Rarely does a single book alter the course of history, but Rachel
Carson's Silent Spring did exactly that. The outrcry that followed its
publication in 1962 forced the banning of DDT and spurred the
revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water.
Carson's passionate concern for the future of our planet reverberated
powerfully throughout the world, and her eloquent book was instrumental
in launching the environmental movement. I tis without question one of
the landmark books of the twentieth century.