Introduction: The age of wreckers and exterminators -- Rachel Carson -- Jane Jacobs -- Jane Goodall -- Alice Waters -- Hope in the shadows

This is the story of four visionaries who profoundly shaped the world we live in today. Together, these women showed what one person speaking truth to power can do. With a keen eye for historical detail, Andrea Barnet traces the arc of each woman's career and explores how their work collectively changed the course of history. Consummate outsiders, each prevailed against powerful and mostly male adversaries while also anticipating the disaffections of the emerging counterculture

"Change is sometimes sparked by unexpected figures--outsiders whose clarity of vision and strength of purpose can catalyze a revolution. This is the story of four renegades who profoundly shaped the world we live in today. Together, these women--linked not by friendship or field, but by their choice to break with convention--showed what one person speaking truth to power can do. Rachel Carson warned us about poisoning the environment; Jane Jacobs fought for livable cities and strong communities; Jane Goodall demonstrated the indelible kinship between humans and animals; and Alice Waters urged us to reconsider what and how we eat. With a keen eye for detail, Andrea Barnet traces the arc of each woman's career and explores how the work of these visionaries collectively changed the course of history. While they came from different generations, Carson, Jacobs, Goodall, and Waters found their voices in the early sixties. At a time of enormous upheaval, all four stood as bulwarks against 1950s corporate culture and its war on nature. Consummate outsiders, they each prevailed against powerful and mostly male adversaries while also anticipating the disaffections of the emerging counterculture. All told, their efforts ignited a transformative progressive movement while offering people a new way to think about the world and a more positive way of living in it."--Dust jacket