Keeping the Faith

Set against the backdrop of the 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee, this account delves into the clash between science and religion, embodied by the defense attorney Clarence Darrow and the fundamentalist prosecutor William Jennings Bryan. The trial, a media spectacle, highlighted deep divisions in American society regarding race, class, and faith. Historian Brenda Wineapple vividly chronicles the ambitions and ideologies of both men, exploring themes of individual freedom, religious intolerance, and the cultural battles that defined an era.