Devil In Dover: An Insider's Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America

(Paperback)

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Local newspaper reporter Lauri Lebo was handed the story of a lifetime when the Dover (Pennsylvania) School Board adopted a measure to require its ninth-grade biology students to learn about intelligent design. In a case that recalled the famed 1925 Scopes monkey trial and made international headlines, eleven parents sued the school board. When the case wound up in federal court before a George W. Bushappointed judge, Lebo had a front-row seat.

Destined to become required reading for a generation of journalists, scientists, and science teachers, as well as for anyone concerned about the separation of church and state, The Devil in Dover is Lebos widely praised account of a perfect storm of religious intolerance, First Amendment violations, and an assault on American science education. Lebo skillfully probes the compelling background of the case, introducing us to the plaintiffs, the defendants, the lawyers, and a parade of witnesses, along with Judge John E. Jones, who would eventually condemn the school boards decision as one of breathtaking inanity.

With the antievolution battle having moved to the state leveland the recent passage of state legislation that protects the right of schools to teach alternatives to evolutionthe story will continue to be relevant for years to come.

Reviews

"A brilliant account of the intelligent design case in Dover . . . by a first-rate journalist." Howard Zinn

"Both fascinating and moving. . . . [Lebo] thoughtfully probes one of Americas most divisive cultural conflictsand the responsibilities journalists have when covering such a controversial story." Religion Dispatches

"Engaging and richly textured . . . a compelling narrative. " The Patriot News(Harrisburg)

"[Lebo] took care with both the politics and the science of the Dover case." Carl Zimmer, science journalist

Author Bio

Lauri Lebo has been a journalist for twenty years. As part of an investigative reporting team, she helped solve two civil rightsera murders. As the York Daily Records education reporter, she covered the intelligent design trial from its earliest beginnings at local school board meetings. Her book on the trial, The Devil in Dover: An Insiders Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America, was The New Presss first Studs and Ida Terkel Author Fund book. The winner of numerous state and national awards, Lebo lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.