Kenneth G. Hanna

A complete transcript of the famous Dayton face-off between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. This was interesting reading, though at times a bit of a slog with all the legaleses, but that was extremely important to sort out the dynamics of this case. Since this case still resounds today, and since the issues are still being debated, this is a truly important work. It is also interesting to get the picture of just what people thought evolution was (including evolutionists) in that time. Many of the speeches on the prosecution side read like sermons; on the defense side, like college lectures. It was easy to see through the course of this why Darrow finally got so frustrated that he popped off the comment that got him cited for contempt of court. Just reading it was an exercise n frustration as lawyers harangued and accused and challenged everything the defense attempted. This should be required reading for every lawyer and scientist, because the issues being argued by the prosecution are nearly identical to the arguments being made today in numerous legislatures around the country where lawmakers who are ignorant of both science and the Bible (as were most of the principals in this case) are being asked to pass laws deciding what will (or won't) be taught in our science classes.… (altro)