The debate about evolution's validity not only continues - - with America's growing fundamentalist conservatism, and concerns about the way academic material is presented and absorbed within the public school system, the topic of evolution has become a tempestuous battleground.

Until now, I have been dissatisfied with all aspects of the debate. It pits hard-core evolutionists against equally dogmatic creationists. But binary weltanschaaung, having a worldview that is black-or-white, is unrealistic. Using his background in molecular biology, Denton attempts to honestly evaluate the theory of evolution (and it is, after all, only a theory, not an Ultimate Truth!). What he finds is that orthodox Darwinism simply cannot be.

I have read other accounts (Abuse of Science by Philip Kitcher comes to mind) whose arguments supporting evolution are convincing to the casual reader, until one realizes that Kitcher is guilty of manipulating the facts by conveniently omitting scientific evidence that is contrary to his agenda. Denton doesn't claim to have any answers to how we got here - - that puzzle continues to frustrate him - - but he does provide compelling evidence that suggests that the foundations upon which the theory of evolution is based are shaky at best.

Although there is plenty of scientific jargon thrown in, Denton does a good job of making his message accessible to the "scientifically challenged" (I should know!). How refreshing to read his point of view, without any accompanying emotional hysteria or sanctimonious rhetoric.

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