It is easy to imagine that a book about a trial, even such a high-stakes one as the Dover intelligent design trial could easily be a bore. But Matthew Chapman manages to make it exciting and personal as he interviews the defendants and plaintiffs, witnesses, and bystanders, both interested and not.
He primarily alternates between biographical sketches, interviews and then careful coverage of the trial itself. Witty, candid, and painstakingly fair to everyone involved, Chapman does a really fine job of tying together the motivations of defendants and plaintiffs alike. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the evolution / intelligent design debacle.

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Mr. Chapman relates the story of Kitzmiller vs. Dover. Creationists, who now advocate intelligent design, wanted Of Pandas and People adopted by the school board for biology classes. Readers learn of the positions taken by counsel on both sides, board members, and many others. The author spins the tale in a leisurely manner; for example there are several pages sharing his visit with plantiff Beth Eveland. Sample: "She became more interested in Easgtern relgions after going to a work-related seminar in Atlanta and hearing Deepak Chopra speak. She now considers herself more or less Buddhist, 'although, I'm sorry, I still gotta kill bugs.' A woman with a hot temper, she found that Buddhism and meditation had made her more tranquil."
No photos, no bibliography, no footnotes. And as there is no index, I reduce my rating by one star.

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