Spirit of America Bookstore
Rachel Carson
[1907-1964]
| short profile |  |
“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone or weary of life.”
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
“If we are going to live so intimately with these chemicals – eating and drinking them, taking them into the very marrow of our bones –
we had better know something about their nature and their power.” - in "Silent Spring", 1962
“In nature nothing exists alone.” - in "Silent Spring", 1962
“But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
“If I had influence with the Good Fairy, I would ask that her gift to each child be a sense of wonder so indestructible
that it would last throughout life.”
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the Universe about us,
the less taste we shall have for destruction.” - in 1954
— Rachel Carson
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
won a National Book Award in 1952 for her non-fiction book "The Sea Around Us"
charter member of the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973
posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980
listed #39 on The Atlantic Monthly's Top 100 Most Influential Figures in American History [Dec 2006]
profile on TIME Magazine's 100 Most Important People of The Century in 2010
Rachel Carson entry at Wikipedia
Rachel Carson's credits [since 1953] at Internet Movie Database
browse Rachel Carson books & audio at Amazon
Primary Works
"Under The Sea Wind" [1941]
originally sold less than 2,000 copies; re-issue in 1962 was a bestseller
"The Edge of The Sea" [Houghton Mifflin, 1955]
 | "The Sea Around Us" [1951 bestseller] by Rachel Carson The New Yorker Magazine serialized several chapters before publication of the book; book won a National Book Award in 1952; 86 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list book entry at Wikipedia Oxford Univ Press 8x5.3 pb [12/91] for $11.17 Oxford Univ Press hardcover [9/2003] for $31.50 Oscar-winning documentary film [1 hour; R.K.O. 1952] Warner Bros. Archive Collection color DVD [11/2010] for $13.85 credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Silent Spring" [1962 bestseller] by Rachel Carson The New Yorker Magazine serialized excerpts in three issues in June 1962; selected for Book of the Month Club in October; condensed version published in Reader's Digest; 31 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list; chosen for the Time Magazine / Green Century Special Issue August 2002 Recommended Reading List; the book still sells 25,000 copies each year Mariner 40th Anniversary Edition 8x5½ pb [10/2002] for $8.44 Houghton Mifflin 8½x5¾ hardcover [10/2002] for $16.80 Durkin Hayes ABR audio [3/99] out of print/used DH Audio [1/87] 2 tapes / out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia |
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/06/16/silent-spring-part-1
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/06/23/silent-spring-part-2
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/06/30/silent-spring-part-3
environmentandsociety
'The Story of Silent Spring' article at NRDC
 | "The Sense of Wonder" [1965] by Rachel Carson, Photographs by Nick Kelsh, Introduction by Linda Lear Harper & Row 10¼x7¾ pb [1984] out of print/used Harper & Row 10x8½ pb [1965] out of print/used HarperCollins 11x9 hardcover [4/98] for $17.81 Nature Company 7¾x78½ slipcover edition [1990] out of print/used |
 | "Silent Spring Revisited" [1987] Edited by Gino J. Marco, Robert M. Hollingworth & William Durham Twenty-some years after Rachel Carson's death, the chemical industry has both incorporated her views and still seeks to defend their products to the public. American Chemical Society 8¾x6¾ pb [8/00] out of print/used American Chemical Society 9x6¼ hardcover [5/87] out of print/used |
"Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952–1964 - An Intimate Portrait of a Remarkable Friendship"
[Beacon Press, 1995] ISBN 0-8070-7010-6 edited by Martha Freeman (granddaughter of Dorothy Freeman)
"Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson" [Beacon Press, 1998] ISBN 0-8070-8547-2
Stageplays, Motion Pictures & Videos
Rachel Carson's credits [since 1953] at Internet Movie Database
® ®
