A Book That Changed The World

A Book That Changed The World

Picture Book
A book is published that strongly criticizes widely used and
very lucrative chemicals. The chemical industry fights back. The
book itself is considered "emotional and alarmist." its author is
categorized as part of the "organic-gardening faddists and other
beyond-the-fringe groups." The public, however, makes the book a best
seller and joins its author in criticizing the chemical industry and
their government chums.
Ripped from today's headlines? Not hardly. The year was 1962,
the book Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Carson was a scientist and
writer. She was ahead of her time, aware of the interconnectedness of
all facets of nature. Unlike many professionals, rather than
addressing her degree holding peers in jargon filled pieces, she wrote
and edited carefully to create works that regular people could
understand and care about.
Laurie Lawlor's Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the
World gives younger readers a glimpse into Carson's fascinating life
story. They will learn how she:
*had her first story published when she was only eleven,
*had to support her family by teaching and journalism after earning
her master's degree because people weren't hiring women biologists
*performed ground breaking for women field work like using a diving
suit with an 84 pound helmet to study coral reef inhabitants,
*believed so strongly in her work she finished Silent Spring while
fighting breast cancer.
What I love about this book is that it really makes Carson come
to life as a human facing the challenges of her time, not some larger-
than-life statue. You know what I mean. From this vantage point she
can inspire us as we face our own challenges. Goodness only knows
there are plenty...and formidable adversaries in the form of big
business and their too close government chums.
Julia Emily Hathaway


Sent from my iPod