I would like to thank the publisher, Random House, for allowing me to read the pre-pub edition of Keeping the Faith, by Brenda Wineapple.
Since a wonderful review of Ms. Wineapple's book appeared in the NY Times Sunday Book Reviews, it's hard for me to add anything new. It was an incredible read. This non-fiction book is the story of the John Scopes trial (nicknamed the monkey trial) which took place in Dayton , Tennessee, in 1926. Scopes was a teacher in Tennessee who taught the theory of evolution in his science class which, believe it or not, was illegal in that state.
But Ms. Wineapple doesn't just give us that story. She gives us the history of the country leading up to the trial; the history of the attitudes of the country leading up to the trial; and the trial itself. The reader also learns about all the people involved in this trial, and what happened to all of them after the verdict was handed down.
But don't think that this is just another dry look at a period in American history that not everyone may know about. It a fascinating account of people, places, and the thoughts of those involved, including the general population.
When you read this book, and I certainly recommend you do, I hope you will find it as fascinating as as important as I have.

Such colorful writing brings history to life. The Scopes Trial is something we've all heard about, but Brenda Wineapple wisely finds several ways in which the 100-years-ago events speak to our current divides and debates.

What I knew about the Scopes trial going into this book was what I was taught in church [they were 100% incorrect in what they were teaching; shocking I know], and from the movie "Inherit the Wind" [that an EX made me watch, that I hated {and was so mad at Spencer Tracy for taking a role in it} and as it turns out, everyone who was involved with the trial hated as well because of the way Hollywood portrayed them]. essentially, I went into this blind...after reading this book, I am blind no more. WHOOSH!

A deep-dive [that is meticulously researched and excellently written] into the major players in the Scopes trial, as well as the trial [and the circus that it truly was], this was an excellent read , truly taught me something, and more than once made me realize how much 2024 isn't that different from the nonsense that happened in 1924, and I will admit just how discouraging that was to me.

If you, like me, know "of" the Scopes trial, but don't really know "about it" [and want to learn what it and the fuss around evolution was], I highly recommend this book. It really opened my eyes to many things and I will be thinking about this book for a very long time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Brenda Wiineapple, and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book revisits the Scopes trial, exploring its transformation into a media spectacle and its lasting impact on American society. Through the clash between Clarence Darrow, defending intellectual freedom, and William Jennings Bryan, championing religious fundamentalism, the trial exposed deep divisions over evolution, morality, and the very definition of American values—conflicts that continue to resonate today.

About half this book is spent laying the groundwork—the cultural climate and the backgrounds of the key players, especially Darrow and Bryan. It’s a fascinating story, well-written and enjoyable.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Of all the US trials deemed "trial of the century", none had as low stakes for the defendant as the Scopes trial, where John Scopes had been accused of a mere misdemeanor punishable by a $100 - $500 fine, which he would never have to pay out of his own pocket. The entire trial was a manufactured event designed to put the issues of the teaching of evolution vs. state enforcement of fundamentalist religious values on a national stage.

So whereas most books about criminal trials would start with the crime, Keeping the Faith begins with biographies of three key protagonists: William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow, and to a lesser extent, journalist H. L. Mencken (John Scopes hardly matters at all). We are nearly half way through the book before the specifics of the Scopes case even come up. I could quibble about whether some of the details were necessary (did we really need that much detail about the 1924 Democratic convention?), but I really enjoyed learning more about these characters. Bryan winds up being the dominant character, and while clearly a fundamentalist demagogue, there is something admirable about his sincerity.

The actual Scopes trial and the machinations around it were fascinating, but I wished that the narrative drive in the telling was a bit more sustained. I really wanted to feel what it was like to be a member of the public following this trial. But there is still plenty of drama, particularly when Darrow puts Bryan on the stand. Most people know that Scopes was found guilty, but I had never heard about the appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. In one of the most interesting chapters of the book the appeal process is described culminating in a Supreme Court decision that dismissed the conviction on a technicality (preventing appeal to the US Supreme Court), keeping the Butler act (the Tennessee law against teaching evolution) on the books, but imposing an interpretation that made it virtually unenforceable.

