The Monkey Trial: John Scopes and the Battle over Teaching Evolution

Highlighting the quiet dignity of a teacher who stood up for his students’ right to learn, Anita Sanchez captures the passion, personalities, and pageantry of the infamous “Monkey Trial.” When John Scopes defied Tennessee state law to teach his students about evolution in 1925, his resulting trial ignited a firestorm. A breathless international audience followed every detail, as reporters, vehement protestors, and even real monkeys mobbed the courthouse to witness the bitter argument over who controls what students learn—a fight that pitted science against religion and that continues to this day. In a compelling and meticulously researched account, Sanchez brilliantly weaves primary sources and vivid writing together to give readers new insights into the notorious trial and its ongoing implications.