linda lear is exactly right.at happens if you are exposed to ddt and are taking antibiotics, other drugs, what happens in your body when this mix is, does it make your antibiotics toxic and that was certainly something she asks magnificent questions and then there were other chemicals at the time, there was dieldrin -- i'm probably murdering the pronunciation -- there were some of those much more highly toxic than ddt. >> host: paul driessen and linda lear. >> guest: i agree those are far more toxic and why there are more controls on them and clearly when you mix ddt with oil because it isn't soluble in water you exit -- it was busted as a powder troops and holocaust survivors so you are right. when it's mixed with leal id is absorbed more into the skin but even then there have never been a single study that conclusively shows any carcinogenic effect or other toxic effect on human beings that doesn't say that there is not an impact on some species and the environment generally the certainly with all of the other

we are also adorned by linda lear in charleston, south carolina who is rachel carson's biographer. herbal is called rachel carson, witness for nature. she has written an introduction to the new addition of "silent spring" that came out in 2009. what got you interested in rachel carson? >> i was teaching environmental history at the university level and when we got to talking about "silent spring" in 1962 my students looked at me and said rachel who? and i thought oh my, we have to do something about this. i set about trying to write the biography which had never been done. >> this is a call in program. 202 is the area code if you live in eastern central 0 time zone. seven 370002 in the mountain pacific time zone. send us an e-mail or a fleet at booktv@twitter.com. was a best seller when it came out in 1962? >> it was a blockbuster. it had been serialized in the new yorker magazine beginning in june and it was nothing but a -- anything but silent summer. it was already a best-seller. john f. kennedy helped a lot to call attention to rachel carson's ideas by commenting on the man opp

. >> paul driessen congress of racial equality senior fellow and linda lear who wrote the introductione 40th anniversary edition discussed silent spring, written by scientist rachel carson. the program is an hour. >> host: paul driessen, who was rachel carson? >> guest: 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 pre

now, here's nicole. >> linda lear is the author of the biography rachel cars: witness for nature. ms. lear wrote the introduction to the 40th anniversary edition of "silent spring." 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