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Summer of the Gods: Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion
 
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Summer of the Gods: Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (Hardcover)

by Edward J. Larson (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Basic Books; New edition edition (Jun 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0465075096
  • ISBN-13: 978-0465075096
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,329,980 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

For the first time in forty years, and including never-before-published archival material, here is a provocative new look at the notorious Scopes Trial, the case that sparked a debate over teaching evolution that continues to rage even today. The author of Trial and Error presents the first modern history of the Scopes Trial, not only skillfully narrating the trials events, but also framing it in a broader social context, showing how its influence has cut across religious, cultural, educational, and political lines. }In the summer of 1925, the sleepy hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the unlikely setting of one of our centurys most contentious dramas: the Scopes trial and the debate over science, religion, and their place in public education. This trial of the century not only cast Dayton into the national spotlight, it epitomized Americas ongoing struggle between individual liberty and majoritarian democracy. Now, with this authoritative and engaging book, Edward J. Larson examines the many facets of the Scopes trial and shows how its enduring legacy has crossed religious, cultural, educational, and political lines.The Monkey Trial, as it was playfully nicknamed, was instigated by the American Civil Liberties Union to challenge a controversial Tennessee law banning the teaching of human evolution in public schools. The Tennessee statute represented the first major victory for an intense national campaign against Darwinism, launched in the 1920s by Protestant fundamentalists and led by the famed politician and orator William Jennings Bryan. At the behest of the ACLU, a teacher named John Scopes agreed to challenge the statute, and what resulted was a trial of mythic proportions. Bryan joined the prosecutors and acclaimed criminal attorney Clarence Darrow led the defensea dramatic legal matchup that spurred enormous media attention and later inspired the classic play Inherit the Wind. The Scopes trial marked a watershed in our national discussion of science and religion. In addition to symbolizing the clash between evolutionists and creationists, the trial helped shape the development of both popular religion and constitutional law in America, serving as a precedent for more recent legal and political battles. With new archival material from both the prosecution and the defense, paired with Larsons keen historical and legal analysis, Summer for the Gods is poised to become a new classic on a pivotal milestone in American history. }

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Summer of the Gods: Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion
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Summer of the Gods: Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion 4.8 out of 5 stars (13)
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Larson succinctly captures the momentous issues "Scopes", 1 Dec 1998
By A Customer
Edward Larson's Summer for the Gods not only gives an excellent summary of the Scopes Trial, but also provides valuable and original insights on the meaning of the trial. In doing an undergraduate paper in the fall of 1996 on the topic and its place in the history of fundamentalism, I would have loved to have had Larson's work. Its fairness, thoroughness, and "readability" exceed any of the sources that were available to me. I also lament that I purchased and read Summer for the Gods AFTER I taught the Scopes Trial to my United States History class. His chapter on "Retelling the tale", in which he critiques the most popular accounts of the trial, would have strongly reinforced my dubunking of the Inherit the Wind myth that many of my students brought with them from American Literature. Though far from an expert on the Scopes Trial, I know enough to know that Larson's work is to be recommended to historians, all educators, and anyone who appreciates well-written history.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars No more monkeying with history, 30 Mar 1999
By A Customer
It's one of the defining scenes of our century. The young science teacher, John Scopes, is chased from his class by a rabid bunch of anti-evolutionists. He's thrown in jail and a show trial is set up to punish him. Then Clarence Darrow arrives ... the white knight for science and rationalism. In a brilliant oration he destroys the older fundamentalist, William Jennings Bryan, exposing him as a fool and winning the case, making the world free for evolution. One small problem.

The truth is nothing like that happy story. What you're thinking of is the plot of Inheirit the Wind, a second-rate movie that used the Scopes trial to dramatize the McCarthy hearings. Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelley weren't in Dayton for the trial, and what really happened was far from black and white.

