Silent Spring Revisited

by Conor Mark Jameson

American scientist and author Rachel Carson is said to have sparked the modern day environmental movement with the publication of Silent Spring in 1962. She made vivid the prospect of life without birdsong. But has her warning been heeded? Fifty years on, Conor Mark Jameson reflects on the growth of environmentalism since Silent Spring was published. His revealing and engaging tale plots milestone events in conservation, popular culture and political history in the British Isles and beyond, tracing a path through the half century since 'zero hour', 1962. Around this he weaves his own observations and touching personal experiences, seeking to answer the question: what happened to the birds, and birdsong, and why does it matter?

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Environment, Green, Ecology

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2012

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am definitely in two minds about this book, on the one hand it does run through how both the agricultural and environmental worlds changed during the 50 years since the publication of Silent Spring but then on the other it doesn't necessarily link it back to Silent Spring or its conclusions. Given the title I was expecting a lot more cross over, back referencing etc. to Carson's seminal work with details of what changed as a result of the book, what didn't and what was entirely unforeseen. Jameson does run through some of the changes that arose from the new awareness of the issues with pesticides and other agricultural chemicals that arose from Silent Spring and of those areas that didn't change despite Carson's (and others) best efforts. This does, however, get a little lost amongst the other headlines, incidents and events that Jameson describes for each year as he summarises his own experiences and work with the RSPB and runs through the big environmental events of the year. The change in focus from the USA to the UK also weakens the link with Silent Spring. Don't get me wrong, this is a good read but the title is somewhat misleading.

[Mark Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, was published 50 years ago and highlighted the impacts of widely used agricultural chemicals on wildlife.

To mark the 50 years, my former colleague, Conor Jameson, has brought out a book entitled ‘Silent Spring Revisited‘.

You can’t judge a book by its title or its cover – but this is a great title and the cover is by my friend and local artist Carry Akroyd – so this book gets off to a very favourable start with me even before I opened the pages.

Conor takes you through the 50 years since Silent Spring was published and pulls out the important events for nature conservation, popular culture and Conor Jameson through that period. There are some lovely stories and I really enjoyed dipping into the years and remembering what I was doing at the time. It’s a delightful pot pourri, organised as a personal timeline.

What Conor doesn’t really do is to pull it all together and make sense of where we are now and how we got here, but his description of the journey is well worth the price of the book (£16.99).

This review first appeared at www.markavery.info/blog/ 0n 15 June.

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pleasant book - a mixture of personal anecdote, beautifully described nature and a look back over the past half century. At times it doesn't seem to 'hang together' that well and seems like a list of news headlines peppered with the authors own memoirs of his work with the RSPB. Whilst it was a pleasant read, the title for me is misleading. This is not a revisit to Rachel Carsons wonderful treatise, it's more a history of the bird conservation movement in the UK than anything. I found that a bit disappointing as I had just read Silent Spring and really did want an update!
Setting that disappointment aside I enjoyed the read and know an awful lot more about the British love for rare and endangered birds than I did a few weeks ago!

[Virginia Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awe inspiring to compare decades later from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

[Ron Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Environmental must read.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fifty years after Rachel Carson's stark warning to biodiversity comes 'Silent Spring Revisited' published in 2012. Conor Mark Jameson has plotted a year by year diary of the sad and disturbing demise of U.K. birdlife from the early 1960's to the present.
I enjoyed this book, if enjoy can be the right word, as this tale of woe encompasses a large portion of my life, and I can recall the profusion of avian species that I witnessed in my childhood through the 1950's. Jameson also includes the major political, cultural and environmental headlines of each passing year, which I could also relate to.
I have also been a long time member of Greenpeace as well as the R.S.P.B., which has added to my appreciation of this work.
Yet, ultimately this is a very depressing read, which condemns the governments worldwide in their pursuit of exploitation of the natural resources of the planet. On so many fronts, the battles are being lost as the avaricious humans trash the earth in a race to extinctions.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh man. So the necessity of this book is undeniable. This woman absolutely annihilates the flagrant use of pesticides from all perspectives. That being said the point is simply reiterated from all angles throughout the entire book; and I felt as if I got the point way before it ended, but had a duty to complete the book. I don’t think I would recommend it per se as a “good read.” But I am grateful for all that she wrote it and took all the time and effort to do the research she did, which ultimately benefited all of us in the end.
I give it three stars not because I would ever read it again, which I won’t. But because it is simply that valuable.

[Martine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was very disappointed with this book. It's basically just a sum up of nature conservation related events between 1960 and 2012, with random personal anecdotes in between that are unrelated to the rest of the text. This makes it feel very unstructured as well. Also, except for some familiar names of pesticides (such as DDT) and the occasional drop of Rachel Carson's name, there is no clear link to Silent Spring.

[Anne Cotton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had two stabs at this book. I read the first half in winter 2018 and the second half in winter 2020. It is quite hard going being very wordy and quite long. However at the same time it is also really interesting and readable. It is a very comprehensive summary of how environmental conservation has evolved since the time of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring.

[Benedict · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh eye of history, how unsparing is your look.

Oh person who is good at precis-ing. Do this for me now.

Is it true? Yes. But a person using their diary as a prompt, which is fine.
What happens? Talking about life as a volunteer, then employed, conservator/caring person.
What do I think? Fine. Bit surprised it hasn't stopped- been reading it for three years?

Thank you!

[Carol Rasberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never got round to reading Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ so this was like reading the final book in a series but none of the others! Very well researched and I loved the personal connections. Great respect to Jameson who lives and breathes conservation.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating and very readable history of the environmental movement, told on a relatable, human level. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected, given its sometimes bleak subject matter.

[Elisabeth Bibbings · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant review of the years since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, charting the failures of many different-hued governments to tackle such issues as pesticides and climate change. Conor's book also leads us through his own life and development into his current position as RSPB activist and journalist, with references to popular culture and current events for every year since Silent Spring, as well as the environmental developments and setbacks.
I always enjoy Conor's column in the RSPB magazine "Nature's Home" (formerly Birds). I enjoyed his book just as much.

[Angie]

depressing!