Summer for the Gods

Edward J Larson

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Gods-Americas-Continuing-Religion/dp/1541646037

Review

Summer for the  Gods  by  Pulitzer  Prize winner Edward J Larson  

is a book about  the Socpes Monkey  Trial of 1925.

It includes coverage of the days and events leading up to the trial, 

the trial itself and its legacy. 

Are you family with the Scopes Monkey trial of 1955?.  .

If you are  not familiar with this event, you should be. . 

It involved a Tennessee high school teacher accused of

violating a state statute making it unlawful to teach evolution

in a state funded school. The  repercussions of it’s verdict and

outcome are still felt to this day. 

Since 1925, there have been many books and articles written about this

event.  The story was even fictionalized in a 1955 play titled Inherit the

Wind(adapted into a movie in 1960)    Much of this coverage has  been

criticized.for being too simple or inaccurate   . For example,  Larson, 

says that Inhert  the wind includes only a few phrases taken from

the actual trial. He adds that another book on this subject, Only

Yesterday. presents the trial in “cartoon like fashion”. 

Larson’s book appears  to avoid many of these problems. 

For one thing  the  book provides a factual day to account of the 

Scopes Monkey Trial  This   includes the actual words spoken by

attorneys and witnesses  at the Trial.  It highlights the newspaper

coverage of the Trial. 

The book  puts the trial  in its proper historical context, detailing the key

events leading up to the trial.  It also provides some interesting perspective

on the   origins of both the pro and anti evolution movements..  This section

of the book was quite enlightening for me as I learned that some crhsitians

actually believed  in  evolution. 

Larson also  discusses the legacy  of the scopes Monkey Trial. These pages

include  discussions of recent legislative efforts encouraging teachers to

take a skeptical approach to controversial efforts

The book is well researched and includes more than 37 pages of footnotes.

I can't find too much fault with this book. Perhaps the background

information is a bit too  detailed but overall this is an excellent book. 

Recomoondation 

Overall, this is an excellent book.  Most readers will enjoy it-but I would

especially recommend it to those interested in learning about the origins

of the creation versus  evolution debate. 

My thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free

copy of this book ro reiview through Net Gallery.

The Library book 

Susan Orlean 

Simon and Schuster,2018

310 Pages(paperr back)

350 Pages(harrdcover)

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781476740188

Review 

`Compelling”  “thrilling ” “mesmerizing”  and “unique”   are  just a few of the words used  to describe   the Library Book by Susan Orlean . Based on these descriptions, I was excited about reading a   crime mystery  that put me on the  edge of my  seat. Unfortunately that did not happen-in fact,I found myself bored at times while reading this book.

This book has many story lines all centered around the Los Angeles Public Library.These include the history of the library,  staff profiles, social issues, and a fire investigation. The author  Susan Orlean,  often switches back and forth between these issues making this book hard to follow in sports. 

That being said it is not really a bad book. For one thing it is well researched and you can learn a lot about the diverse directors of the  Los Angeles Public Library over the years.   As a former library staff member. I will also give the author, Susan Orlean, credit for giving what seems like  an accurate description of the inner workings of an urban public library system.  The book also includes many interviews with current staff members,providing a first hand account of what it is like to work in a library. 

The book does include some  moving  and humorous  stories .  Orlean   writes  about her exciting childhood visits to her hometown library with her mom. As I read these pages, I was filled with a warm feeling as I thought about my own similar childhood library visits. Her vivid descriptions of the fire  itself helped fill me with a deep sense of sadness as I thought about thousands of treasured books going up in smoke.   She did a good job of portraying the emotions of the library staff as they watched the library fire..  I laughed out loud as a I read about some of the unique patrons that visited the library.

 Despite the good points, the book really did not live up to my expectations.For one thing, I thought the book would include more information about the  investigation into the library fire. 

 Reading this book also  became a  very tedious experience  for me,especially at the end.  Orlean  shared a lot of information about what it is like to work in the library-but as a former library staff member this was not  new  information to me. As I got further and further into the book, I kept wanting to learn something new about library life-but I never did.   Her account of investigation into the fire isn't really thrilling as the publisher's description promises. Instead it includes a lot of rehashing of testimony, depositions and legal facts. 

Many experienced reviewers   have called this a great book.  As much as I would like to agree with them, I simply can't share this view.  It was just an average book for me.  That being said, those that have not worked in a library or enjoy reading a bit of history may still enjoy it..

About the Author

To learn mmore about Susan Orlean, the author of this book, please check out her website at http://www.susanorlean.com/author/.