Rating: 
Summary: It is obvious why this book was such a wake-up call!
Review: When Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring" in 1962, her goal was to make everyone aware of what the toxic substance DDT was doing to the delicate ecosystems in North America, most notable its role in the destruction of bird populations. After reading "Silent Spring", one can see why the book was a turning point in the movement of environmentalism.Rachel Carson did a massive amount of research to study the effects that pesticides like DDT had on the environment. Her chapters are filled with highly-documented scientific facts, but they also possess a poignant element which helped stir the nation into doing something about it in the late sixties-early seventies after the book's release. Al Gore's introduction eloquently details the sentiments and actions that this book prompted and it compliments the text very well. This book is high on my list of recommendations.
Rating: 
Summary: Talk about a waste of natural resources...
Review: I am sure that The Silent Spring is now only printed on recycled paper. Even so, it is one of the biggest wastes of a supposedly precious natural resource, paper. None of the claims she put forth in this book were really ever proven true, and the only thing that has come of it is an expansion in government at both the state and federal levels in this country and other countries as well. the Earth is not fragile; its "ecosystem" was created by God, and Ms. Carson, judging from this book, seemed to completely disregard this fact. The senseless fury ignited by this book (and carried on in our day by well-meaning and otherwise intelligent people) has been of tremendous hurt to both individual freedoms and to businesses both large and small (though the small businesses certainly take the bigger hit, and some businesses that would have thrived before this book was published can't even get off the ground). There is a watershed in Brookeville, Maryland-not far from my home- named after Ms. Carson. I shudder every time I pass by it, and I feel no desire to thank her for the fact that I can breath cleaner air or drink cleaner water than I would have five decades ago. The "cleanup" of the environment was due to technological advancements, and not to the strict regulations that have been piled up on businesses, communities and individuals over the last three decades. The best place for this book is---followers of Ms. Carson will hate this---the recycling bin.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute classic
Review: Carson foretells the future in this book. Scientific theoryis introduced without being boorish or cumbersome.This is a book that can be appreciated on a lasy Sunday or as reading requirnment for an Environmental Science class. No person at all interested in the environment should miss this treasure!
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Summary: DR. HULDA CLARK'S PREDESSOR
Review: I am pleased to write this very short review of Carson's book. I have joined an eco reading group in hopes of saving at least two or three of human kind to continue life on this planet. Carson has set the background for what my favorite scientist/writer of the 21st century, Dr. Hulda Clark has dovetailed on. It comes as no surprise that Dr. Clark books which were written starting 1993 were met by the same kind of corporate outcry and government disclaimer as what happened to Rachel Carson. I hope society learns something from how they mistreated Carson and not make the same mistake with Dr. Clark. I am a strong supporter of Dr. Clark and her protocols for curing/preventing/treating many of the ills,--cancer, hiv/aids and immune system destroying diseases--as Carson fortold in her books some 42 years ago. Presently, the government is dragging Dr. Clark to court because they do not want her work to be recognized for improving the health of many Americans. I SCREAM FROM THE HIGHEST TOWER THAT HER SCIENCE HAS SAVED MY LIFE AND I AM ETERNALLY GREATFUL.
Rating:
Summary: It is obvious why this book was such a wake-up call!
Review: When Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring" in 1962, her goal was to make everyone aware of what the toxic substance DDT was doing to the delicate ecosystems in North America, most notable its role in the destruction of bird populations. After reading "Silent Spring", one can see why the book was a turning point in the movement of environmentalism. Rachel Carson did a massive amount of research to study the effects that pesticides like DDT had on the environment. Her chapters are filled with highly-documented scientific facts, but they also possess a poignant element which helped stir the nation into doing something about it in the late sixties-early seventies after the book's release. Al Gore's introduction eloquently details the sentiments and actions that this book prompted and it compliments the text very well. This book is high on my list of recommendations.
Rating:
Summary: Passionate, but discredited and deadly.
