Essay: "The Hills of Zion." HL Mencken. 1925.

10-second review: Mencken went to Dayton, Tennessee, to cover the Scopes monkey trial. While there, he observed a religious ritual of fundamentalist Christians who went into convulsions while howling hosannas.

Quote: “One of the men, in the intervals between fits, put on his spectacles and read his Bible.” p. 111.

Comment: Much of Mencken’s criticism was directed at irrationality in American life. Here is an example. RayS.

Best American Essays of the Century. Editors: Oates and Atwan. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000.