Sept. 30, 1962: Today is the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring.” Here is a book review as it was published in The Pittsburgh Press shortly after the book appeared in book stores in 1962.
Rachel Carson’s book was a product of thorough research. Her voice in the book was blunt and forceful. “For five years, she gathered material from chemists, biologists and medical doctors, from all over North America and other parts of the world,” The Pittsburgh Press wrote in the review.
The review predicted the fate of the book with astonishing accuracy: “Most women will read this book with horror; men will be shocked and almost certainly legislators will be activated.” Rachel Carson’s findings recorded in her bestselling book led to a ban on DDT and other pesticides nationwide.
“Every thinking man and woman should read ‘Silent Spring,’” wrote The Pittsburgh Press.
