Published in 1962, Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, sent shock waves through communities because it exposed the dangers of unregulated pesticide use. After the insecticidal properties of DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane) were discovered in 1939, it was used with little restraint to protect crops and gardens and to wipe out insect pests. The heavy use of DDT and other pesticides produced increases in crop output and helped to control insect-borne diseases, such as malaria, but their negative side effects were overlooked. Carson played a pivotal role in focusing attention on these effects.

Born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, and raised in a rural setting, Carson was steeped in the natural world of fields, woods, and streams. After entering the Pennsylvania College for Women, she dropped her early inclinations to pursue writing and then switched her major to zoology after a required course in biology piqued her interest in the study of wildlife...