On a Farther Shore : The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson, Author of Silent Spring

On a farther shore: The life and legacy of Rachel Carson is William Souder's biography of the pioneering environmentalist and author of Silent Spring.

Souder traces Carson's life from a shy, nature-loving writer more at home outdoors than in literary circles to a determined scientist and advocate who painstakingly documented the damage that DDT and other pesticides were doing to fish, birds, and wildlife.

The book also explores her personal life, including her close friendship with Dorothy Freeman, and follows her through the controversy sparked by Silent Spring's publication to her death from cancer in 1964.

Souder shows how Carson's work fundamentally changed public awareness of environmental harm, helping lead to the creation of the EPA and the eventual ban on DDT.