The Hundred Years' Trial

Law, Evolution, and the Long Shadow of Scopes v. Tennessee

By: Alexander Gouzoules, Harold Gouzoules

Narrated by: Jack de Golia

In The Hundred Years' Trial, Alexander and Harold Gouzoules explore the century-long impacts of the historic 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial," starting with the development of evolutionary theory and charting the resulting cultural and legal conflicts over evolution in the United States. Through a blend of legal history, scientific exploration, and cultural analysis, the authors reexamine how this landmark trial remains a pivotal moment in shaping modern debates on science, religion, and education.

The Scopes Trial became a symbol of a larger culture clash, where questions of academic freedom, the role of religion in public life, and the boundaries of state intervention are fiercely debated. This book uncovers the complex layers of this conflict, offering listeners a broader perspective that extends beyond the courtroom drama. The authors analyze how the trial's outcomes reverberated through later Supreme Court cases and shaped public policies and educational standards well into the twenty-first century.

One hundred years later, the tensions between science and religious belief that were so brightly illuminated by Scopes are not only still with us, but also increasingly relevant to the perpetual cultural issues in the American political consciousness: abortion, climate change, and vaccines. The Hundred Years' Trial is vital for understanding not only how we arrived at our current political moment, but also where we go next in communicating science to a skeptical public.

The book is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2025 Alexander Gouzoules and Harold Gouzoules (P)2025 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Superb book." (Robert Sapolsky, author, Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will)

"An elegant saga of science and law." (Melvin Konner, author, The Tangled Wing)

"An intriguing account of an important event in the history of science in America..." (Douglas J. Futuyma, Stony Brook University)