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The Devil in Dover: An Insider's Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-town America
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Average Rating:  out of 23 Reviews
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Price: $24.95
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Sale: $13.95
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Manufacturer: New Press
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EAN (European Article Number): 9781595582089
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Hardcover
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Author: Lauri Lebo
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Publisher: New Press
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Dewey Decimal Number: 345.730288
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Publication Date: 2008-05-13
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Reading Level: 256
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Description: The page-turning story behind the 2005 intelligent design case in Dover, Pennsylvania—the case that made front-page news around the world.
"What happened in Dover is a tiny sliver, a broken shard of glass mirroring what plays out across the country. A war of fundamentalist Christian values versus secularism. A battle between evangelical fanaticism and tolerance."—from The Devil in Dover
In December 2004, following the Dover area school board's decision to teach intelligent design in ninth-grade biology classrooms, eleven parents sued, sparking a federal constitutional challenge. Lauri Lebo, a small-town reporter who covered the trial, knows not just the legal case and science, but the people on all sides of the divisive battle.
In The Devil in Dover, Lebo traces the compelling backstory of this pivotal case described by some as a perfect storm of religious intolerance, First Amendment violations, and an assault on American science education. In a community divided across unexpected lines, the so-called activist judge, a George Bush-appointed Republican, eventually condemned the school board's decision as one of "breathtaking inanity."
Lebo follows the story through its surprising twists, pondering whether this was a national war playing out in a small town or a small-town political battle playing out on the national stage. As a "local girl" with a fundamentalist Christian father, Lebo provides an account that is both fascinating and moving, as she thoughtfully probes one of America's most divisive cultural conflicts—and the responsibility journalists have when covering such a controversial story.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: My Enemy's Honour |
Date: 2008-11-15 |
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Details: Every week, one of the evangelical Christians who supported the teaching of Intelligent Design in Dover, PA schools drove to the nearest maximum security penitentiary to `bear witness' to the inmates. On their release, he would find them jobs and homes. One - not strong enough yet to live alone - lived with him for months after his release. They became `best buddies' as the Americans have it. This same man still supported the Dover Area School Board when its members - to a man and woman - perjured themselves in court, telling Judge John E Jones that they had never discussed creationism at Board meetings. This despite the fact that Fox News had television footage of one member doing just that. The man who supported the liars and visited the penitentiary was Lauri Lebo's father. He died there, in the midst of visiting an inmate who needed his help.
Lauri Lebo covered the Dover intelligent design case (Kitzmiller v Dover Area School District) and finished up so disenchanted with Christianity by the end of it she got a tattoo of the Flying Spaghetti Monster just above her butt. What set her apart from other journalists who converged on the Harrisburg, PA courtroom when the Area school board tried to insert Intelligent Design into the science curriculum was the fact that she was a local (she worked for the York Daily Record). She knew most of the plaintiffs and most of the defendants. Her father - the prison visitor - ran the local Christian Radio station, one of a plethora of `talk radio' outfits that blossomed across the US after 1987, when the Federal Communications Commission rolled the `Fairness Doctrine`.
Forced by geography to be scrupulously fair, her book on the case, The Devil in Dover, is one of the best lay accounts of a complex and controversial trial I've ever read. That apart, she doesn't write off people she knows as `wingnuts' and `nutjobs', because she knows they aren't. But she also doesn't let them off the hook when they lie for Jesus.
Somehow, this book manages to rise above politics, skewering the comfortable notions of `Red' and `Blue' that have become part of the world's political vocabulary thanks to the 2000-2004-2008 US election cycles. Her skill at noting the telling detail is particularly effective: one of the plaintiffs seems like a boiler-plate anti-affirmative action, gun-totin' small-town Republican who cheerfully drinks in a pub 20 feet over the county border because, ahem, Dover is a Dry County. But he's also a science teacher who knows the difference between science and religion. One of the defendants, an upstanding member of the Board and successful local businessman turns up and chews gum throughout both examination-in-chief and cross-examination (no, it doesn't bear thinking about. Lebo's description is both hilarious and nauseating). This is quite apart, of course, from lying under oath.
Then there's the George W. Bush appointed judge who the defendants are completely confidant they have in their pocket (they don't, and his judgment is both a model of judicial reasoning and a textbook account of just why we have the separation of powers).
Best of all are the pen-portraits of the various lawyers, from the ACLU and the Thomas More Law Centre, both circling for a test case. The image of a lawyer engaging in a version of champerty (Thomas More's counsel encouraging the Board to change the school curriculum `and we'll defend you when you get sued') or putting full-page ads in local papers in order to drag in potential plaintiffs (the ACLU) certainly gives one pause, especially for those lawyers trained in Australia or the UK.
