Book Review: The Gentle Subversive Rachel Carson

the intrusion of poison's applied by other persons."

Rachel Carson, May 1963

What is most striking to me about Rachel Carson, having just read Lylte's concise profile of her life, is how frail her health was during the time she was writing Silent Spring, how nearly the infamous book was not written at all, and how closely Carson's illnesses mirrored what would today would be described as chemical injury, or perhaps even MCS, multiple chemical sensitivity.

“I finally realized that Rachel Carson, so genteel and proper in her personal life, was a subversive.”

By Mark Hamilton Lylte

Any person coping with the daily struggles of balancing work, family, and chronic illness will be inspired by Mark Lylte's portrayal of Rachel Carson. His biography brings her to life and reveals how she dealt with ordinary obligations while accomplishing extraordinary tasks that have withstood the test of time. His book is a quick read, well referenced, and divides Carson's life into seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. I think she would have approved.

Clearly, Rachel Carson was an uncommon woman. Born on May 27th, 1907, she defied the conventions of her time and choose a career in science. She never married. Her early books about ecology and the sea earned her national recognition. But, it was her final book dubbed the, “Poison Book,” by her best friend and confident, Dorothy Freeman, that earned her the legacy as the, “Mother of the Environmental Movement.”

Author, Mark Hamilton Lylte, writes, “The more I learned about Carson --- The environmentalist, career woman, scientist, animal-rights activist, faithful daughter and beloved aunt, female role model, devoted friend, gifted writer, and political dissenter --- the more interesting she became. Her struggle to write Silent Spring while fighting against cancer was inspirational. The battle she waged against the male dominated science establishment was truly heroic.”

“We need a Bill of Rights against the 20th century poisoners of the human race.”

By Supreme Court Justice, William O. Douglas

And Carson was a true heroine. She devoted the last years of her life to personally caring for her invalid mother, adopting her five year old nephew who was orphaned when Carson's sister died suddenly of the flu, and somehow finding the time in between these challenges to research and write Silent Spring. Throughout her life, she always was able to meet her personal and career responsibilities in a manner that was consistent with her convictions and sense of ethics. No small feat.

On June 28, 1958, Carson writes about her health in a letter to her dear friend Dorothy, “we can't lay it all to that my dear, for I was miserable much of the time in Maine last year, even when doing practically nothing.” Carson's letter to Dorothy indicates that she was ill and suffering long before any official diagnosis of cancer. Later on, “The flare-up of a recurring duodenal ulcer forced her into bed for several weeks.... though on many days she could barely leave her bed and wondered “whether the Author even exists anymore.””

“Carson understood all too well that the United States in the 1950's ....A person did not have to be a Communist to come under suspicion as a subversive. One only had to dissent against commonly accepted values, as Carson intended to do, to be considered disloyal.”

By Mark Hamilton Lylte

Lytle writes, “Despite her intention to work quickly, she could never overcome the limitations imposed by her family and her own mounting health problems.” On December 2nd, 1958, Marion Carson, Rachel's mother, died with Rachel by her bedside holding her hand.

In March,1960, Carson was diagnosed with breast cysts and underwent a mastectomy. At the time, her doctor chose to hide the true nature of her health from her and told her she did not have breast cancer, merely benign tumors. Only later in November did she learn the truth when, “she discovered a hard swelling on her left side... her doctor recommended radiation treatments. Immediately after, she came down with the flu that left her bedridden for two weeks. What ensued was a train of woes worthy of Job. A minor bladder infection gave way to blood poisoning. Antibiotics brought on painful phlebitis that left her knee and ankle painfully swollen. Unable to stand, much less walk, she was confined to a wheelchair. For over a month writing was impossible.”

"the chemical industry suggested they saw Carson for what she truly was ---- a subversive determined to crack the consensus from which the industry profited.”

By Mark Hamilton Lylte

In typical Carson fashion she rallies and brings the focus of her mind to bear upon her book, Silent Spring. Lylte writes, “With her project on track, Carson suffered what she considered, “the most frustrating and maddening,” of all of her ailments. In late November she contracted a case of severe iritis, an inflammation of the irises in her eyes. For two weeks she was nearly blind.”

Silent Spring, was at last published in the summer of 1962. Her book created a firestorm of controversy. Despite her failing health Carson met the firestorm with candor, grace, and the firmness of her facts. She testified before Congress on, June 4th, 1963, “I hope the government will fully support research on new methods of pest control in which chemical use will be minimized or entirely eliminated. One of the outstanding values of biological controls for insect pests is that they are specifically adapted to a particular species or group of species. We must search, not for a super weapon that will solve all problems, but for a diversity of options, each precisely adjusted to its task.”

“Many prophets are controversial in their own lifetimes because they challenge the orthodoxies of their day. That may be why those in authority so often dismiss them as subversives.

By Mark Hamilton Lylte, on Rachel Carson

Mark Lylte concludes his book on Carson with these insightful words, "Rachel Carson grew up in an America whose leaders preached that the nation had achieved greatness by conquering and controlling nature. How then could they accept a woman who challenged them to be respectful of nature, to recognize the limits of their own understanding, and to seek out the mystery and wonder of the unknown? They were, after all, practical men. Rachel Carson urged them to be men of vision.”

To learn about more about the legacy of Rachel Carson's work check out these websites:

Lucinda Hodges was chemically injured in 1996 in a toxic train derailment. Since her injury she has founded ACCERT, a non-profit dedicated to advocating for chemically injured people. She maintains this website and the Toxic Trains website.