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 July 1, 2012
Fifty years after the publication of Rachel Carson's seminal Silent Spring, Pulitzer Prize nominee Souder (Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of The Birds of America, 2004, etc.) examines the legacy and lasting impact of Carson's passionate environmental work. "By 1959, some eighty million pounds of DDT were being used annually in the United States," writes the author. Already a vocal conservationist, Carson had long suspected that pesticide use was accumulatively detrimental to animals and humans. This holistic view of the living world was startling and prescient, and it struck a chord with an American public that was already spooked by the similar dangers of fallout from nuclear testing. Carson grappled with the literary celebrity that accompanied Silent Spring, yearning to maintain a quiet, private life yet forced to answer the powerful opposition she faced from the chemical industry. Souder writes beautifully about this dichotomy, revealing intimate details about the writing process and her relationships with editors, fans, family and her beloved companion Dorothy Freeman, with whom she spent some of her happiest moments while on the Maine coastline. The author also conducted ample contextual research, providing readers with a clear sense of the political, economic and social ramifications of DDT use and the threat of atomic warfare and how Carson's writing played a vital role in progressive public policy for decades after her death. One wonders how the past 50 years might have been different were Carson alive to write about global warming, fossil fuels, the erosion of coral reefs and other similar matters. That her views on DDT were eventually proven correct is just a small part of her legacy as an environmental pioneer, but also a defining instance of citizen activism. A poignant, galvanizing, meaningful tribute.

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Starred review from November 1, 2012

Published on the 50th anniversary of Silent Spring, Pulitzer Prize finalist Souder (Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of The Birds of America) explores the life and works of Rachel Carson through meticulous research on her writings, relationships, and struggles. Portrayed alternately as full of stamina and fragile, Carson is depicted as a smart, hardworking woman who was not afraid of success and often fought her way into the limelight more aggressively than her introverted personality might have indicated. More than a biography of Carson, this book is a biography of oceanography, of naturalism and conservation, and of science writing. As Carson did in her own work, Souder presents the development of modern science writing as a living thing, evolving and changing in relation to what it encounters. VERDICT 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, and for those who have celebrated Carson's work, this book is a treat full of big ideas and little details that satisfy and inspire. Fans of Carson, as well as of science writers like Aldo Leopold and Steven Jay Gould, will devour this book. As an achievement in biography and a celebration of science writing, it is strongly recommended.--Jaime Hammond, Naugatuck Valley Community Coll. Lib., Waterbury, CT

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2012
Fifty years ago, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, an eloquent expose of the dangers of pesticides, transformed our perception of life on earth. To mark this watershed, Souder, author of a John James Audubon biography (Under a Wild Sky, 2004), brings a fresh and delving perspective to Carson's trailblazing achievements and heroic sacrifices. Born to a hardscrabble Pennsylvania life in 1907, Carson was passionate about nature and always wanted to be a writer. Fired up by a gutsy woman science teacher, she ditched English for biology and went to work for what is now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Under the Sea Wind (1941), Carson's highly original first book, established her signature style, a precise and enrapturing union of science and lyricism. The Sea around Us (1951) won the National Book Award and made her famous. Souder, who veers off on prolonged tangents exploring everything from nuclear bomb tests to environmental policy, discloses arresting aspects of Carson's all-consuming writing process, difficult family demands, and one great love. As Carson courageously battled against pesticides and issued prescient warnings about global warming, she was under siege from within and died of cancer at 56. Souder returns Carson to us in all her poetic glory and strength as a singular artist and clarion champion of the living world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)