The Scopes Trial (Famous Trials Series)

Grade 6-9. This series entry presents the "trial of the century" in a readable format with interesting archival photographs and useful sidebars. Beginning with an introduction to Charles Darwin, his theory of evolution, and events leading up to the trial, the bulk of this book details the conflict between prosecutor William Jennings Bryan and defense attorney Clarence Darrow. However, Nardo's account is clearly biased against Bryan and Christian fundamentalists and portrays Darrow as a craggy old truth-seeking saint a la Spencer Tracy. The courtroom sequences read as if based more on Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's famous drama Inherit the Wind than on the "actual court transcripts." Praising the 1955 play in his notes, Nardo writes that the authors "retained the essence of the proceeding, including close paraphrases of many of the lines from the actual court transcripts." However, Lawrence and Lee claim that only a "handful of phrases have been taken from the actual transcript." Who do we believe, and what does this tell us about Nardo's research? If you've already got Tom McGowen's The Great Monkey Trial (Watts, 1990; o.p.) or L. Sprague DeCamp's Great Monkey Trial (Doubleday, 1968; o.p.), you don't need this volume.?Herman Sutter, St. Pius X High School, Houston, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 6^-10. Often called the Great Monkey Trial, the 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, is probably best known for the showdown between two great orators, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. The book traces the history of the trial: the publication of Darwin's Origin of the Species and the rise of fundamentalism, the legal events leading up to the trial, and the infamous trial itself. The narrative is initially confusing regarding the motives and allegiances of the men who conspired to test the law that prohibited the teaching of evolution, but the text is engaging enough to overcome the muddy beginning. Sidebars ably provide detailed information about certain aspects of the trial without interrupting the flow of the text. This useful if rather dull-looking entry in the Famous Trials series ends with a look at the historical legacy of the case. Illustrated with black-and-white photos. An annotated bibliography and a list of works consulted are appended. Julie Corsaro