   | Monkey trial : John Scopes and the battle over teaching evolution Author: Sanchez, Anita | |
| Price: $23.98 | ||
Summary:
Vividly captures the passion, personalities, and pageantry of the infamous "Monkey Trial," highlighting the quiet dignity of a teacher who stood up for his right to teach students about evolution.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (12/01/22)
School Library Journal (+) (03/01/23)
Booklist (02/15/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/01/2023 This is an especially accessible account of the 1925 Scopes affair, when a high-school biology teacher was found guilty of teaching evolution, a crime in Tennessee. The trial blew up into a sensational national news story, pitting revered political hero and Christian fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan against celebrity lawyer and rumored atheist Clarence Darrow. Readers will find extensive background information, including full-page replications of textbook pages, passages from Genesis, letters, newspaper headlines, and editorials; detailed explanations of period-media resources (newspapers, radio broadcasts, newsreels); and coverage of how the event was covered in the fully segregated African American press. The action is described in scrupulous detail, helping readers visualize the packed, smelly, sweltering courthouse and appreciate the impact of the passionate speeches and charged testimony. Archival photos appear every few pages; back matter includes a glossary, a time line, source notes, and a bibliography. The epilogue emphasizes that teaching evolution is still contested today, and links anti-evolutionists to other science deniers, including anti-vaxxers and climate-change disbelievers. This is a thoughtful, balanced, and very contemporary book. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
Booklist - 02/15/2023 This is an especially accessible account of the 1925 Scopes affair, when a high-school biology teacher was found guilty of teaching evolution, a crime in Tennessee. The trial blew up into a sensational national news story, pitting revered political hero and Christian fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan against celebrity lawyer and rumored atheist Clarence Darrow. Readers will find extensive background information, including full-page replications of textbook pages, passages from Genesis, letters, newspaper headlines, and editorials; detailed explanations of period-media resources (newspapers, radio broadcasts, newsreels); and coverage of how the event was covered in the fully segregated African American press. The action is described in scrupulous detail, helping readers visualize the packed, smelly, sweltering courthouse and appreciate the impact of the passionate speeches and charged testimony. Archival photos appear every few pages; back matter includes a glossary, a time line, source notes, and a bibliography. The epilogue emphasizes that teaching evolution is still contested today, and links anti-evolutionists to other science deniers, including anti-vaxxers and climate-change disbelievers. This is a thoughtful, balanced, and very contemporary book. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