Review: This is a remarkable book, because it paved the way for the needless deaths of millions of people. This book was largely responsible for the assault on DDT, and the restrictions and bans on DDT that followed (which were based on passion and fear, and in the absence of evidence). DDT is the principal tool in the fight against malaria. Estimates now place the number of *unnecessary* (ie, preventable) human deaths by malaria between 30 and 60 million people. The New York Times writes: "Humans are far better off exposed to DDT than exposted to malaria." As Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science and Health said, there "has never been a documented case of human illness or death in the US as a result of the standard and accepted use of pesticides." The British medical journal The Lancet has looked for a DDT connection for 40 years and a significant health threat from DDT has yet to be found. In 1996, South Africa stopped using DDT and malaria increased 10 times. Unfortunately they did not reverse their decision until 2000, after the deaths of millions more. A book with disasterous results to human life--because the writer was creative and imaginative and riding the wave of an ideology. Yet to this day it is highly rated by readers who cling to that ideology.
Rating: 
Summary: Still as important today
Review: Too many people who read Carson's book dismiss her work because it was published, afterall, in 1962. We Americans like to think that these problems have been solved, these chemicals eradicated. But they have not. DDT is banned from domestic use in the US because of Silent Spring, but it is still produced -only now it is just sold to other countries for use. Think of that. Where do your fruits and veggies come from? And an alarming number of chemicals Carson names are still perfectly legal (and toxic) in the US today.
It is true that Carson made some factual mistakes, but they were not made out of ignorance or a willingness to mislead. They were made because scientists now (thanks to Carson) have studied the subject more in-depth and have greater knowledge about the effects. And Carson got a disturbing number of facts correct. Anyone who labels this book "junk science" is clearly not paying attention. 50 pages of meticulous notes, and a manuscript signed off on by several of the time's top ecologists and biologists. Carson's book did the best it could in the situation and for the time.
This is an important book because the American public needs to be reawakened to these problems. Too many of us do feel many changes have been made, when in reality, we lag far behind places like Western Europe. The reality is: We live in a toxic world. I think everyone needs Carson to remind them of that.
Rating: 
Summary: Factual Repitition
Review: Many of the points are just as fresh today as they were in 1962. Carson had a knack for getting people to think about what we are doing to the earth in the name of greed and ignorant business interests. I would hope every high school senior could read this book, so they can reflect on what vehicles, smokestacks, etc. are doing to our precious environment. How about species still disappearing at an alarming rate and mainstream America seems not to care enough?
Carson has many common sense solutions, that would be seriously considered and implemented today, as one reviewer writes: "Many insects have natural enemies that, if introduced into a problem area, will keep down pest populations. Even localized spraying will work better than mass, indiscriminate spraying. Carson argues that biological control methods are increasingly important because insects are building up resistance to pesticides, requiring the creation of even more virulent poisons in a never-ending cycle where nobody wins."
She was telling people bad news, when most people want to hear good news. The same goes for today's society. George Bush is telling people good news, news they want to hear, while people like Howard Dean lost because he wasn't telling the people what they wanted to hear. Politicians need a lot of courage these days if they want to tell the truth and do what's right on environmental issues and other issues.
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Summary: Anybody ever look up the facts?
Review: Where she talked about birds that were going extinct because of ddt she fails to tell you that most of these birds were going extinct before ddt was put into mass production. I decided to test her beliefs. Shouldnt you?
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Summary: Just As Valuable Book Now As It Was 42 Years Ago
Review: Rachel Carson did the world a big favor in 1962 by writing this book. To a large extent the world has not listened and still is not listening. Man-made chemicals are very dangerous for not too complicated reasons. All living things are made up of chemical systems that evolved over millions of years. Before man-made chemicals were introduced chemical changes in the environment were very gradual. Now introduced chemicals are very powerful (spoken of in terms such as 3 parts per million) because the biological systems have no previous exposure to these introduced chemicals in the DNA code.
Rarely does a single book alter the course of history, but Carson's "Silent Spring" did that, but not to the extent needed to fully protect the environment. As of 2004 the environment is losing and the chemicals are winning. Rachel Carson's message is now more important than ever. We hope people listen.
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