Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", published in 1962, did more than any other single publication to alert the world to the hazards of environmental poisoning and to inspire a powerful social movement that would alter the course of American history. This definitive, sweeping biography movement that would alter the course of American history. This definitive, sweeping biography shows how Carson, already a famous nature writer, became a reluctant reformer. It is a compelling portrait of the determined woman behind the publicly shy but brilliant scientist and writer. Drawing on unprecedented access to sources and interviews, Lear masterfully explores the roots of Carson's powerful connection to the natural world, crafting a "probing and scrupulously footnoted account of this extraordinary woman's life." (Time)

Linda Lear is the editor of "Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson". She was consultant to the PBS television documentary "The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson" for The American Experience, and is a founder of the Lear/Carson archive at Connecticut College. Her most recent book is Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. She resides in Bethesda, MD.