This book helps clear up numerous misconceptions of the history of evolutionary science, the development of the thought around it and so on. It’s useful as a reference and to read within itself. I would disagree with onetreehill: Edward Larson’s connection with the Intelligent Design movement seems somewhat childish, and his work on the Scopes Monkey Trial is not that original – Ray Ginger did a sterling job in cataloguing Scopes almost half a century ago.

I would reccomend Bowler’s book unequivocally.

From an intellectual history of science perspective, Bowler is the master of this stuff. Larson is more readable, however.