Paul Brooks (author)

Paul Brooks (1909–1998) was a nature writer, book editor, and environmentalist.[1]

Born in New York City, Paul Brooks received in 1931 his bachelor's degree from Harvard University, where he was the editor of the Harvard Lampoon.[1] Soon after graduation, he became an employee at the publishing company Houghton Mifflin in Boston and remained with the company for 40 years. He was editor-in-chief of Houghton Mifflin's General Book Department from 1943 until his retirement in 1969. He wrote Two Park Street: A Publishing Memoir, containing anecdotes about his experiences editing the works of Rachel Carson, Roger Tory Peterson, Winston Churchill, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and James Agee, among others.[2] Paul Brooks suggested the title Silent Spring for Rachel Carson's famous book.[3]

In addition to his career as an editor, Brooks was also a prolific author of books and articles. He won the 1965 John Burroughs Medal for his 1964 book Roadless Area.

A passionate environmental activist, Brooks traveled extensively with his wife, Susan (Susie), and took leadership roles in numerous organizations, such as the Sierra Club and Massachusetts Audubon Society. He was asked to lecture all over the United States throughout his career.[1]

Books
  • Roadless Area. New York: Knopf. 1964; 259 pages[4]
  • The Pursuit of Wilderness. Houghton Mifflin. 1971; 220 pages[5][6]
  • The House of Life: Rachel Carson at Work. Boston: G. K. Hall. 1972.[7][8]
  • The View from Lincoln Hill: Man and the Land in a New England Town. Houghton Mifflin. 1976; 273 pages[9]
  • Speaking for Nature: How Literary Naturalists from Henry Thoreau to Rachel Carson Have Shaped America. Houghton Mifflin. 1980.[10][11]
  • The Old Manse and the People Who Lived There. Trustees of Reservations, The Old Manse, Concord, Massachusetts. 1983.
  • Two Park Street: a Publishing Memoir. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1986; 157 pages[12]
  • The People of Concord: One Year in the Flowering of New England. Chester, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. 1990. Brooks, Paul (2014). Dover reprint. ISBN 9780486781433; pbk, 304 pages

References
  1. "Paul Brooks papers, 10 April 1852 - 12 December 1998, The Paul Brooks Collection". The Walden Woods Project (walden.org); collection processed, December 2014, by Chloe Morse-Harding
  2. "Review of Two Park Street by Paul Brooks". Publishers Weekly. 1 December 1986.
  3. Waddell, Craig, ed. (2000). And No Birds Sing: Rhetorical Analyses of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Southern Illinois University Press. pp. xv–xvi. ISBN 9780809322183.
  4. "Review of Roadless Area by Paul Brooks". Kirkus Reviews.
  5. Smith, Anthony (January 1972). "Review of The Pursuit of Wilderness, by Paul Brooks". Oryx. 11 (4): 288. doi:10.1017/s0030605300010139.
  6. "Review of The Pursuit of Wilderness by Paul Brooks". Kirkus Reviews. 17 May 1971.
  7. Johnson, Josephine (30 April 1972). "Review of The House of Life: Rachel Carson at Work by Paul Brooks". NY Times.
  8. "Review of The House of Life: Rachel Carson at Work by Paul Brooks". Kirkus Reviews. 13 March 1972.
  9. "Review of The View from Lincoln Hill: Man and the Land in a New England Town by Paul Brooks". Kirkus Reviews. 6 August 1976.
  10. Lillard, Richard G. (1 April 1981). "Review of Speaking for Nature: How Literary Naturalists from Henry Thoreau to Rachel Carson Have Shaped America by Paul Brooks". Forest & Conservation History. 25 (2): 109–110. doi:10.2307/4004551. JSTOR 4004551.
  11. "Review of Speaking for Nature: How Literary Naturalists from Henry Thoreau to Rachel Carson Have Shaped America by Paul Brooks". Kirkus Reviews. 23 October 1980.
  12. Basbanes, Nicholas A. (December 1987). "Review of Two Park Street: A Publishing Memoir by Paul Brooks". The New England Journal. 60 (4): 646–648. doi:10.2307/365433. JSTOR 365433.
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