Scan barcode
A review by mcreed06
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion by Edward J. Larson
4.0
Fabulous book; I finished Summer for the Gods with a plan to travel to Dayton, Tennessee for the 100th Anniversary of the Scopes Trial. Surely, the city will recognize this significant event with a reenactment. Now, that, I want to see. July 2025 is five years away, but the Lord Willing and the Creek don't rise, I will be there.
When I stated my goal to read every book of 3B Book Club, Melissa turned to me and said, "There are some that I thought I should warn you about.." I responded that I was slowly but surely reading my way through Personal History, a 600-plus-page, tediously-written autobiography written in the tiniest font. Melissa said, "That was one of them."
Summer of the Gods was likely another one that she would have flagged. It was written by a Scholar for dedicated readers of History and Law. As with Personal History, I am so glad I read it. Knowledge of this piece of U.S. History, especially the origins of the ACLU, is uplifting.
It is quintessential America that two men of opposing ideologies, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, could cordially greet each other in a court of law to challenge the other’s worldview. Yes, one was likely an arrogant jerk, and the other an insufferable Bible Thumper but both were well-meaning men who stood up for their principles with courage. Each in his own unique way steered the course of U.S. History.
When I stated my goal to read every book of 3B Book Club, Melissa turned to me and said, "There are some that I thought I should warn you about.." I responded that I was slowly but surely reading my way through Personal History, a 600-plus-page, tediously-written autobiography written in the tiniest font. Melissa said, "That was one of them."
Summer of the Gods was likely another one that she would have flagged. It was written by a Scholar for dedicated readers of History and Law. As with Personal History, I am so glad I read it. Knowledge of this piece of U.S. History, especially the origins of the ACLU, is uplifting.
It is quintessential America that two men of opposing ideologies, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, could cordially greet each other in a court of law to challenge the other’s worldview. Yes, one was likely an arrogant jerk, and the other an insufferable Bible Thumper but both were well-meaning men who stood up for their principles with courage. Each in his own unique way steered the course of U.S. History.