The true story of the theatrical Scopes Monkey Trial, when a science teacher was taken to court for teaching evolution.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

What should kids be allowed to learn in school—and who should decide?

In 1925, when a Tennessee statute banned the teaching of evolution in public schools, teacher John Scopes volunteered to be arrested to challenge the law. Thus began a gripping circus of a legal battle. The lawyers William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow faced off in defense of two different books—the Christian Bible and Charles Darwin's groundbreaking On the Origin of Species—in a debate over creationism and Darwinism.

One hundred years after the Scopes Monkey Trial, discover what happened and why it matters. For a nation still at odds over the scope and role of public-school education, this important narrative nonfiction book delivers a perceptive examination of our history and illuminates the challenges we face today.