"A Sense of Wonder" filmed stageplay [indep 2008]
 | Kaiulani Lee wrote and has been performing this one-woman stageplay since 1992, which depicts Rachel Carson's final months battling cancer while defending her book from ruthless chemical industry corporations • Film directed by Christopher Monger; shot in Maine by cinematographer Haskell Wexler
P.B.S. Direct color DVD [7/2010] for $22.49 credits at IMDb • official movie site |
"Rachel L. Carson's The Sea Around Us" documentary film
[Irwin Allen Prodns/R.K.O. Radio Pictures June 1952]
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hourlong Technicolor™ documentary film; location filming at Great Barrier Reef in Australia and in Alaska & Florida; highlights include a battle between an octopus and a shark • Produced, written & directed by Irwin Allen; based on the book by Rachel Carson; narrated by Theodore von Eltz & Don Forbes; won the 1953 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
Warner Bros. Archive Collection color DVD [11/2010] for $13.85 credits from IMDb • movie page at Irwin Allen fansite • movie entry at Wikipedia |
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"C.B.S. Reports: The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson" [aired April 1963] TV special hosted by Eric Sevareid • credits at IMDb watch full episode [1/2017 upload; 44:47] online at YouTube "C.B.S. Reports: The Verdict of The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson" [aired May 1963]
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"Pesticides: D.D.T., Rachel Carson, and Silent Spring" [student video 2013]
Compilation of historical clips on DDT, Rachel Carson, and science explaining why humans pollute
watch video [4/2013 upload; 10:58] online at YouTube
Works About Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson biography page at U.S. Fish & Wildlife wesbite
 | "Rachel Carson: Witness For Nature" [1997] by Linda J. Lear Holt/Owl 9¼x6 pb [9/98] out of print/used Henry Holt 9½x6½ hardcover [9/97] out of print/used |
 | "What A Book Can Do: The Publication & Reception of Silent Spring" [2005] by Priscilla Coit Murphy Univ MA Press 9x6 pb [4/2007] for $22.95 Univ MA Press 9x6½ hardcover [5/2005] for $28.6 |
 | "The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and The Rise of The Environmental Movement" [2007] by Mark Hamilton Lytle
Oxford Univ Press 6¾x4¾ pb [7/2007] for $13.45 Oxford Univ Press 6¾x5 hardcover [2/2007] out of print/many used |
 | "Courage For The Earth: Writers, Scientists & Activists Celebrate The Life & Writing of Rachel Carson" [2007] Edited by Peter Matthiessen
Mariner Books 8x5½ pb [4/2007] for $10.17 |
 | "Up Close: Rachel Carson" [for kids; 2007] by Ellen Levine Puffin 7x5 pb [1/2008] for $6.99 Viking Juvenile 7½x5½ hardcover [4/2007] for $12.47 |
![Rachel Carson's Silent Spring 1993 episode of the 'American Experience] TV series](covers2/dAErachelcarsonssilentspringPBS.jpg "Rachel Carson's Silent Spring 1993 episode of the 'American Experience] TV series") | "Rachel Carson's Silent Spring" [P.B.S./WGBH-TV Feb 1993] episode of the "American Experience" TV series [1988–present] information not available (looked on Amazon & IMDb & Wikipedia 2017) 55-minute P.B.S. Home Video color DVD [5/2007] for $10.58 empty credits at IMDb |
 | "C-SPAN2 About Books: Rachel Carson, Witness For Nature" [aired March 1998]
watch Linda Lear 10/1997 speech at Springdale, PA High School [1:17:00] "C-SPAN Washington Journal: Rachel Carson, Witness For Nature" [aired April 2001] TV talk show episode with host George Hager interviewing Linda Lear after recent publication of her two books about Rachel Carson, with call-in Q&A watch full show [8/2015 upload; 37:35] online at YouTube |
 | C-SPAN2 Book TV episode about Rachel Carson's 1962 book "Silent Spring" [Feb 2010] Hour-long interview with call-in Q&A hosted by Peter Slen, featuring Linda J. Lear & Paul Driessen watch full TV program [1:01:06] FREE online at C-SPAN Linda J. Lear is a biographer of Rachel Carson and Beatrix Potter official website • LJL's Rachel Carson website • Lear-Carson Collection at Connecticut College {versus} anti-environmentalist Paul K. Driessen |
"The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson" feature film [Chartoff Prodns release 2011?]
