During the 1950s, an unprecedented postwar economic boom took hold, but it came at a heavy cost: wilderness vanished, and wildlife perished. Looking back on the diverse assortment of people who raised awareness about these perils, Douglas Brinkley profiles biologist Rachel Carson, Sierra Club director David Brower, antinuclear activist Coretta Scott King, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, and labor organizer Cesar Chavez. Brinkley also delves into the legislative breakthroughs of the 1960s-70s, offering encouragement that we can still make progress on our environmental challenges today.