Rachel Carson

Lawlor, Laurie    Rachel Carson      

Holiday House     2012  unp   $16.95     

978-0-8234-2370-5       elem        Biography        

Biographies do not have to be known by children as "the dreaded genre".  Instead, as author Laurie Lawlor shows us, they can be creative culinary delights!  In this case, Lawlor presents a book that will appeal to readers of all ages in flawless style.  The information is clear, simple and, indeed, designed for children, but the illustrations and text simultaneously and seamlessly weave the amazing story of a woman’s life, a courageous woman who was ahead of her time. 

Rachel Carson’s vocation was to study the environment, which led her on the path to becoming a crusader against pollution.  Writer, photographer, biologist, researcher, and advocate are just a few of the "hats" she wore during her short life.  In an era when women did not frequently go to college, much less enter the man’s world of biology, Rachel Carson forged ahead to live her dream.  However, she did not stop at bridging the gap between the sexes.  Instead, she studied, did research, and reported on her alarming findings, much to the chagrin of the pesticide companies.  She is best known for her book The Silent Spring, in which she proved that chemicals were damaging the environment.  Tragically, she never lived to see the results of her crusade against pollution, because she died of breast cancer at age 56.  In the epilogue, Lawlor provides an account of the outcry against Carson’s book.  By the time Kennedy came into office, it was well known that Carson’s theory was accurate, and in 1963, she presented the facts on CBS Reports.  Awards, accolades and tributes poured in.  Had Rachel Carson not had the courage to live her dream, the movement to protect the environment may have been delayed. 

E-BNe       Martha Squaresky        Carson, Rachel,1907-1964.