By Mark Hamilton Lytle - Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson and the Rise of the Environmental Movement: 1st (first) Edition

by Mark H. Lytle

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring antagonized some of the most powerful interests in the nation--including the farm block and the agricultural chemical industry--and helped launch the modern environmental movement. In The Gentle Subversive, Mark Hamilton Lytle offers a compact life of Carson, illuminating the road that led to this vastly influential book. Lytle explores the evolution of Carson's ideas about nature, her love for the sea, her career as a biologist, and above all her emergence as a writer of extraordinary moral and ecological vision. We follow Carson from her childhood on a farm outside Pittsburgh, where she first developed her love of nature (and where, at age eleven, she published her first piece in a children's magazine), to her graduate work at Johns Hopkins and her career with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Lytle describes the genesis of her first book, Under a Sea Wind, the incredible success of The Sea Around Us (a New York Times Bestseller for over a year), and her determination to risk her fame in order to write her "poison book": Silent Spring. The author contends that despite Carson's demure, lady-like demeanor, she was subversive in her thinking and aggressive in her campaign against pesticides. Carson became the spokeswoman for a network of conservationists, scientists, and concerned citizens who had come to fear the mounting dangers of the human assault on nature. What makes this story particularly compelling is that Carson took up this cause at the very moment when she herself faced a losing battle against cancer. Succinct and engaging, The Gentle Subversive is a story of success, celebrity, controversy, and vindication. It will inspire anyone interested in protecting the natural world or in women's struggle to find a voice in society.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Ecology, History, Environment, Science, Nature

Paperback

First published January 17, 2007

About the author

Mark Hamilton Lytle

Lytle who was awarded a PhD from Yale University, is Professor of History and Environmental Studies and Chair of the American Studies Program at Bard College. He is also Director of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Bard. His publications include The Origins of the Iranian-American Alliance, 1941-1953 and After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection (with James West Davidson) and, most recently, "An Environmental Approach to American Diplomatic History" in Diplomatic History. He is at work on the Uncivil War: America in the Vietnam Era.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Rachel Carson focuses on her writing, beginning with pieces she wrote at age 11 for a children’s nature magazine and culminating with the publication of the environmentalist classic “Silent Spring.” Author Mark Hamilton Lytle uses chapters named for the four seasons to show her development as a writer; each season corresponds to a book. The analogy works well. “Under the Sea-Wind” (spring) was not overly popular, being largely overshadowed by WWII. “The Sea Around Us” (summer) and “The Edge of the Sea” (fall) were written in a more mature style and were much more popular. “Silent Spring” (winter), while her most popular book, is also her most controversial, for which she is “frozen” out of certain scientific circles and during which she battles with cancer. As she wins approval from both the populace and the president, she loses the fight for her life.

An Epilogue follows in which the environmental movement that follows “Silent Spring” is examined. Lytle is a professor of environmental history, and some of what he attributes to this book’s influence seems like a stretch. He also examines the true motives of certain corporate leaders who have recently blamed Carson for banning of DDT, which they claim is now necessary to mitigate malaria.

Throughout the book, Carson’s academic and social relationships are noted in terms of influences on her writing. Much has been made of her mother’s domination in other biographies, but Lytle minimizes this. He presents family dynamics in terms of Carson’s need to support others in her family, delaying the economic feasibility of abandoning her government job to write full-time. The emotional and professional influences of friends and colleagues on her research and writing are described in just enough detail to make the story interesting.

Carson herself, a shy and refined individual, would have liked most everything about this book except the title. In fact, the author struggles a little too hard in the final Afterword to make the case for her subversion. Still, the way the author succinctly intertwines life events, relationships, and writing in the “seasonal” chapters makes this a rewarding read.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Carson is a fascinating figure who died too young and influenced the world in unexpected ways. I have trouble imagining how anyone could not find her amazing. A born writer, she was a scientist before women could really claim that title. She was a close observer and wrote the very influential The Sea Around Us and Silent Spring. The latter book almost on its own started the environmental movement. Great stuff.

This isn't a traditional biography, as Lytle makes clear. There are already a couple of good biographies available. What he's trying to do here is show how Carson marked a moment in history and how she did that by developing her skills as a writer. Deeply concerned about all living things, knowing that a web of life encompassed all of us, Carson campaigned against the use of DDT when male scientists claimed it was harmless to humans. Her books had such an impact that people like Newt Gingrich still attack her today. In my book that means she was absolutely right!

