What's Darwin Got to Do With It: A Friendly Conversation About Evolution

Rating:
Summary: Clever, but often deceptive
Review: I was initially excited about this book when it was given to me, since it begins by attempting to clarify often misunderstood terms such as "evolution" and "creationism." It also explains a position which I favor, "Intelligent Design." That being said, I was then disappointed by the approach. Rather than being an intelligent "conversation," the book becomes more of an obviously biased lecture on problems with Darwinism. The defender of Darwinism is an old, crotchety professorial type man, while the proponent of Intelligent Design is a young, perky, cheerful woman. It isn't hard to predict which character readers will be drawn to. The support for Darwinism is often portrayed with very silly (even for this comicbook approach) superhero characters, making the pro-Darwin argument seem ridiculous even before any evidence is actually examined. The pro-Intelligent Design support, however, is always portrayed in a rational, thoughtful manner.

Perhaps the best part of the book is its final pages of background information, in which the silliness is discarded, and some good points in favor of Intelligent Design are fairly made. Unfortunately, most young readers will likely skip that part, having completed the comic I did find it ironic, though, that the authors described a "trick" used to misconstrue Intelligent Design as religion by saying: "The trick works like this: (1) misconstrue the design theory position, (2) give the misconstrued position an erroneous and derogatory label, (3) attack the label, (4) dismiss the argument." This is, of course, exactly the tactic that was and still is used against Darwin's theories.

As long as a reader understands that this book is not written from a neutral perspective, it is worth reading. As I said, I agree with the basic position, but I wish the authors had not tried to portray an obviously pro-Intelligent Design book as a neutral discussion.

Rating:
Summary: A clear, enjoyable treatment of a frequently murky subject.
Review: This is a delightful book. It's cartoon format makes it appropriate for junior high kids, but it's content is substantial enough to be beneficial to adults. The authors set out to clarify just what is at stake between those who claim that life is wholly the result of chance and mechanism--orthodox Darwinists--and those who argue that life bears evidence of intelligent design. In so doing, they present the recent insights of "design theorists" such as Michael Behe, William Dembski and others, in a light and accessible way.

Their treatment is winsome and avoids villifying either side in the debate. The authors also avoid specifically theological and biblical disputes, focusing instead on publically available evidence, primarily from developmental and molecular biology and paleontology. They also distinguish between an argument for intelligent design generically and the more specific arguments for creationism. This illustrates what may be the book's greatest virtue: it provides the important distinctions necessary to discern what is really at stake in the controversy over the origin and nature of life. I highly recommend this book for students young and old, for teachers and school librarians, and for parents who want a quick summary of the debate between Darwinism and design.

Rating:
Summary: Lively, thought provoking
Review: This may look like a comic book, but don't assume its author is shallow! Newman has doctorates in both science (astrophysics from Cornell) and in theology. He understands science and has thought deeply about these issues. But he also has a lively sense of humor and a dry wit.

I gave it a one-star deduction for being a little unfair to the evolutionist. He stacks the deck a little. But, hey, the evolutionists run just about everything, and when was the last time they let someone else have a say? Anyone who doesn't buy into the Neo-Darwinian dogma is labeled by them a *creationist*, lumping him in with Young Earth hicks. So Newman should get a little latitude, don't you think?

Go read one of the other Intelligent Design books by William Dembski, Hugh Ross, Michael Behe, Stephen Meyers (Newman has a very good essay in the collection edited by Dembski entitled *Mere Creation*). But when you want to lighten up and have some fun with this subject, get this book!