Fine account of a landmark case - Rated 
The "Monkey Girl" in the title is one of the victims of the gross ignorance enacted by the Dover (Pennsylvania) Board of Education in 2005 as its majority members tried to slip creationism into the science classroom. She was a student who was made fun of because her parents accepted the empirical truth of biological evolution. It's an apt title for this very readable account of the Kitzmiller v. Dover "second Scopes trial" that ended in a victory for proponents of evolution. It's appropriate because ad hominem attacks, non sequiturs, and outright stupidity are characteristic of the style practiced by the parents of children who call others "monkeys."
Edward Humes made his reputation as a true crime writer. He has now branched out into other fields, and I am very glad he has. He brings rare reportorial skills and great energy to any subject or event he writes about. He writes clearly and without any phony humbug, and he does his research. And he is admirably fair.
However, it's hard to say just how "fair" this account may seem to those who believe in Intelligent Design or creationism or, for that matter, in the literal interpretation of the Bible. The plain fact is that ID is not science, and a literal interpretation of much of the Bible is blatantly false in a scientific sense. Furthermore, although it is difficult to say nice things about True Believers in this sorry context, amazingly enough Humes does just that. Even though the real instigator of this embarrassment to the Dover school district, onetime Board President Bill Buckingham, revealed himself as someone who would (and did) lie under oath, who is grossly ignorant about matters of science and faith, who doesn't play fair and bullies people--Humes nonetheless describes him in a way that elicits sympathy for him.
One does not however feel sympathy for the Discovery Institute with its Intelligent Design Trojan horse "wedge strategy" with which it hopes to replace science in the classroom and ultimately, as Humes has it, win America's soul. Such people are playing for power. They want control. They want to replace the scientific method with appeals to authority for whom they hope to speak. They want to put God in charge so that they, as those who are in a position to speak for God, have the power and the authority. They are like Pat Robertson and his ilk who believe that any lie (and ID is a lie) is okay if it is done in the name of God.
Humes not only covers the Dover trial in depth but he gives the historical context in which it occurred as well as information about previous trials covering similar circumstances, including the famous Scopes trial and the precedent setting Edwards case from 1987 in which the Court ruled that creationism is religion and cannot be taught in the public schools. This is the case that got the Discovery Institute and others to come up with ID to further their anti-evolution agenda. Intelligent Design has been described as creationism in a tux. The conservative and Republican Judge John E. Jones III who presided over and ruled in the Dover case decided that ID was simply creationism (no tux), and that is basically why the Dover Board lost the case.
Humes makes not only the principals in the case come to life as he describes their actions, but he also makes crystal clear the legal and scientific arguments, which to the uninformed may be difficult to follow. This is a good book for people who are not experts who want to know what happened in Dover but also want to understand the issues involved.
Curiously enough Humes' epilogue contains a devastating mini-review of Ann Coulter's book "Godless." Humes waded through it (something I would not take the time to do) probably because one of the intellectual leaders of the ID movement, William Dembski, helped her with the science. Humes quotes a three-sentence passage from Coulter in which he identifies "five lies and one ludicrous error." (p. 346) In doing so Humes makes what I think is an important point that clarifies a lot of what this struggle is about. He writes:
"Perhaps the most outrageous lie contained in this three-sentence passage is Coulter's claim that liberals think evolution disproves God. In truth, the exact opposite is true: It is conservatives who think this way. Religious conservatives, not liberals, have tried to ban evolution from the public schools for decades because it contradicts their literal reading of the Bible." (p. 347)
Scientists in general and especially evolutionary biologists in particular know that evolution says exactly nothing about the existence or non-existence of God.
It is an irony of the times in which we live that some of those who most strenuously claim to be Christians are the ones who tell the biggest lies and tell them most often.
Objectivity may a problem for someone - Rated
... when it is objectively revealing that someone's deception.
Edward Humes has provided an exceptional account of the Dover, PA trial over intelligent design as public classroom "science". The real value in this book isn't the revelations about the science of evolution versus the pseudoscience of the intelligent design presented but rather in the getting to know the people involved in the case, including the legal teams and the judge. The surprise is the extent of lies from the supporters of intelligent design within Dover and their supporters including under oath.
Hume's objectivity is sympathetic yet devastating. Humes has raised implicitly and explicitly the serious question of whether Christians, even those who believe in Genesis-based literal creationism, are well-served by the kinds of lies that purported Christians engaged in during the Dover trial.
After reading "Monkey Girl", I have to wonder what might have happened if the Bush-appointed judge had had less integrity, if the plaintiff's legal team hadn't been so stellar, and if the scientists who testified for the plaintiff's hadn't been so compelling.
Despite by its careful attention to facts, "Monkey Girl" reads like an engaging novel. A good place to turn after this book to learn more how one can work through legal and political means to support the teaching of sciences such as evolution and maintain the church/state separation is Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design Is Wrong for Our Schools. For more detail about the maneuvers of the Discovery Institute, Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design is telling: one of its co-authors, Barbara Forrest, was a key witness in the Dover trial so Humes presents her role there in "Monkey Girl".
Humes does note that Roman Catholics including Pope John Paul II have been open to evolution. Even such a formidable proponent of evolution as Kenneth Miller believes in a creator although not one in conflict with evolution, as he apparently testified on September 26, 2005 at the Dover trial.
Hopefully, Christians who are concerned about the teaching of science in public school will find ways more consistent with religious and moral ideals if they want to express those concerns. "Monkey Girl" shows a very bad example that was set for children of deceptions and outright lies. Perhaps denying what a local newspaper reported is not bearing false witness against a neighbor, as happened in the Dover trial, but it hardly seems Christian.
A sympathetic look at an American farce. - Rated
There has been a spate of books decrying religion in the past few years, each having their own merits. Most, such as those by Dawkins and Hitchens, attack the justification of religious claims. They also go on to suggest that religion is a bane to both morality and rationality. This is almost certainly true.
However, what is frequently lacking in these works is an overview of the beliefs held by the religious man-in-the-street. In Edward Humes' beautifully written book, he covers the recent Intelligent Design court case in Dover, Pennsylvania, where he gives us an insight into the machinations of their elected school board officials - they firmly believe in God and yet have little or no idea about evolution and its implications. What is perhaps more curious is the fact that they seem to have no genuine interest in ID or creationism either!
It seems that in the USA there are two tiers to religious fundamentalism. There are Republican think-tanks and institutes manoeuvring behind the scenes for a return to "Christian values" and there are the church goers who swallow their rhetoric without thought or criticism: Biblical literalism = good, Darwinism = bad. Humes documents the Dover school board's attempts to press ahead with their plan to "teach the controversy" despite it being obviously contrary to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and despite their almost complete ignorance of the arguments for or against ID. Anyone against them is branded an atheist (yes, it's meant as an insult) or in one case, as the title of the book suggests, one child at the school is labelled a "monkey girl". Oddly, I do not recall anyone mentioned in the book actually claiming to be an atheist - the drama plays out entirely between the fundamentalists and the moderate Christians.
As you may know, the moderates gain a (hopefully) decisive victory, but the book shows how little the eventually ousted school board members have learned from this sad episode. After being branded liars by the judge, after having their ignorance and bigotry displayed in public, their heads are unbowed because God is on their side and therefore their agenda remains unchanged.
If you want to understand the deeply held feelings of the USA's ever expanding bible belt, this book will open your eyes. American Christian Fundamentalism - coming soon to a country near you.
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