Brief, accessible, and sympathetic, this is a good introduction to a most compelling personality and underrated hero in American history. I comment further on it on my blog, for those interested: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

[Adam Orford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book while researching Rachel Carson's literary influences, and was left disappointed in that regard. Nonetheless, this book accomplishes what it sets out to do: present an accessible biographical narrative of one of the greatest environmental writers of all time. For a shorter version of the same story, check out the PBS American Experience that seems largely based on this book. For a longer treatment, go to Linda Lear's Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (1997). I especially appreciated the author's afterword, in which he strung together some of the larger context of the war over environmentalism as represented by his study, and the ways in which those arguments continue to be litigated to this day.

Reading time TTS@460wpm: 2:45

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It's too bad Rachel's life was cut short. The title of Carson's seminal work is in the subtitle of this book. Reading this work felt like you could divide the book into 2 sections: pre-Silent Spring and post-Silent Spring.

Something I enjoyed reading about was the support system/network Rachel and her family had set established. It seemed to work well but it did not leave Rachel with much of a social life. In terms of her work, her family did not seem to get in the way. Thankfully she had a mother who stayed healthy in her advancing years. This enabled both Rachel and her mom to take care of Ms Carson's sibling who was not so healthy.

I can see how and why she would seek out solace and refuge in nature.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superlative history writing. Lytle writes eloquently about Carson and her achievements, and then discusses how her work inspired the advent of the environmental movement in America. His Afterword was informative, heartfelt, and very well done. A bow tied onto the gift of this book.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow slow start but stick with it it gets good

[Blue Kaufman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short biography that covers a lot of ground, but leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

For school

[Jared Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful delve into Carson’s life and career works. A wonderful pairing with her works.

[Theresa Glover]

I read this one for school. Allow me to preface my comments by saying that non-fiction isn't a huge draw for me, and biographies don't capture and hold my attention well. Even though biographies are still stories an anecdotes from the life of a person, they've never had the same kind of magic as fiction does for me. Maybe it has something to do with knowing that what's being told has already happened and it's not just unwinding before you like a magical carpet is disillusioning, or maybe its that they feel bloodless because they lack the same possibilities, and the feeling of adventuresome discovery. That being said, this book was alright. It was well written and to a fan of Rachel Carson or an enthusiast of ecology or the environmental movement, I'm sure it would undoubtedly receive high marks. I have no substantive complaints other than it wasn't for me, and my attention wandered because I didn't feel a connection to the main subject of the book.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting read...Carson was a powerful writer and a powerful woman who really believed in the courage of her convictions and yet maintained a very traditional lifestyle while challenging some long-held traditional beliefs in science and regarding the environment...made me want to read more about her and the environment...I found the writing style somewhat tedious...a little hard to get through

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an inspiration to learn the driving force behind Carson's writing, and will encourage me to read her other books. I had only been aware of the last, Silent Spring. I recommend this to anyone embarking upon the "Green" movement, or anyone wanting to hear a courageous story of a woman overcoming cancer to fulfill her driving destiny.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-written book focusing on Carson as a writer. It is a wonderful portrait of her as a person and a short but well-informed history of the environmental movement in the US as well. Highly recommended.

[Jane]

Fondren Has This Book: QH31 .C33 L98 2007

Provides an interesting account of the development of Rachel Carson as a writer and as an eventual spokesperson for the environmental movement of the 1960s.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really wonderful book, not too long, but skillfully written. The author weaves together the many threads of Carson's incredibly productive life, against so many odds. We are in her debt. Science, literature, spirituality, government, friendships, on and on. Wonderful!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Romanticized a little bit, but I had never heard of Rachel Carson before picking this one up, an that surprises me knowing the contributions she made to our understanding of the environment and the impact we humans have on it.

[Jehnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to both Rachel Carson and the ecological movement in the U.S.

[Bepawo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book made me check out 4 of Rachael's own works. Someone we all know about but I hadn't ever really read. She was a very unique and amazing woman.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting, but the writer seemed to delve into seriously minor details at various parts of the book. Overall, however, I thought is was well written and creative.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry and academic.

[Todd Stansbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good exploration of Carson's life through her four major books. Very enjoyable. Understanding her life also helps open up her books even more.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise look at Rachel Carson and her major works. A real conservation hero.