It is fitting that this book, which had its origins at Yale, has found its way back to that distinguished university. I am very grateful to a large and diverse group of scholars there including the late Frederic L. Holmes, Dan Kevles, John Wargo, John Mack Faragher, Cynthia Russett, Steven Stoll, Toby Appel, Susan Lederer, and John Warner. In addition, I deeply appreciate the assistance of many librarians at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, Yale School of Medicine, Sterling Memorial Library, and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. A fellowship from the Beinecke Library facilitated a summer of research in the Rachel Carson Papers. The following statements serve as grateful acknowledgment of permissions to publish quotations from Silent Spring. Quotations from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (Copyright © 1962 by Rachel L. Carson) are reprinted by permission of Frances Collin, Trustee, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Quotations from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (Copyright © 1962 by Rachel L. Carson, renewed 1990 by Roger Christie) are reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. I also acknowledge Magnum Photos for permission to reprint Erich Hartmann’s photograph of Rachel Carson. Additional photographs of E. M. K. Geiling, Kenneth DuBois, and John Doull appear courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. Special thanks go to Christine Coburn for providing access to these photos and to Daniel Meyer for authorizing permission to publish them.
My current university, Florida State University, has been a very conducive place to complete this study. I am particularly grateful to colleagues both current and former, including Neil Jumonville, Edward Gray, Jonathan Grant, Elna Green, Michael Ruse, Michael Creswell, Richard Mizelle, Joe Gabriel, Andrew Frank, Jennifer Koslow, Peter Garretson, Charles Upchurch, Ron Doel, Kristine Harper, Max Friedman, and Will Hanley. The History Department provided funds for travel to research sites and conferences. The Office of Sponsored Research at FSU gave me three generous awards for travel, research, and writing, including the Developing Scholar’s Award. A Grant for Scholarly Works in Biomedicine (#1G13LM009606) from the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health provided a much-needed release from teaching responsibilities to complete research and writing. With this grant, I was also able to utilize a full-year sabbatical from FSU. A small army of graduate students contributed in numerous ways to the research and editing of this book as readers and research assistants: Michael Bonura, Gary DeSantis, Elizabeth Dobson, Abraham Gibson, Samantha Muka, Darryl Myers, Samiparna Samanta, Harvey Whitney, and Chris Wilhelm.
Audiences at a wide range of conferences and workshops have responded to presentations drawn from this research. These include the American Society for Environmental History, the History of Science Society, the Rachel Carson Center in Munich, Germany, Cermes3—INSERM/CNRS, RiTME—INRA with support from the French National Research Program for Endocrine Disruptors, the Agricultural History Society, Department of Biology at Washington University, Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University, and the College of Life Sciences at University of Missouri. Conversations with authorities too numerous to list have shaped my thinking about pesticides and toxicology as well as Silent Spring. This is a partial list: Roland Clement, John Doull, Linda Lear, Mark Lytle, Michelle Mart, Gary Mormino, and Richard Pough.
Numerous erudite scholars read versions of the manuscript or sections thereof. I am very grateful for the detailed comments of Mark Barrow, Mark Borello, David Hecht, Frederic Holmes, Dan Kevles, Nancy Langston, Michael Ruse, John Wargo, and Judith and Dan Davis, as well as anonymous reviewers. I hasten to note that any remaining errors of fact or judgment are mine alone. At Yale University Press, I thank Jean Thomson Black, Samantha Ostrowski, and Eliza Childs.
Family and friends have supported me in countless way. Again, I am grateful to my sister and brothers and their families. The imminent birth of my son Spenser Lake Davis provided the impetus to finish the first draft, and in what seems like the blink of an eye, I can discuss the book with him in detail. Spenser also devised the most alliterative suggested title. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for my parents. Better than any other source, my father’s boyhood recollections captured the wonder of DDT to millions of American farmers, and my mother shared her love of environmental literature. My parents have always supported and shared my passion for birds and the environment. I cherish our collective memories of many spring mornings spent in search of warblers and other migratory birds. Here’s to next spring, Mom, Dad, and Spenser!