Silent Spring

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is a classic of environmentalist literature, and as I consider myself an environmentalist (in thought more than deed, alas), plus I'm just intrigued by pop science in general, I bought this one for myself a buncha years ago.  And naturally it fell into the Classics Pile which is seldom uncovered once it becomes the Classics Pile, as we all know.  In any case, I managed it after all and I was so not disappointed.

It's hard to imagine that this was the first of its kind - a popular science discussion on why __ is bad for us and what we have to look forward to as its consequences in the 21st century.  Isn't it true that most of these books are apocalyptic, if not obviously at least subtly?  In this one, Carson warns us against relying on chemicals to treat agricultural bug infestations because as we know today the main chemical used in her time (1950's) was DDT which happens to range from somewhat-deadly to really-darn-deadly to humans and animals.  And since we all know this now, why should you read this book anyway?  Because the truly alarming thread laced throughout Carson's concerns is the apathy and even the downright refusal of both the government agencies and the money-making public to even acknowledge the existence of a deadly serious problem:  "It is human nature to shrug off what may seem to us a vague threat of future disaster."  By reading this, you will also learn about the lengths people will go to, to push their agendas at great cost to 'the public', or more directly, people's lives.  Her research, which is still very current, and her poignant, fluid language on topics like the explosion of cancer in the western world, make for some thought-provoking reading, whether or not that's particularly your cup of tea.

If you're into dystopian fiction, you would enjoy this book - although you might want to pretend it's just dystopian fiction, instead of the frightening reality of our past, present and sadly probable future.  Carson lived from 1907 to 1964, spending her career as a marine biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and writing books about the sea until, knowing of the seriousness of pesticide/chemical usage in the world and the ineffectualness of government regulations to curb it, she felt obliged to write Silent Spring.  I would be hard-pressed to believe that there is any other science/nature writer today who knows what they're talking about as much as Carson knew about her subject as presented here.  I certainly hope I will be pleasantly surprised!

So what do you read in pop science?  I'd be thrilled to hear your experiences with books like this and your opinions on the currency of ideas like Carson's, etc.  I actually haven't read much pop science but plan to do so, and maybe you can help me out.  Until then, it's back to the world we'd all rather be living in, with an upcoming review of Juliet Marillier's fantastic contribution to YA fantasy, Wildwood Dancing!