Critical Assessment of a Book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical Assessment of a Book - Essay Example Her greatest asset was a keen and observant biological eye which she made use of whenever she worked. Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’ shot her to fame when it featured at the top of the bestseller lists. She was greatly encouraged by her mother to explore the natural world around her in which Rachel found immense solace. Her books were quite appealing due to their simplicity, style, lyrical value and thoroughness for which she was widely reviewed and honored. She adopted a visionary approach which was quite novel to the mainstream scientific community. Through her writing Rachel Carson handed down to us a legacy of scientific knowledge. She died on April 14th, 1964 at Silverspring, Maryland, USA. Part 2 Outline Structure of the Book   The book Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson, was first published in the year 1962 and became an instant best seller. Silent Spring was written as a serial article for the magazine, The New Yorker but later was published as a boo k. Carson’s reputation as a writer and scientist helped in establishing the credibility of the book. This book had an enduring and enormous impact on the world. This book was not written for a narrow scientific audience but for the layman and it has been credited with kick starting a debate on the limits of technology, responsibility of science and the use of pesticides. She was of the view that "The best and cheapest controls for vegetation are not chemicals but other plants."  (pg.75) Carson meticulously described the process whereby the entire world food supply chain was contaminated by DDT. DDT entered the food chain and got accumulated in the fatty tissues of man and animal. A single application of the chemical on crops killed not only the targeted insects but also the other organisms present for weeks and months. These chemicals remained toxic even after dilution with rain water thereby causing irrevocable harm to animals and birds. "Carrots absorb more insecticide th an any other crop studied;...In the future it may become necessary to analyze soils for insecticides before planting certain food crops. Otherwise even unsprayed crops may take up enough insecticide merely from the soil to render them unfit for market."  (pg.59) The author implicitly states that these chemicals in the environment caused cancer. The scientist-author meticulously gathered evidence to show the adverse effect caused by the indiscriminate application of mineral based agricultural pesticides and synthetic phosphates and chlorinated hydrocarbons. She argued that not only was the environment being degraded but the very fabric of American natural beauty was being laid threadbare. The indiscriminate use of the chemicals resulted in the development of resistant strains. When they reached high levels of concentration in the water bodies it led to the death of aquatic flora and fauna. â€Å"It is not possible to add pesticides to water anywhere without threatening the purity of water everywhere. Seldom if ever, does nature operate in closed and separate compartments, and she has not done so in distributing the earth’s water supply.†(pg. 42) The efforts of Carson were rewarded when the Government of the United States of America regulated the use of pesticides by enacting the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972. Silent Spring is a book which still holds currency for the debate it still