But in the hands of Edward Larson, it's also far more interesting. Larson's book, Summer for the Gods is a brialliantly reasoned look at what led to the trial, the trial itself, and its continuing impact on society. (Okay, on American society ... but it's still interesting.) Larson manages a tremendously difficult task: he manages to be unbiased and dispassionate without becoming dull. And he walks the line masterfully. There were times when I couldn't honestly say whose "side" Larson was on ... which is kind of the point. I read a lot of history, and it's very seldom I come across something that's so even-handed. Which would be a triumph in itself, even if it weren't so darn readable. For the rest of the review, visit my web page at exn.net/printedmatter

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Was Expecting, 14 Jan 2008
By Mr. J. Hudson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (Paperback)
I was looking for a book to educate me on the Scope's Monkey Trial but I didn't want to have to read a lot of books to understand the subject. I read all the UK and US Amazon reviews and was surprised how few books were given good reviews by the public. Despite reading all the reviews, I found this book was nothing like what I was expecting. The author gives a thorough introduction to the subject such that when he finally reaches the trial; you have a thorough understanding of what is happening and why. What I found strange was that the author treats the trial as a nonentity and consequently skips through it in a very superficial way; when you read the book you understand why. The text is laboriously detailed in places which I found made it difficult to hold my concentration. The book is very educational , very enjoyable to read despite the immense detail in places. To be completely fair to the book, it is not really about the Scope's Monkey Trial; it is about the American culture clash between the religious fundamentalists and the liberal educational establishment. For non-Americans it is an introduction to another facet to the complex religious bigotry which is rife in America to this day. When America was an English/British colony, they took guidance from the mother country. When they separated , they seem to have retreated in their shell and are an insight into English religious bigotry in the middle ages. We all know how pig-headed the English religious establishment was in the middle ages; this book paints these American fundamentalists as identical. Despite the attempts to play down the importance of religious fundamentalist anti-evolution beliefs in America; it is clear that it still accounts for about 40% of the population. It is astonishing to realise that America parades itself around the world condemning religious fundamentalism and yet is unable to control or solve the problem within its own borders. The book makes no attempt to cover the subject of Darwin's Origin of the Species; although I don't think you have to read it to understand this book. I would strongly recommend this book to non-Americans as an insight into the character of the American religious fundamentalists (in every other country; these people are called fanatics ) but also as an aid to understanding the American character in general.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A saddening account of how our society is controlled
This book is a good account of a historical event but, more importantly, provides some insights into the very essence of the strongest force that shape the American society:... Read more
Published on 27 Jul 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book-Well Written-Very Intelligent
This is a short review. This is an excellent book. It is smart and entertaining. It is a critical look at the importance of this event in the history of the United States... Read more
Published on 8 April 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars No more monkeying with history
It's one of the defining scenes of our century. The young science teacher, John Scopes, is chased from his class by a rabid bunch of anti-evolutionists. Read more
Published on 30 Mar 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars a great book dealing with a hot topic in american society
As a school teacher, I understand the flack concerning the teaching of evolution in the schools. Larson does a terrific job in covering all aspects of the trial and eliminates... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars A lively and timely account of the Scopes Trial
Like many of my generation, I learned of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial through the Lawrence and Lee play, "Inherit the Wind." Edward J. Read more
Published on 16 Nov 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Timely
What get's lost in reading about this case and discussing its absurdities is the timeliness of the subject matter. Read more
Published on 22 Sep 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a "Law and Order" episode, except with no girls
Being young and familiar only with recent education issues, I'd assumed that anti-evolution folks were always hard-right conservatives and that pro-evolution folks were always... Read more
Published on 7 Jul 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars "Mr. Deeds Meets Jerry Falwell" - NOT
Titled to suggest "Mr. Deeds Meets Jerry Falwell", this history is really a fulcrum to leverage issues as diverse as the services performed by the ACLU and the... Read more
Published on 16 May 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written and insightful
The Scopes trial has become mythical; Larson demonstrates the difference between myth and reality. The book is well-written, insightful, and well researched, drawing on obscure... Read more
Published on 12 May 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars thoughtful treatment of the issues in the Scopes trial.
If your knowledge of the famous Scopes "monkey " trial is based on the movie, " Inherit the Wind", be ready for some debunking of the misconceptions engendered... Read more
Published on 20 Jan 1998

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