driessen?> guest: one of the hard things to gauge in all of this is what is the difference between the effect that rachel carson had as an individual, her book had as a book and then the environmental groups especially after her death, what they did to campaign against ddt first and foremost but also other pesticides and chemicals. and that is where a lot of the what linda was talking about where the misinformation came in, rachel carson didn't call for the elimination but she did take some of her speculation beyond where the science back it up. she, for example talked about the ddt as something building huge resistance in insects at an early time when she was really talking about mosquitos for example avoiding it much as they do deet, off four other republics. that is ddt's most prominent role. it doesn't compare to what we have today that time it was the best we had and we used it profitably as linda pointed out. but it's also the most powerful appellant that has ever been developed, the most

it is paul driessen?in north carolina, you are on with linda lear and paul driessen. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. i was seven years old when rachel carson's book came out. have more comments than anything. pesticides and homicides and suicides, in my family's. an interesting thing to think about. there are too many chemicals. mountaintop removal. >> we are going to leave it there. this e-mail came from martha barkley, where you are. if you could respond i have a feeling that rachel carson's love was of the sea and her three see books. my favorite is the see around us and i wanted children to experience a sense of wonder as posthumous book states. please comment on writing being forced upon her. >> martha is certainly right that rachel didn't come looking for "silent spring" as a book to write. she was hoping to write about evolution and continue, to wonder and therefore to love the natural world and keep it because they loved it because you don't work for something you don't love. she gave up

the program is an hour. >> host: paul driessen, who was rachel carson?est: rachel carson was a scientist for fish and wildlife service department of the interior. she was an author. she was a gifted writer. i read silent spring when i was in college and read the sea around us and they captivated me. she is ms murray sing writer and she is able to take scientific, dry scientific information and put it in vibrant colorful words that captivate you. >> host: what was she well-known before silent spring came out in 1952? guest though she had the sea around us, which was a pretty big seller. that is what got me interested in marine biology and scuba diving and things like that. >> host: that was published in the 50s? >> guest: i believe so. i should have checked before i came on but i'm quite sure of that. >> host: what was the impact of silent spring in 1962 when it came out? >> guest: it was a pretty serious impact. it touched on a lot of things that have been on peoples minds. it created alarms. if presented in a poetic way and an alarming way what might he

paul driessen is a senior fellow with both the committee for constructive tomorrow and the congress of racial equality. he has worked as a staffer with the u.s. senate and the interior department. for more information, visit lindalear.com and eco-imperialism.com. >> up next, reporter, documentary film correspondent and author t.r. reid joins booktv for a three-hour "in depth" interview. you've written by healthcare, international relations, ski resorts, the roman empire. how do you choose your topics? >> guest: well, partly -- i guess what i write for money. dr. johnson famously said no man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. i don't even succeed. some of my books have really flopped but -- i try to find a topic that looks complicated but can be penetrated with some work. and then i try to explain it in an engaging, understandable way. it's hard work. but that's what i try to do. i try to find something where people say, oh, god i'll never figure how the how a calculator can add 2 plus 2. and that's what i explain to people. that's what i'm looking for. >> host: what book has