Darwin's Rottweiler

A disturbing Gallup poll conducted earlier this year found that only 39% of Americans accept the theory evolution. I see two key reasons for this. First, our education system has done a miserable job in explaining evolution to students (by not devoting sufficient time to it. After all, we're talking about a fairly complex scientific concept here and we all know how science savvy Americans are), mostly due to reason #2: Evangelical Christians. These people have railed against evolution since Darwin's time, spreading misinformation and lies. Apparently, they must really believe that there is a conspiracy by hundreds of scientists from all over the world to fool the public into thinking that life evolved from lower forms. And the planned celebrations surrounding the 150 year anniversary of the publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of the Species" has only stirred up the hornet's nest. For example, former teen idol Kirk Cameron recently unveiled his plan to distribute thousands of altered copies of Darwin's book to college students.

How were they altered you ask? Darwin's masterpiece will include a 50-page introduction that slams evolution and paints Darwin as both racist and misogynistic and explicitly highlights "Adolph Hitler's undeniable connection to the theory." (this awesome YouTube video addresses many of Cameron's ridiculous points, one by one)

Thankfully, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins answers back with a book of his own:

In "The Greatest Show on Earth", Richard Dawkins takes on creationists, including followers of 'Intelligent Design' and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection. Like a detective arriving on the scene of a crime, he sifts through fascinating layers of scientific facts and disciplines to build a cast-iron case: from the living examples of natural selection in birds and insects; the 'time clocks' of trees and radioactive dating that calibrate a timescale for evolution; the fossil record and the traces of our earliest ancestors; to confirmation from molecular biology and genetics. All of this, and much more, bears witness to the truth of evolution. "The Greatest Show on Earth" comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is now flourishing as never before, especially in America. In Britain and elsewhere in the world, teachers witness insidious attempts to undermine the status of science in their classrooms. Richard Dawkins provides unequivocal evidence that boldly and comprehensively rebuts such nonsense.