DOMINIC W. MASSARO, editor
University of California, Santa Cruz

Culture Wars

The Evolution–Creation Struggle
By Michael Ruse. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005. 327 pp. Cloth, $25.95.

The creationism–evolution controversy has been much in the news of late, with high-profile court cases in Pennsylvania and Georgia and well-publicized disputes over state science standards in Kansas, Ohio, and other places. Public figures such as the president and presidential candidates have expressed skepticism about evolution, a prominent cardinal of the Catholic church expressed what sounded like enthusiasm for "intelligent design" creationism, and a flamboyant "creation science" evangelist was convicted for tax evasion. Meanwhile, another creation science ministry opened a $27,000,000 state-of-the-art tourist destination, miscalled a "museum," featuring such edifying displays as a baby triceratops equipped with a saddle. Many more incidents do not make the national news: local school boards passing antievolution policies, and even more well-hidden cases of individual teachers who self-censor the teaching of evolution because it is "too controversial." A variety of surveys suggest that 45­50% of Americans reject evolution.