First published 2022
Douglas Brinkley examines the birth of American environmental activism from 1960 to 1973. The historian traces how a generation of activists transformed public consciousness after decades of unchecked industrial growth poisoned air, water, and soil. Following World War II, America's economic boom brought widespread pollution that devastated ecosystems and harmed public health, particularly in poor communities. Brinkley shows how figures like David Brower, Stewart Udall, and William O. Douglas began fighting for wilderness protection in the Kennedy years. The movement gained momentum when Rachel Carson's Silent Spring exposed DDT's dangers in 1962, spurring JFK to federal action. Environmental justice advocates including Barry Commoner, Coretta Scott King, Ralph Nader, and Cesar Chavez pushed for stronger protections. Their efforts culminated in major legislation under Johnson and Nixon, leading to the first Earth Day in 1970. Brinkley documents this transformation through meticulous research, offering readers insight into grassroots organizing that created lasting change and lessons for today's climate challenges.
Genres: history, 20th-century, environment, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, activism, american-history
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction, social-change
Setting: America, United States
Period: 1960s, 1970s, Post-World War II
896 pages · Hardcover · Harper