Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature

The biography was incredibly exhaustive and detailed: Linda Lear's research must have been immense, and is truly a labor of love. I felt a great deal of respect for Carson's thoroughness and hard work as a writer and researcher as well as her private, sensitive nature and occasional toughness (she drove hard bargains with all of her publishers, which was interesting!)

I was fascinated by much of the material. I wish, however, that Lear had been willing to talk more frankly about Carson's obvious lesbianism. She kept a polite veneer over Carson's relationships and didn't draw obvious conclusions. Carson's overly possessive mother, who died in her 80s just a few years before her daughter and lived with her for decades, appears as the show more secret villain here, leaching much of Carson's energy and coming between her relationships with other women.

I would also have liked an update on what happened to Carson's great-nephew and ward, Roger Christie, since he was left orphaned after Carson's death and adopted by her publisher at Houghton Mifflin, Paul Brooks. So much of the book talks about Rachel's exhaustion at raising Roger, who was apparently a difficult, impulsive child. It would be a relief to know that he had gone on to have a decent life. show less

Lear's obvious lady-crush on Carson has turned her into a dedicated historian of Carson's life. I was surprised she even found so much to write about Carson's life. The amount of research is enough to earn four stars with my only criticism being that Lear's idolatry of Carson and her own environmental views may have obscured her objectivity.

It took me several years to get around to reading this book, but once I started I found it difficult to put it down. Rachel Carson has been one of my heroes since high school, and this book really brought her lifelong struggles to light. Recommended reading for anyone interested in the environment or the early history of the environmental movement.

This wonderful biography was well-researched. After reading it, I immediately purchased Carson's earlier works to read again.

Too many irrelevant details, very well researched.