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This concise argument for the acceptance of evolution as pertaining to human development attempts to clearly explain not only how evolution is true but also why there are a significant number of people who refuse to believe scientific evidence, evidence which offers an explanation as to how evolution has led to the development of human beings as they are today. Wood argues that there are two reasons that humans find it impossible to accept the truths of evolution. First, in both biological and geological evolution, the changes which occur in living organisms and the earth itself are too slow for people and their ancestors to observe. Second, the religious ideals and beliefs instilled within humans as children are difficult to dissuade.
Wood's book is well-organized into 5 chapters. The first explains the author’s reasons for writing the book, while chapters 2 and 3 examine evolutionary ideas and publications before and after the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species. Geological evolution is discussed in chapter 4, which delves into the first appearance of water and life upon a slowly evolving earth. In an attempt to answer why overwhelming scientific evidence still leaves 34% of Americans refusing to accept any form of evolution, Chapter 5 addresses the question: "Why do people still believe?"
Though only 131 pages, the author covers a complicated subject with substantial facts and makes a well-presented argument for his thesis. Readers wishing to learn more about the origins of evolution theory and gain a better understanding of the resistance to its ideas will find much to contemplate in this book. Even those who do not accept evolution as fact may find information to glean from this work. The author’s book is an interesting read on one of the more controversial subjects in contemporary thought.