Rachel Carson. 
 
Houghton Mifflin Co: 1962. First printing. Hardcover in a jacket. Octavo. Shelf wear and small to midsize tears along the top and bottom of the jacket. Fold along the top of the jacket. Jacket is price clipped. Back panels have a slight toning. Bumping on the spine, heel, and corners of the boards. A few very small smudges on the text block. This is some clean text. 368 pages. Very good. 
 
The first and last book the thoughtful environmental activist needs. Carson proves again and again how pesticides, touted as technological miracles for the control of nature, were thoughtlessly used and ended up destroying not just the beauty that surrounds us but the ecosystems we are a part of and depend on for life. Carefully argued and beautifully written.  
 
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death."