The debate over teaching evolution in the public schools is one of the most emotionally charged controversies in twentieth-century America. This edition which ranges from before the Scopes trial of 1925 to the creationism disputes of the 1980's - offers an account of the educational and legal battles erupting from this persistent belief. "The merging of several disciplines in a single scholar proves unusually rewarding to the treatment of creationism in American education. Whatever the outcome of the current cases...the need for a scholarly assessment of antecedents and prospects in this area has never been clearer." ---Journal of Law and Religion