Rachel Carson: Legacy and Challenge

Leading scholars explore the full range and current significance of Carson's work.

Long before Rachel Carson would become synonymous with environmental activism, she was a nature and science writer, penning The Sense of Wonder for children, and three books about the ocean and its inhabitants-including the bestselling The Sea around Us. Based solidly on science and written in beautiful prose, Carson's work issued a practical and moral challenge to her readers: Can we find a way to live on earth with care and respect? In Rachel Carson, the first book to offer a sustained treatment of her work prior to Silent Spring, editors Lisa H. Sideris and Kathleen Dean Moore bring together seventeen writers, activists, and scholars from a range of disciplines to uncover the many sides of Rachel Carson. Exposing her enthusiasm for the natural world and the depth of her writings, the contributors examine her books, speeches, essays, and the letters she wrote as she prepared to die. A testament to Carson's continued influence on environmental thought, this volume is for everyone who cares about finding ways to live sustainably on earth.

Lisa H. Sideris is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University and the author of Environmental Ethics, Ecological Theology, and Natural Selection. Kathleen Dean Moore is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University. She is the author of several books, including the award-winning Holdfast: At Home in the Natural World and The Pine Island Paradox.