Our Inner Ape : A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are — by Frans De Waal
I remember reading Desmond Morris’s famous The Naked Ape when I was about eighteen. I found it fascinating, and I am now equally intrigued by this book. Frans de Waal is a Dutch primatologist who has worked with chimpanzees and the less-known bonobos, two very different species. We share most of our genetic heritage and many behavioral traits with both of them. de Waal’s book explores four areas: power, sex, violence and kindness, and his observations as well as the many anecdotes from his personal experiences make for compelling reading.
I didn’t notice the section of photographs at the back of the book until I finished it, and found it strange to see the images of animals who I felt I knew as individuals. I found myself looking at them at the portrait of Yeroen, for example, as one looks at the photographs in a biography. I really loved was the photograph of adopted baby Roosje being bottle-fed by Kuif, since that story was one of my favorite stories in this entertaining and enlightening book.
I just visited my library’s catalog and placed requests for some of Frans de Waal’s other books, including My Family Album: Thirty Years of Primate Photography, from which these photographs were taken.
Links:
- Scientists’ Nightstand: Frans de Waal — A brief profile focusing on what a scientist is currently reading
- ITConversations: Human Nature — (Frans de Waal: Comparative Primatologist)
Audio from de Waal’s presentation at PopTech - NPR: Getting in Touch with the Inner Ape — ” World-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal talks about his new book Our Inner Ape. From conflict resolution to altruism, violence and sex, how much do humans have in common with our nearest primate relatives?”
