Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion

By Edward J. Larson

Book Overview

Pairing archival material from both the Bryan prosecution and the Darrow defence, this text provides an historical and legal analysis in its interpretation of a pivotal event in American history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674854292
• ISBN13: 9780674854291
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

"...A trivial thing full of humbuggery and hyprocrisy"

The 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 was merely thespian. One of the most insightful stories that Larson relates is when the team of ACLU defense lawyers arrived in Dayton for trial preparation, a young man started to help them with their luggage out of the trunk. One of the lawyers shouted: "Hey boy, what are you doing with those suitcases!" Little did the lawyer know that that boy was John Scopes, the teacher that was charged with teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school. As Larson writes: "The defenders, along with everyone else, had forgotten the defendant." The author writes in this great concise book that the Scopes Monkey trial was less about Scopes, Darrow or Bryan and more about emerging fundamentalism versus a growing American concern of individual rights and liberties. As such, Dayton and John Scopes were essentially bit players in a staged battle between forces that still determine how Americans feel and think to this day. Not only does Larson concern himself with the broader sociological effects of the trial, he also talks about the ACLU's and the prosecutions trial strategy, which, as a lawyer, I found fascinating. Contemporary history has interpreted the Scopes Trial as the high water mark of Fundamentalism, being that the Butler Act and other similar legislation has been struck down as unconstitutional. "Summer" makes this very plain that this in fact was the opening salvo in the Fundamentalist battle and not the death throes. It is not a stretch to argue that the beginnings of the Mega-Church and the Fundamentalist college movement began in Dayton in 1925. Thus, as H.L. Mencken wrote that year: the fundamentalists and "Bryan started something that it will not be easy to stop."

Balanced and accurate account of Monkey Trial

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. He begins with Darwin and the Origin of Species and lays out how it developed into a controversy in the States. He also introduces to us all the major players involved in the case. He does not simply bring the players in for the trial, but helps us to understand who they are with their background information. He does a very good job of helping the readers grasp the agendas as well as emotions and agendas that each players brought to the trials. He has made me understand the Scopes trial in a much better light.In 1925, Tennessee passed a law banning the teaching of human evolution in public schools. The ACLU quickly jumped in with their agenda of individual freedom. Dayton jumped in with getting their name placed on the map. Bryan got involved with majoritarianism and Christian fundamentalism. The scientists got involved with academic freedom. Darrow got involved with ridding America of bigots. Scopes got caught in the middle of all this. In the end, Larson writes that both sides achieved moral victory.In the last section of his book, Larson covers the legacy and the legend of Scopes trial in the American cultural scene. He clearly lays out that Only Yesterday and Inherit the Wind provided false impression of the Scopes trial on the minds of American public for over half a century. However, he states that it was not only Broadway that added to the false impression but also both historians and academians who further fueled the false impression of the Scopes trial. He states that it is these false impressions that have contributed to the ongoing culture war between science and religion.No historian or writer can be truly objective. Given that, I believe that Larson has written an objective account of the Scopes trial as is possible. I did not get the feeling that he was writing for or against either side. If Larson had an agenda or a bias in writing this book, it appeared to me that he wanted to put out a more balanced account of the Scopes trial than the one proposed by Only Yesterday and Inherit the Wind (although I personally have not seen either of the plays or screen version of them). He saw the Hollywood, the media and the academia misunderstanding the central issue of the Scopes trial from Inherit the Wind, and it appeared that he wanted to write a more accurate account of the trial. To me, it appeared that he did so. He seemed to have done an extensive research of biographies, newspaper accounts and interviews. He cites and critiques many accounts of the trial on both sides. He also crit

Proves again that the real story is always more interesting.

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 eventual impact. Mr. Larson makes the story fresh even after 74 years, and as noted earlier he takes an objective approach to all sides of the trial. In doing so, Mr. Larson corrects several historical misconceptions and William Jennings Bryan at last regains his standing as a remarkable American politician. The narrative is crisp and never bogs down the story. I highly recommend this book.