De resonantie van een stille lente: Nederlandse en Vlaamse persstemmen over Rachel Carsons 'Silent Spring' (1962-1963)

This article analyses the reception of Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' (1962) in Dutch and Flemish popular periodicals. To date it has been commonly assumed that the journalistic reception of 'Silent Spring' in the Low Countries was largely favourable, thus familiar to its reception in the United States. This assumption is examined in this article for the first time. This way, it becomes clear that not all Dutch reviewers greeted 'Silent Spring' with praise. Some were even highly critical of Carson's attack on the prevailing faith in technological progress. In Flanders, the topic of pesticide use was linked to a controversy concerning the practice of fowling, which - like DDT - had a negative impact on the wild bird population. This controversy was also linked to the side effects of other chemicals, such as medicines and food additives.