Michael Johns

Being an Environmentalist, I naturally gravitated towards Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. So far, this book is incredibly interesting. It is, as it says on the cover, "the book that launched the environmental movement." Focusing on the use of pesticides, herbicides, and other poisons used in the second half of the 20th century, it explains how they came into use, their popularity, and the unseen, unintended consequences. It goes deep into the chemistry aspect of these toxins, as well, making it very intriguing to the chemist in me. Also, she brings in many negative events that happened due to the use of these chemicals. One of which describes two small children who use an empty pesticide bag dropped by a plane to fix a tire swing. One child died and the other child went brain dead. All of the amazing, frightful, and eyeopening descriptions in this book shows the great consequences of pesticides, and how humans are part of nature, not separate entities.