God—or Gorilla

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

This highly readable book is valuable as it stands. It is also timely. The 1920s shaped pictures of evolution, and of evolutionary debate, that are still in our heads. As biologists work with illustrators to communicate science, and creationists attack textbook icons, it is helpful to reflect on the struggles of that decisive decade. -- Nick Hopwood Nature 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 A shining example of interdisciplinary American Studies at its very best. Choice 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 Perceptive and enjoyable book. -- Warren D. Allmon American Paleontologist 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 The value of this book, which is considerable, lies in its careful depiction of the scientific and cultural landscape within which the 'evolution wars' of the 1920s took place. -- A. Bowdoin Van Riper Isis Clark's choice of the 1920s is perfectly suited for her brilliant study of evolutionary imagery, for the decade saw significant social, economic and political changes along with growing tensions over the question of where humans came from. British Journal for the History of Science Clark's study offers a novel perspective of the history of human evolutionary research and popular culture and is a valuable contribution to scholarship in this area. -- Matthew R. Goodrum Annals of Science A refreshing picture of the origins of the evolution-creation dispute, and in it we can see the germ of the outlooks and arguments that largely still motivate creationism today. -- Rudolf A. Raff Evolution & Development An exceedingly interesting contribution to the history of anthropology. -- Jonathan Marks American Ethnologist Clark's study has additional significance as a contribution to intellectual history. Readers will find familiar themes of evolution-natural selection, chance and design, and missing links-and the book shows the fate of these issues when they entered the public arena. -- J. David Hoeveler History: Reviews of New Books

• 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