‘The subject of man’s relationship to his environment is one that has been uppermost in my own thoughts for many years.’

Rachel Carson’s enduring fame was secured by the publication of just four books: her trilogy about the sea and Silent Spring. This collection of her previously unpublished and lesser-known writing gives a more personal picture of Carson’s evolution as an environmental thinker. Here are both her public and private voice, bringing together youthful writing, essays, field journals, speeches, articles and letters. Lost Woods reveals her developing awareness of the fragility of the natural world and our impact on it, and of her campaign, ultimately successful, to bring international attention to the breadth of the challenges facing us. That we are finally becoming aware of the environmental emergency is thanks in no small part to Carson’s prescient call to alarm.