This beautiful new book is the official public communication from the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine on the current state of the scientific consensus about evolution and how it should be presented in the public schools.

A committee of 15 distinguished scientists contributed to the book, which is a revision of “Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences,” first issued in 1983. On-going controversies about creationism, including the landmark 2005 court case in Dover, Pa., which deemed the teaching of intelligent design unconstitutional, are clearly part of the motive for issuing this book.

The authors define the audience for their book precisely: “It is written to serve as a resource for people who find themselves embroiled in debates about evolution. It provides information about the role that evolution plays in modern biology and the reasons why only scientifically based explanations should be included in public school science courses. Interested readers may include school board members, science teachers and other education leaders, policy makers, legal scholars, and others in the community who are committed to providing students with quality science education. This booklet is also directed to the broader audience of high-quality school and college students as well as adults who wish to become more familiar with the many strands of evidence supporting evolution and to understand why evolution is both a fact and a process that accounts for the diversity of life on Earth.”

The opening chapter, “Evolution and the Nature of Science,” does an excellent job of setting the tone for the whole book in that it manages to reply effectively to recent efforts to undermine the authority of science by being reasonable, informative, and deftly pedagogical.

For example, in illustrating the point that scientific evidence supporting biological evolution continues to grow at a rapid pace, the authors offer as an example the 2004 Canadian discovery of a 4-foot-long fossil (Tiktaalik) that has features intermediate between those of a fish (gills, scales, and fins) and those of a four-legged animal (lungs, flexible neck, and a sturdy fin skeleton.) The authors don’t dwell on the fact that anti-evolutionists have long claimed that the absence of such intermediate species from the fossil record is a principal reason for rejecting evolution. Instead, they carefully show how the prediction of such forms of life-and their eventual discovery — is exemplary science.

Again without rehearsing recent empty controversies initiated by creationists, the authors provide clear, useful definitions of key terms in the debate, such as science, theory and fact.

Science is “the use of evidence to construct testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the knowledge generated through this process.”

Unlike the everyday usage of the term “theory,” in scientific discourse it “refers to a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence.”

Similarly, the authors explain, the term “fact” has a more precise meaning in scientific discourse than it does in everyday usage. “In science, a ‘fact’ typically refers to an observation, measurement, or other form of evidence that can be expected to occur the same way under similar circumstances. However, scientists also use the term ‘fact’ to refer to a scientific explanation that has been tested and confirmed so many times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing it or looking for additional examples.”

In that respect, they say, evolution is both a theory and a fact: “Because the evidence supporting it is so strong, scientists no longer question whether biological evolution has occurred and is continuing to occur. Instead, they investigate the mechanisms of evolution, how rapidly evolution can take place, and related questions.”

Scientific investigation can be on-going while based on solid convictions.

Some of the new sections in the book explain the essential role of evolution in contemporary medicine (in dealing with SARS), in agriculture (the domestication of wheat), and in industry (the development of clean air fuel.) There are also excellent sections on evolution and religion and on evolution and the law.

These include key passages from Supreme and District Court decisions of 1968, 1987, and 2005, as well as excerpts of statements by religious leaders who see no conflict between their faith and science. These include declarations by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Pope John Paul II, and “The Clergy Letter Project,” signed by more than 10,000 Christian clergy members. There are equally powerful and informative statements to the same effect by famous scientists who hold a wide range of positions about religion.

A free, on-line version of this important book is available on the Web site of the National Academy of Sciences: http://www.nap.edu. It is both informative and a delight to read.

n Michael Payne teaches and writes about literature and critical theory. He lives in Lewisburg and can be reached at payne@bucknell.edu.