Anniversaries of significant books tend to bring about a bit of public reflection upon their subject. If the book was a non-fiction work, much of this reflection often surrounds whether or not its central thesis is still valid or whether the author’s predictions have come to pass. In the case of Rachel Carson’s – dare one say “monumental” – book Silent Spring, there is little question that her central thesis is still valid; thus the point of discussion should center on just how much of what she brought to our attention still haunts our world today and what has been done these past fifty years in an attempt to mitigate it if possible. And indeed these are the very questions that Conor Mark Jameson appears to have addressed, as well as a few of his own, in his new book Silent Spring Revisited. As a copy has recently arrived at my desk, I am most eager to discover to what degree he has succeeded.
