Going Ape: Florida's Battles over Evolution in the Classroom - Hardcover

"Admirably impartial . . . [and] populated with colorful personalities: angry activists, ambitious politicians, harried teachers, torn and troubled school board members. [Going Ape is] a thorough treatment of creation-evolution debates taking place in settings that scholars have studied too little."--Florida Historical Quarterly "A born storyteller, Haught offers interesting, lively, and well-paced accounts of the events he describes, providing a satisfying survey of controversy with deep historical roots that continues to affect science education even today."--Evolution: Education and Outreach "Going Ape is informative, helping to put the nationwide exploits of the anti-evolutionists in perspective, and, as a bonus, it is enjoyable to read."--Reports of the National Center for Science Education "This volume occupies a unique place in the burgeoning literature about evolution/creationism battles in the US....Recommended."--Choice "An exhaustive history of the efforts in the Legislature and local school boards to stop or counter the teaching of evolution over the past 90 years."--Daytona Beach News-Journal "As Haught follows the battle over evolution from churches to school boards to the Legislature, the book starts to feel like that dog-eared whodunit you drag out to read each summer vacation."--Tallahassee Democrat "A meticulous account of the 90-year debate over the teaching of evolution in Florida's public schools... full of high drama and raw emotion."--The Weekly Standard "An excellent source on the intersection between science and Florida politics and how the debates have shaped education and the industry related to it."--Journal of Southern History

Before William Jennings Bryan successfully prosecuted John Scopes in the infamous Scopes ""Monkey Trial," he was a prominent antievolution agitator in Florida. In Going Ape, Brandon Haught tells the riveting story of how the war over teaching evolution began and unfolded in Florida, one of the nation's bellwether states. This conflict still simmers just below the surface, waiting for the right moment to engulf the state. The saga opens with the first shouts of religious persecution and child endangerment in 1923 Tallahassee and continues today with forced delays and extra public hearings in state-level textbook adoptions. These ceaseless battles feature some of the most colourful culture warriors imaginable: a real estate tycoon throwing his fortune into campaigns in Miami; lawmakers attempting to insert the mandatory teaching of creationism into bills; and pastors and school board members squabbling in front of the national media that descends into their small town. The majority of participants, however, have been, and still are, average people, and Haught expertly portrays these passionate citizens and the sense of moral duty that drives each of them. Given a social climate where the teaching of evolution continues to sharply divide neighbours and communities, Going Ape is a must-read for anyone concerned with the future of public education.