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20th Century Americas Anthropology Biology & Life Sciences Criminal Law Education Education & Reference Evolution History History & Philosophy Law Legal History Philosophy Politics & Social Sciences Science Science & Math Science & Scientists Science & Technology Social Sciences State & Local TextbooksThe Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925 combined two great American virtues: 1.) Individual Rights and 2.) The need to make a quick buck. One of the aspects of Larson's book that really comes through is how staged the whole trial was. From the initial meeting of the town fathers with Scopes to convince him to be a Defendant, to the State's decision to nolle prosse the conviction after it was overturned on a technicality, most everything...
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Edward Larson has accomplished something wonderful with this book. In only 266 pages (318 including footnotes and index), he has captured the flow of cultural issues surrounding science, education, and religion in the early twentieth century, the political goals and maneuvering of the parties involved, the actual Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee with the dénouement of the appeal, the falsifying of the events involved in...
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A very well written account of not only the historical aspect of but also the legacy of the Scopes trial. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of the book. Edward Larson writes in a style that is easy to follow and understandable. He divides the book into three sections: Before, during and after the trial. In each section he guides and lays out the historical background of the events and players involved in the Scopes trial...
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Edward Larson's "Summer for the Gods" is a masterpiece of historical writing for several reasons: Mr. Larson always maintains his objectivity; the story is set in the proper context of its times; and finally Mr. Larson devotes attention to the effect of the infamous Scopes trial. Having been raised on "Inherit the Wind," the fictional version of the trial, I was astounded to learn the truth behind the trial and of its...
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