The year is 1925, and the students of Dayton, Tennessee, are ready for a summer of fishing, swimming, some working, and drinking root beer floats at Robinsons Drugstore. But when their science teacher, J. T. Scopes, is arrested for having taught Darwins theory of evolution in class, it seems it wont be just any ordinary summer in Dayton.As Scopes trial proceeds, the small town is faced with astonishing, nationwide publicity: reporters, lawyers, scientists, religious leaders, and tourists. But amidst the circus-like atmosphere is a threatening sense of tensionnot only in the courtroom, but among even the strongest of friends. This compelling novel in poems chronicles a controversy with a profound impact on science and culture in Americaand one that continues to this day.From the Hardcover edition.