Comics (and others) on all sides of politics have had great mileage out of portraying the other side as `liberal wieners' or `right-wing nut jobs', without imagining just what or who is behind those words. This is particularly the case in the creation v evolution battle. It is possible to make a strong case for some socially conservative positions (particularly on Roe v Wade, in part because the ruling took the decision away from the legislature, thereby producing serious democratic deficit). Creationism, by contrast (even in its muted `intelligent design' form) simply invites mockery. Not just `unscientific', it's a ludicrous form of anti-science. In fact, Charles Johnson memorably described the newly-opened `Creation Museum' in Kentucky as an `Anti-Museum'. Instead of disseminating information, it actively obfuscates it - a visual version of `if your baby does not like spinach, try boiling it in milk'.
Lebo's book is not particularly optimistic; at one point she laments `we're never going to fix this'. She then comments:
"My father will leave this world believing he will never again wrap his arms around his daughter, that despite eternal life (eternity? Oh God, what a concept), we will never be reunited. Rather, he believes that I will exist in a place `where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched'.
If you believe this, truly believe this, then how could anything else matter? The First Amendment, scientific reality, the truth? All this would mean nothing. I grasped this. And for those of us who don't believe, can't believe, we have to bear the weight of this fear."
Imagining our enemy's honour is likely the most difficult thing one has do, and yet liberal democracy demands it of us. In ages past, we fought against and killed those who disagreed with us. Now we contest alternative visions at the ballot box, and try to be gracious winners and honorable losers. Lauri Lebo's book is a fine exercise in that tradition. I cannot recommend it too highly. |
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Review Summary: Accurate, insightful, and partisan |
Date: 2008-11-14 |
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Details: As a person who abhors ignorance, especially that based upon religion this book was terrifying. The quote from the presiding judge is appropos.
The book is accurate and provides rich details concerning the lead up and the pitch-the play by play of what happened in Dover. And, most especially, how many Christians in that community were outraged by the high handed actions of the School Board.
Hint: Being a Christian, even one who professes to be fundamentalist, is not a priori evidence of one's being a brain dead zombie. Science is science and religion is religion and many of the devout can tell the difference ( and participated as plaintiffs in the case ).
So read the book if you want to understand what happened in Dover. Yes, many fundamentalist Christians don't see the line between religion and science and , indeed, most or at least many don't comprehend the intent of the first amendment.
But that first amendment gives them the right to speak their convicions openly. The Bill of Rights also gives them the right to organize and campaign politically to have their ( wrong ) ideas and objectives cast into law. That's what courts are for....to apply the Constitution to errant acts of both citizens and government.
So, let us not forget the inherent rights of the villians in this tale.
But I have a problem. I am not a true believer in the full platform of either the extreme right or left. I'm not partisan and don't belong to a political party. On some issues such as this one......the truth of evolution....I am hard left. On other issues I am hard right. So I have to watch my tongue lest I be attacked when among lefties or righties. Why argue? Most adults settle their core beliefs by age 18 anyway and most won't back down. It's a waste of time. Closedmindedness is, I firmly believe, a basic human trait. Not that I profess to be open minded. It's just that somehow my "core" beliefs are all over the map politically.
But, as Steven J. Gould frequently said, it's a sad thing that humans have to have it either all one way or all the other.....because, frequently the truth lies at neither extreme. ( to paraphrase his comments that humans naturally dichotomize issues-which, I think, is to save energy having to think for yourself.
I found the underlying tone in this accurate and insightful book to be partisan left. That's OK. The author tried to place this particular issue and the trial in the larger context of core beliefs of a portion of the populace ( of which I am not a part incidentally ). However, I think it's much more complicated than she comprehends.
I found highly partisan comments related to presidential elections, presidential politics, international affairs and other areas such as abortion rights that she believes are directly related to the mindset of the no nothing morons of the anti evolution crowd.
Hello, it's more complicated than your book makes it out to be and you would have been well advised to stick to the topic at hand. I suppose that these gratuitous comments add a certain luster to hard lefties ( Did I mention I am more intelligent to believe that one side or the other has a monopoly on the truth? ) view of this book. We can tell that the author is a true believer in the one side that has a 100% monopoly on the real facts.
But, aside from the partisan undertone, the book is excellent.
Remember, by definition, half the population has a less than average IQ. Most people in this literate nation or any other literate nation, could not even begin to form a coherent description of how the process of evolution works even if they cared in the least.
Remember also, that while Christian fundamentalists are capable and willing ( in the name of God of course as Christian soldiers etc ) to usurp the rights of others there are religions on this earth whose abuses of basic human rights are much worse. Anyone from New York City should be well aware of this as he nurtures his hatred of fundamentalist Christians on the grounds of their evil acts. It's a very bad thing to force your religious view upon others in the guise of science. However, this is a small thing compared to many other heinous acts humans commit in the name of their gods and religions.
If you've never met a true believer in intelligent design or creationism you have missed a illuminating experience. You ask them if they believe in evolution and they say of course not. You ask them if they have ever studied the subject of evolution or know anything about it. They tell you they would never study such godless lies and are proud they know nothing of that evil theory. They will tell you that there is no reason to study or understand something that they know to be totally wrong in advance. Yes, it's scary. To be ignorant is one thing but to be proud of it and offer it as a badge of honor and belief is quite another.
