"An important, controversial account...of the way in which man's use of poisons to control insect pests and unwanted vegitation is changing the balance of nature." Booklist.

"First printing"-- T.p. verso.

A fable for tomorrow -- The obligation to endure -- Elixirs of death -- Surface waters and underground seas -- Realms of the soil -- Earth's green mantle -- Needless havoc -- And no birds sing -- Rivers of death -- Indiscriminately from the skies -- Beyond the dreams of the Borgias -- The human price -- Through a narrow window -- One in every four -- Nature fights back -- Rumblings of an avalanche -- Other road.