Rachel Carson's book is already 46 years old, yet like her other bestseller Silent Spring it remains modern in spirit. She was one of the first writers to tackle with passion and talent the whole area of global pollution and despoliation which has now become such a moral dilemma, although it remains largely unchecked and uncontrolled. How informed a scientist she is/was I cannot say, but she diligently sought out the opinions and knowledge of many leading scientists to give body and authority to her hook. It is not all about pollution, of course; it combines oceanography, evolution, history and even a certain degree of marine biology. Rather simplistic it may be in places, but bit remains moving and absorbing, besides being as relevant environmentally as it was in 1951.