Well-researched and well-written. I find this movement so upsetting, and some of the events in this book were occurring while I was at uni studying anthropology, researching and examining the evidence that was claimed not to exist. It's frustrating enough that I had to force myself through the beginning of the book, one slow page at a time. After a while the narrative of the story takes over and I found it interesting and compelling to read. ( )

58-- Monkey Girl Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul by Edward Humes (read 5 Apr 2023) This was published in 2007 and is an impassioned attack upon intelligent design. It looks upon Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U,S.578 (1987), as established law, and not pointing out that Scalia and Rehnquist dissented in that case and today's Supreme Court might hold the dissent was right. Who knows?

scalia and Rehnquist ( )

An interesting, readable account of the Dover, Pennsylvania "intelligent design" trial that led to ID being barred from America's science classrooms. Since I'm not particularly science-literate, I felt pretty well-served by this book. Humes walks the reader though the basics of evolutionary theory and evolution-related jurisprudence, as well as the often-strange origins of the intelligent design "movement" itself. Humes's style is pretty straightforward, sometimes verging on newspaperly, but he also knows how to build tension. The pages of "Monkey Girl" fly by as we approach Judge Jones's final ruling. As might be expected, Humes is not a "teach the controversy" kind of guy: he's not afraid to call ID ridiculous and to describe its proponents in terms that are less than kind. Still, to his credit, he takes care to humanize one of the main proponents of the Dover school board's intelligent design policy, William Buckingham, who suffered from a string of personal troubles that is likely to seem sadly familiar to many residents of rural Pennsylvania. His portraits of the teachers, parents, and lawyers on the anti-ID side of the aisle are much kinder, but they also suggest that the author is particularly adept at making people come alive on the page.

It's not a knock on "Monkey Girl" to say that it's more interested in the people and ideas surrounding Darwin's theory than it is in the nuts and bolts of evolutionary theory. It probably shouldn't be the only book you read about evolution or the difficulties facing science educators. Still, it's well-constructed and concise, and I couldn't help thinking that Humes was largely right about what most of the protagonists in this story felt was at stake in the case. He convincingly places the Kitzmiller case in a larger cultural and political context that hasn't changed all that much since the events described here took place fifteen years ago. ( )

An interesting, fact-filled exploration of the 21st century "monkey trial", in Dover, Pennsylvania. Humes presents a factual exploration of the events as they unfolded, but also goes deeper to explore the emotional responses of the local citizens. If you only want to read one book about this landmark case, this should be the one. ( )

An excellent portrayal of how creationism is taking hold on science classrooms, and why this is leading to science illiteracy ( )