Most readers of the book will see obvious between the Scopes era and the fundamentalist stoking of fear and resentment we see today (e.g. book bans, Ten Commandments in the schoolroom, mandatory incorporation of the bible into public school education in Oklahoma). To her credit, Ms. Wineapple mostly refrains from pointing them out, giving readers the pleasure of drawing their own conclusions.

All in all, this is a recommended read as we approach the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial in the summer of 2025. Thanks to netgalley and Random House for providing a pre-release egalley.

Keeping the Faith is a fascinating and well written look at the Scopes “Monkey Trial” those involved and the lasting impact the trial has had on the United States.

Thank you Random House for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I just finished Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation, by Brenda Wineapple.

The book has a lot of good background information about Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. I don’t remember knowing how much of a racist that Bryan was. Bryan’s racism is a constant theme of this book, along with while he was on liberal on some issues, he was also very far to the right on others.

The author did a very good job of setting the stage for the trial and giving a lot of background discussion about the time period. But, it almost seemed as the book was more about that than the trial itself.

Overall, I am going to give this book a B+. It was enjoyable and informative enough to get that rating. It was not as good a book on the Scopes trial as Edward Larson’s Summer of the Gods, but on its own merits, it was still a good coverage of the trial, the major characters and the time period.

Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I originally finished reading this on June 28, 2024.

A well researched and engaging re-telling of the scopes trial with a focus on today and the same battles we are fighting. I loved reading the back stories of both Darrow and Bryant because you got to learn where these men came from and how they developed their personalities, one learned and one fundamentalist, but you also learned their similarities and differences. The trial itself was not the most interesting part of the book since it has been covered many times but the before and the appeal kept me interested.

When you have an excellent author like Brenda Wineapple tackling one of the most famous trials in American history, then it is as close to a slam dunk as possible. However, even the best miss every now and again. Unfortunately, Keeping the Faith is one of those misses.

The book is ostensibly about the Scopes Monkey Trial where a Tennessee law criminalizing the teaching of evolution was challenged. However, the trial doesn't even begin to take shape until about halfway through the book. The first half is devoted a little bit to defense counsel Clarence Darrow and a lot to the prosecution's William Jennings Bryan. On the face of it, this makes perfect sense. What better way to set up the head to head battle of two cultural heavyweights than by giving a full explanation of who they are and what makes them tick.

The problem becomes how Wineapple chooses to apportion coverage. Bryan gets a lot more attention and it is mostly to denigrate him as a racist Christian fundamentalist. To be clear, he basically was. The problem is not the characterization but the extensive amount of time Wineapple spends on this point. Darrow disappears almost entirely from the narrative for a large portion of it and the trial didn't even start yet.

Wineapple also adds in extraneous subjects. She spends way too much time on the Ku Klux Klan when they do not figure at all in the Scopes Trial. They seem to be in the book because they align significantly with Bryan's views but Bryan was not in the KKK (even Wineapple states this). Aimee Semple McPherson shows up briefly and then disappears.

By the time the trial comes along, I was frustrated. First, because it took so long to get there. Second, because Wineapple spent so much time making Bryan look like a small, diminished, and weak person, that the showdown with Darrow loses all narrative tension. I didn't expect this because the author is an amazing writer. Wineapple's The Impeachers is one of my favorite books and is exceptional from beginning to end. And her writing here is never bad. You couldn't drop in on a single page and say there is anything wrong with it. But once you zoom out and look at what the book is supposed to be, you can't help but feel like the scope (pun intended!) got too big for this story to feel cohesive.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Random House.)

This was a great exploration of the times and the personalities involved un the case. It also brings in the co.ir of the times by discussing individuals like Aimee Semple McPherson who helps illustrate the ideas that shaped the era.. It also serves as an analogy to today's times I which religion greatly affects the mores of today's citizens and their political outlook.

This book is well researched and written and presents a detailed look at the “Monkey Trial” in Tennessee that brought the issue of whether religion should be separate from the state. The author first establishes the backgrounds of the key players in the trial focusing mainly on Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. Then she moves into the preparation and the trial itself. Her writing style makes for a vivid and interesting read. This book is well worth the time for anyone interested in this trial and piece of American history.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.