Visionary Women: How Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters Changed Our World

Emerging from the restrictive cultural confines of the early 20th century, four women emerge as beacons who light the way for viewing the world with a transformed vision. Overcoming the submissive role delegated to the female sex, these four exemplary women pursued their passion with extraordinary determination and tenacious grit. Rachel Carson lyrically translated the connectivity and interdependence of all living nature into readable text and warily warned the public of the inherent dangers in pesticides. Similarly, Jane Jacobs watched as neighborhoods were uprooted and transformed into cement deserts crisscrossed by expressways. So she became an urban planner activist, calling for green communal habitats. And familiar to all of us is the iconic Jane Goodall, who without structured institutional training followed her instincts in studying the behavior of chimps. Then there is Alice Waters, who spearheaded the movement for sustainable and farm-fresh food, making her another indomitable crusader. Each of these women endured ridicule, insult, and censure, primarily from a mostly male audience and from threatened commercial interests. They all possessed a powerful verbal charisma, enabling their communication to influence their readers and enthusiasts. Andrea Barnet engagingly narrates the life history of these remarkable exemplars from the mid-1900s who are responsible for initiating the paradigm shifts from the then self-centered industrial drive to control and conquer nature.