I remember in my childhood and youth being advised to check the first pages of any book I was interested in reading for the latin phrase "nihil obstat" . Pardon me if this is remembered incorrectly after 50 years. It means that the book has been reviewed by the keepers of the faith and that they find "no objection" to faith or morals in the pages within.
Keeping a faith pure from adulteration and change is important in the minds of the firmly orthodox. No doubt the fervent fundamentalist protestant would recoil at the idea of Latin words as a preface to their approved reading list. However, they would certainly agree with the idea. It was these two Latin words, though, that taught me one of life's most important lessons, think for yourself, and that drove me from the very religion that was trying to keep me safe from heresy. |
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Review Summary: A Local Journalist's Journey Through Creationism In Dover! |
Date: 2008-10-30 |
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Details: Out of the handful of books written about the Dover "intelligent design" trial, "Devil in Dover" is the only one written by a local Dover resident. Lauri Lebo's book is different from the others in several ways, nonetheleast of which is the author's ability to give us a feeling for what Dover was like before intelligent design came to town, and an insider's view of what it will be like after it never shows its face again.
When the "theory" of intelligent design was first tossed around as a "supplement" to Dover High's biology curriculum, Lauri Lebo was there, and there she remained as a staff writer for the York Daily Record. She was there not only for the ensuing trial, but for all the local grumblings at cantankerous school board meetings. Her book is a reflection of this; she is an insider and is able to paint a picture as only an insider can.
Devil in Dover is not only a beautifully written account of Dover v. Kitzmiller et. al., but also a journalist's deep reflection on the nature of her craft. Lebo's dilemma through the whole trial, which she recounts here, was to balance the journalistic maxim of neutrality and impartiality with the idea of telling the truth. If the evolutionists had the stronger case (they did), then how does one produce a piece of journalism that professes neutrality towards both "sides?" If intelligent design is premised on disingenousness and/or ignorance (it is), then should one avoid saying so in journalism just to remain neutral?
In the end, Lebo took sides. While watching the trial unfold, Lebo concluded, quite rightly, that ID is a fraud, that the schoolboard lied in their intentions (which were religious rather than educational), and that and intelligent design is little more than a subterfuge. We the readers are able to watch Lebo's change from an impartial journalist who was uneducated about science, to an impassioned journalist who learned enough to know that ID is junk science. And she does a good job at expaining why.
While Lebo's book is not the best blow-by-blow JOURNALISTIC account of the trial (that may be Humes's "Monkey Girl," or Sack's "Battle Over the Meaning of Everything), it is probably the most thought-provoking. Lebo treats us not only to a first-hand account of the trial (though not in as much detail as the two aforementioned), but gives us a lot to think about: what is the nature and obligation of journalistic objectivity? what does it mean to be a Christian? Why did a school-board turn the author's home town into a laughing stock? etc.
As and end to the review, I have read all the books about Dover v. Kitzmiller by now (including the Discovery Institute's own "Traipsing Into Evolution"). Lebo's book is the first that really got me thinking that not only did ID deservedly lose, but that this trial was truly the worst possible thing that could happen to ID. It lost the case, was made to look duplicitous thanks to an inempt school-board, was lambasted by a REPUBLICAN judge in a 100+ page opinion, and was squarely trounced in EVERY DETAIL in the courtroom. This book, perhaps more than others, makes the reader very aware that not only did ID lose, but it got creamed.
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Review Summary: A unique perspective on a pivotal moment in our history. |
Date: 2008-10-27 |
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Details: Lauri Lebo was witness to a pivotal moment in American History, although most people still do not know how important that trial in Dover was. Her first hand knowledge of the people involved in the case since they were from the same small town of Dover gave her unique insight. She was able to follow the histories of the various participants and the relation of those people with the places and culture that defined that area since she herself was a part of it since her own childhood.
With her insight she was able to see how the national battle of the religious right to invade science education caused divisions among neighbors and within families that never existed before. She saw and documented these effects in a way that an outside journalist could not. Her story was able to tie in the motivations, strategies, and on going battles occurring at the national level between those who want to further the aims of the fundamentalist Christians and those who defend our civil rights as well as scientific integrity to the very tactics used by the foot soldiers in this war.
I highly recommend this book as it provides the reader up close and personal accounts of the battles going on to defend our rights. It provides the reader with a good description of the casualties resulting from this battle. And it provides inspiration to the readers to take a stand against those people who desire power over the way our country thinks, those who cloak themselves in false credentials, false patriotism, and false piety. |
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Review Summary: The real devil in Dover |
Date: 2008-09-13 |
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Details: Written from an insider's perspective, this book exposes the emotional part of the Dover incident much better than Monkey Girl was able to. Both books need to be read to understand the dishonesty of the right-wing, anti-science crazies in our society. Why, when enjoying the benefits of science (antibiotics, microwave oven, cell phones, agriculture, just to name a few), they want to retreat to the Dark Ages is beyond understanding. Read this book and re-read it. |
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