Nonfiction Book Reviews

Note: I got most of the way through this post and realized that I had forgotten to give a definition for intelligent design, for those readers out there who are not into the latest fads of science.

Basically, Intelligent Design (ID) is the belief that there are complex systems in this world (they use the eye as an example) that could never have evolved on its own.  Ergo, there has to be an intelligent designer who has done all of the major changes in the life forms here on Earth - they believe that every time a new species either appeared or disappeared, it was done by the direct hand of a god (and they specifically say that it isn’t necessarily the Christian God - just a god.)  Intelligent design is in direct competition with evolution as a way of explaining the history of life on Earth.

Okay, now we can proceed with my book review…

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This year in the honors program, we are studying evolution which has been fascinating for me.  Perhaps I slept through evolution in my science classes in high school, or maybe it’s part of the knowledge that I’ve since forgotten that I even learned, but either way, I know pretty much nothing about evolution.

So when I saw Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul by Kenneth R Miller while doing check-in, I thought that it’d be a great book to check out and read, so I could get a better grounding on the subject.

The main thrust of the book is this: Evolution is a scientific theory that has been proven over and over again in the labs and in different disciplines of science.  Intelligent design, on the other hand, has absolutely no scientific proof backing it up, despite the fact that its proponents claim that it is a scientific theory.  Miller goes through and explains the intelligent design point of view in-depth, and then he very neatly rips it to shreds.

In the debate today on evolution vs intelligent design, the lines have been set: If you believe there is a God, then you must be against evolution and for intelligent design.  And if you’re for evolution and against intelligent design, well then, you must be a soulless atheist.

Which is what makes this book stand out from the crowd: Kenneth Miller is a devout Christian.  He believes in God.  He also believes that a belief in God and a knowledge that evolution is a true scientific principle are not at odds with each other at all.

The really great part of the book is that this is not made a central point of the book.  Instead, he discusses both evolution and intelligent design from a scientist’s viewpoint, and leaves religion pretty much out of the equation.  About two-thirds of the way through the book, he does discuss his belief in God, and it runs about five pages.  For any atheists or agnostics reading the book, they would not be offended by this section, and could easily skip it without feeling like they’re missing large chunks of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style of the book - Miller is a professor of biology at Brown University, and has obviously spent a lot of time breaking down difficult concepts, because I was never lost once while reading this book, which says a lot for his ability to teach.  I hate it when I read a book that is supposedly intended for a general audience, but it written so far above me, the only way to comprehend it is to read it with a dictionary in the other hand.  You don’t have to worry about that with this book.

I have to give two giant thumbs up for this book.  If you’ve heard about the debate, and you’re wanting to see what all the fuss is about, this is the book to read.  If a non-scientific mind like mine can read it and understand it and enjoy it, I think pretty much anyone out there could too.  And this is such an important debate in today’s world, you don’t want to go into it blind.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Hava