biopic written by Gail Brice to be directed by Peter Bratt •
latest info at IMDb
"Exploring Ethics: The Silent Spring Series - Rachel Carson's Legacy" [UC-TV Dec 2012]
lecture at University of California San Diego by Dr. Mitchell Thomashow
watch lecture & slide show [1/2013 upload; 56:37] online at YouTube
Exploring Ethics: The Silent Spring Series" [UC-TV 2012-13]
watch all six lecture/slide show programs [8/2013 upload] online at YouTube
"Alternatives To Insecticides - The Silent Spring Series #1"
"Rachel Carson's Legacy - The Silent Spring Series #2" {as just above}
"Silent Spring + 50: Lessons From San Diego's Bees and Bays #3"
"Global Climate Change and Emerging Infectious Disease - The Silent Spring Series #4" with Stanley Maloy
"Elephants or People? Ethical Dilemmas In Recovering Endangered Species - The Silent Spring Series #5"
"Women In Science: 50 Years After Silent Spring - The Silent Spring Series #6"
"The Power of One Voice" docufilm [indep Dec 2014]
 | "A 50-year perspective on the life of Rachel Carson" • 52-minute docufilm exploring the impact of Rachel Carson's life and work • Co-produced, written & directed by Mark Dixon; featuring speakers at the 50-year anniversary celebration of Silent Spring held at Chatham University in May 2012, Rachel's adopted son Roger Christie, biographer Linda Lear, Mark Madison, naturalist Scott Weidensaul, Patriciia DeMarco, many others • retail DVD/Blu-ray not available (2017)
available only via school or community screening license from producer bare credits at IMDb • official movie website • movie entry at Wikipedia {empty} |
"Rachel Carson" [P.B.S. Jan 2017]
episode of the "American Experience" TV series [1988–present]
![Rachel Carson 2017 episode of the 'American Experience] TV series](covers2/dAErachelcarsonPBS.jpg "Rachel Carson 2017 episode of the 'American Experience] TV series") | "She set out to save a species . . . us" • 1-hour 53-minute broadcast {IMDb incorrect} Co-produced, written & directed by Michelle Ferrari; narrated by Oliver Platt; featuring Mary Fassino, Mary-Louise Parker, Deborah Blum, Deborah Cramer, Robert K. Musil, Dorothy Freeman's daughter Martha, adopted son Roger Christie, biographers William Souder & Linda Lear, and historians David Kinkela, Mark Lytle & Naomi Oreskes; with archive footage of Rachel Carson, John F. Kennedy & best friend Dorothy Freeman P.B.S. Home Video widescreen color DVD [2/2017] for $19.39 credits at IMDb • watch full movie - with ads [1:53:11] online at KRWG-TV website |
Image Gallery
Friends & Family
Rachel Louise Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania; while working as a marine biologist for U.S. Fish & Wildlife she wrote articles & books:
"The Sea Around Us" was a 1951 bestseller and "Silent Spring" was a 1962 blockbuster; she died of cancer in April 1964 at age 56.
father Robert Warden [d. 1935]
mother Maria Frazier McLean Carson []
older sister [d. 1937]
older brother
neice one
neice two [d. 1957] at age 31
grandnephew & adopted son Roger Christie [b. 1952]
best friend Dorothy Freeman
husband
granddaughter Martha Freeman
farmhouse [saved 1975] in Springdale, Pennsylvania
lived & wrote in Baltimore, Maryland
remote summer cabin on Southport Island in Maine
designed & built a house at 11701 Berwick Road in Silver Spring (Colesville), Maryland in 1957
S c h o l a r s
biographer Linda J. Lear
biographer Mark Hamilton Lytle
biographer William Souder
L i n k s
LJL's Rachel Carson website
Rachel Carson entry at Wikipedia
Rachel Carson's credits [since 1953] at Internet Movie Database
browse Rachel L. Carson books & audio at Amazon
![Rachel Carson Council [est. 1965] is based in Bethesda, Maryland](images/RachelCarsonCouncil.jpg "Rachel Carson Council [est. 1965] is based in Bethesda, Maryland")
Rachel Carson Institute [est. 1989] at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA
Rachel Carson Homestead Assn. [est. 1975] in Springdale, PA
Silent Spring Institute [est. 1994] in Newton, MA
Rachel Carson College [est. 1972] at U.C. Santa Cruz in California
'Echoes of Silent Spring' online exhibition [circa 2012] at Michigan State University Museum
Beyond Pesticides (formerly National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) non-profit [est. 1981] in Washington, DC
Rachel Carson bio page at the National Women's History Museum in Alexandria, VA
650-acre Rachel Carson Conservation Park [est. 1964] in Montgomery County, Maryland
14,600-acre Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge [est. 1966] near Carson's summer home on the coast of Maine
2,315-acre Rachel Carson Coastal Reserve [est. 1985] near Beaufort, Carteret County, North Carolina
38-mile Rachel Carson Trail for day-hiking [est. 1992] just outside Pittsburgh, PA
Rachel Carson Playground & Silent Springs Playground [started 1946, renamed 1998] in Queens, New York City
here on the Rachel Carson [1907-64] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
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