God—or Gorilla

Constance Areson Clark is an assistant professor of history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

This highly readable book is valuable as it stands. It is also timely. -- Nick Hopwood Nature 2009 Engagingly written, well illustrated, and refreshingly free of the theory-driven jargon that often diverts attention from the task at hand, God-or Gorilla is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the Scopes trial, the continuing controversy over the teaching of evolution, and the role of expertise in American society. -- George E. Webb Journal of American History 2009 A shining example of interdisciplinary American Studies at its very best. Choice 2009 Clark's investigation of the images of evolution in the 1920s is a wonderful window into the place of science in the United States and how the cultural concerns of an era can shape scientific activity. -- Charles A. Israel American Historical Review 2009 Perceptive and enjoyable book. -- Warren D. Allmon American Paleontologist 2009 Significant contribution[s] to this broad interdisciplinary area, illuminating the ways in which ideas about organic evolution were contested, and charting the processes by which eugenics acquired an established place in American political and social life. -- Robin Vandome Journal of American Studies 2011

• PrefaceAcknowledgments1. The Caveman and the Strenuous Life2. The Museum in the Modern Babylon3. Nineteen Twenty-two or Thereabouts4. Saving the Phenomena5. Unlikely Infidels6. Stooping to Conquer, and a Hall Full of Elephants7. The Pictures in Our Heads8. Scientists and the Monkey Trial9. Redeeming the Caveman, and the Irreverent Funny PagesConclusionNotesIndex