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Title: Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion by Edward J. Larson ISBN: 0-674-85429-2 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: September, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (42 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Good book, but favors humanistic view
Comment: Sadly, it is only too true that in modern-day America, to get a truly lucid view of facts and history one often has to look to secular scholars. In the past many of the greatest works, in any sphere of life or calling, were authored by men of biblical faith. For example, Issac Newton, a prolific writer on matters of science (and acknowledged as the greatest scientist who ever lived) actually devoted more words to commentary on the Bible. Therefore if one desires a truly comprehensive and fairly accurate account of the "Trial of the Century", this is a good book. No question about it.
Nevertheless one must be prepared for the subtle bias throughout this work, in favor of the pro-humanist, pro-evolution cabal. For example this book contains a full-page photograph of Clarence Darrow (who was, after all, only a lawyer) and no photograph at all of William Jennings Bryan, who was one of the greatest statesman (regardless of one's opinion of the man) of his time.
Dr. Larson correctly points out that the trial was part of the struggle between a "majoritarian" vs. "individual rights" interpretation of our constitution. The indivdual rights interpretation is dominant today, but that doesn't necessarily make it right. You wouldn't know that from reading this book.
As I write this review I have on my desk the results of an ABC News poll, released 02/15/04, that demonstrated 61% of all Americans believe God created the world in six literal 24-hour days. Read this book for a good and accurate account of the Scopes trial but don't be lured in by Mr. Larson's patronizing insinuations that any American who believes in the Biblical account of creation is not only half-witted, but in the minority. Facts (like those revealed in the ABC poll) are troublesome things Dr. Larson.
Rating: 4
Summary: History as Myth, a careful reinterpretation
Comment: I come to the book as part of a self-directed study of the issues involved in the creation-evolution-design debate(CED). I deeply enjoy history and appreciate good historical writing. This book is such good, informative history. The author is a careful, balanced, objective-striving historian, and i like his writing. His intention is to dissipate the myths that have grown up around the Scopes trial via a careful reinterpretation of the events and personalities that were involved. To a very great extent he does so. My only sadness in reading the book is that it reaffirms my belief that very little has changed in the conservative/fundamentalist community since the trial, an unfortunate problem. For i continually hear the exact same arguments on the discussion boards, it seems no one is listening to books like this.
W.J.Bryan and C.Darrow are the primary characters involved in the trial. Their polarization of the issues as between religion and godless atheism on Bryan's part, and between science as reason and fundamentalism as unthinking faith are exactly the polarizing demands from their respective successors today. The real issues (like one line in the book pointed to epistemology), the problem of taking past each other, the radical 'emptying' of any compromise positions, these are still the issues people fight about. If you are interested in these things this book will be a gentle introduction to the historical and continuing character of them.
The book is history, it doesnt try to answer these perennial questions, but rather is trying to clear the field of misconceptions as in the movie "Inherit the Wind". It has places that if the author had desired to could have been jumping off points for extended discussions, as in the introduction of the theistic evolutionist as expert witnesses. But this was not followed up, as it was not the author's intention to move past the history towards solutions, sadly for i think his ideas and research could help here. Maybe that is another book for him.
One real strength is the presentation of the trial as politically contrived, for the purpose of bringing people and money to Dayton. Contrived as a platform for the presentation of ideas or the playing to the crowd. I ended up with a greater respect for Bryan and a lesser one for Darrow, having read what their intentions were, and how they tried to accomplish them. Bryan ends up as an anomolous character, progressive in his politics, but holding to a somewhat childish faith with an inability to logically inform or express it. Sadly i feel that he died before he could begin to learn for the experiences of the trial and grow as a result of the troubles he had.
It's a good book, but i dont know who to recommend it to. Perhaps a history buff, or someone who liked Inherit the Wind and wants to learn the truth of the issues. It didnt really give me a lot of details about the issues in CED that i didnt already dig up myself, but it did confirm the fundamental correctness of several things i have thought about.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Definitive Work on The Scopes Trial
Comment: This was a very good book. Having the whole fiasco narrated in such detail completely changed my impression of both the defense and the prosecution. I was surprised to learn what a jerk Clarence Darrow was - and how the ACLU kept trying to manipulate him out of the trial. Also corrected were some of my misunderstandings (and misgivings) about fundamentalism and Freethought (in the trademarked sense of the word) in the twenties and thirties.
Read this book and learn how the Scopes trial was an early pre-television episode of Reality T.V. Compared to it, "Inherit the Wind" is almost real.
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