated several times so that the reader would not forget the importance since these were entirely new ideas and information for the reader. Today the average reader will read this publication from the 60s and think yes you already said that, we already know this. When this book was published though, no one knew any of this, so the consistency of being reminded certain facts was extremely important. Additionally, the extreme criticism and backlash that she received from this writing (which seems to be forgotten today) was not from the average reader who thought this was a bad piece of writing, but rather from companies (and political figures who were financed by them) whose business processes were dependent on certain practices that were extremely harsh to the environment. A reader mentioned DDT, and yes the use of it is banned in America (along with many other countries), however, it is still being produced (the production and use are regulated differently; not sure where production is banned) and used in some parts of the world (which has an effect on us, no matter where you are) such as Africa, where certain parts suffer extremely from malaria. There is an ongoing debate as to whether DDT should be used or not used in these areas. There are several informational web sites on either side of the topic. Another reader wanted an updated version, which I think would be great. It would be very impressive if someone today could write another book about environmental conditions and would be yet another wake-up call that would produce a new mindset on our environment. A book of this caliber is definitely overdue. Rachel Carson died 2 years after publication of this book in 1964 from breast cancer.
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Summary: Silent Spring Critical Review
Review: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring captures audiences into a world passionate about the environment with her detailed descriptions on the threat of DDT. Carson appeals to the reader's emotions by first describing a calm, undisturbed land. She then illustrates the destruction caused by DDT, short for dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane, and how it affects plant, human, and animal life. Through her delicate balance of emotion vs. science, Rachel Carson proves that scientific theories can be easily understood by the average reader though a book.
Carson's strong scientific background knowledge is evident from the beginning of Silent Spring. The first chapter, "A Fable for Tomorrow," is by far the most powerful and thought provoking chapter in the book. This chapter outlines a fictional town, but the town she describes is easily believed by the reader to be their own. The belief that this poison could harm this simple little town has imprinted the significance of DDT from the start. Her foundation and background were so skillfully laid that the reader is already curious in her ideas and excited to read on.
Carson clearly presents her problem of DDT poisoning in the third chapter. From then on, the idea of DDT is the main idea of all of her chapters, stories, and experimental data. Each chapter lays out a particular theme, such as soil destruction, water poisoning, animal poisoning, and so forth. After these individual ideas are explained, Carson begins to logically tie them together in the middle of the book by explaining each one's role in the food chain.
Rachel Carson is very passionate about her topic of the destruction caused by DDT. Because of this, each chapter is full of reasons why each and every person should be actively involved in the fight against insecticides and poisons. The significance is that she alerts us that each and every plant, animal, and human is at a potential risk for poisoning. She carefully outlines how each are destroyed, have been destroyed, and what we can do to prevent it. The book also uses emotional devices such as story telling and hypothetical situations to draw the reader closer to the topic.
The author's diction and tone is right on target with the average reader's intelligence. She does not include lengthy, scientific words and she explains every abbreviation. She also balances her amount of detail and description with the reader's previous knowledge. Carson includes details that can be understood, and leaves out those that could be misunderstood or complicated. However, to fully grasp the understanding of each chapter, it may be necessary to reread it to fully comprehend the literature.
Rachel Carson's book is filled to the brim with opinions, stories, and warnings, but it is also filled with factual information. With 50 pages of works cited, Carson has not only proved herself, but has proved her information to be reliable and accurate. Her book is a far cry from others that are simply an overabundance of opinion that lack facts. Carson's hard work and dedication have paid off and has created a timeless non-fiction piece that stands the test of time.
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Summary: remember
Review: In most countries, DDT was banned only for agricultural use, NOT for control of malaria, in fact it is still widely used today for that purpose. Of course this isn't a long term solution, because of the resistance problem, as Carson foretold all those years ago.
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Summary: Silent Spring
Review: This book was well written and researched, we also decided that we would never read this on our own. We found it extremely repetitive. Each chapters said the same thing over and over. It always talked about how we should use natures checks instead of controling with nature. It also mentions foreign insects a lot, one example being the Japanese beetle. The book also made us very aware and scared about the effects. It made us realize the dangers of these chemicals. People can get cancer from these sprays,leukemia being one of them. It made us want to keep up to date on what was going on in the world with pesticides.
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Summary: Informative
Review: Silent SPring is a ook that everybody should read. It alerts individuals of the potent hazards of pesticides. THe book provides specific examples of chemical poisoning and its effect on the environment. On the campus of Michigan State University a place hwere robins were once known for their dominating presence. DDT was sprayed on the Elm trees. THe next year, dead robins appeared everywhere on campus, and few baby robins hatched. THis type of devestation is just one example Rachel Carson uses to portray the horrid consequences of pesiticide use. Carson writes with an exuberant manner that the average person can read. Though her writing was repetitive at times it is important to read this book because of the understanding it gives you about the harmful effects of pesticides.
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