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In 1925 the Scopes Monkey Trial became a turning point in American history, culture, education, and religion. Unfortunately, the facts of the trial have never before been fully and fairly reported—until now. MONKEY BUSINESS revisits the evolution vs. creation scene and finds a surprising amount of details never reported.
John Scopes never taught evolution but he was actually an athletic coach and math teacher. Evolution has been included in text books since 1969. John Butler was not against evolution but also wanted creationism taught. And finally, evolution icon Charles Darwin did not condemn creationism.
The story starts out giving a lot of detail about the mining history in Eastern Tennessee and about the boom years and the years when a lot of fatalities threatened the economics of the area. At first, I couldn’t figure out where the story was going. What does mining have to do with evolution vs. creation? But as I continued reading, the link became more clear. MONKEY BUSINESS explains how to the reader how John Scopes and the other players became involved in the trial.
Historians and Religious leaders will be interested in reading MONKEY BUSINESS so they will be able to learn the untold story. Even though I am neither of the above, I found the book fascinating. I enjoyed learning about all the events leading up to this trial. I couldn’t find anything negative to say about the book. It is well-written, the authors seemed knowledgeable, and the facts were presented in a readable fashion.
Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton
for The Road to Romance
August 25, 2005
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