On a Farther Shore

June 18, 2012
In this expansive, nuanced biography, Souder (Under a Wild Sky) portrays Carson as a woman passionate in friendship, poetic and innovative in her books about the sea, gentle but ambitious, assiduously keeping tabs on her publisher’s promotion of her work. A writer since childhood, Carson, inspired by a college professor, developed a love for biology and combined her two passions in a career that included three bestselling books. A “spinster” and professional in a time when marriage was the norm, Carson supported her family all her life, first her mother and siblings, later adopting her nephew, and followed her vision with an artist’s determination. Extending beyond Carson’s immediate biography, Souder meanders into the lives of writers who influenced her and devotes long sections to the hydrogen bomb and cold war anxiety about nuclear annihilation, the chemistry of pesticides like DDT and their flagrant postwar use, and an emerging understanding of ecology. Carson, under severe stress and exhaustion from a cancer that took her life, synthesized these issues in Silent Spring, a meticulously researched, policy-changing picture of an Earth poisoned by humanity; she died shortly after its publication in 1962. Fifty years later, her insights are surprisingly relevant: “We’re challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our maturity and our mastery not of nature, but of ourselves.” Agent: Chuck Verrill, Darhansoff Verrill Feldman.

Starred review from March 1, 2013

Souder provides a comprehensive biography of marine biologist Carson (1907-64). Perhaps the most impressive fact about her is that she was ahead of her time in discussing global warming and climate change and was in the forefront of connecting the dots between insecticides and other chemicals and risks to people and the environment. Carson brought a unique, lyrical style to her writing. While she is mainly known for her landmark book Silent Spring, her first interest was in oceanic studies, and her legacy includes two other major works, The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea. David Drummond provides an excellent, seamless narration appropriate to the subject matter. VERDICT Highly recommended for Carson's fans and anyone interested in environmental issues. ["At a time when genetic modification of foods remains politically charged and scientifically debatable, the story of Silent Spring and its author is valuable and relevant," read the review of the Crown hc, LJ 11/1/12.--Ed.]--Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll., Kansas City, MO

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