Books by Subject
Books by Subject
Bonobos
By Frans De Wall & Frans Lanting
Reviews
Amazon.com
For Frans de Waal, man is not the only moral entity, as he made clear in his
last book--Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals.
The author has long been intrigued by chimpanzee politics and mores, and now he has turned
his human heart and scientific mind to a species science has tended to celebrate solely
for its sex drive. Bonobos may look like chimps, but they are actually even closer to
us--far more upright, physically, for a start. Furthermore, where chimpanzees hunt, fight,
and politic like mad, bonobos are peaceful, often ambisexual, and matriarchal. (Of course,
hyenas are matriarchal too, but that's another story ...) De Waal's collaborator, Frans
Lanting, has been photographing these gentle creatures for some years and augments the
primatologist's explorations and interviews with hundreds of superb color shots. The
penultimate picture is of bonobos crossing a road while schoolchildren stand watching, a
short distance away. If, as the truism goes, all books about animal behavior are
ultimately about us, this exploration of the bonobo may be a step in the right direction.
Other editions: paperback
Hardcover
University of California Press, May 97
ISBN: 0520205359
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Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind
by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh & Roger Lewin (contributor)
Paperback
John Wiley & Sons, Sept. 1996
ISBN: 047115959X
Book Description
Kanzi offers any number of crucial insights into the workings of the
mind.--The New York Times Book Review The remarkable story of the
"talking" ape who is proving animals can think Though he cannot
physically speak, Kanzi understands an impressive amount of spoken English and
communicates by punching symbols on a special keyboard. This book tells Kanzi's
incredible story and explores its intriguing ramifications. SUE
SAVAGE-RUMBAUGH
(Decatur, Georgia) is one of the world's leading ape-language researchers. ROGER
LEWIN (Cambridge, Massachusetts) is the author of 12 books, including
co-authorship of the best-selling Origins with Richard Leakey.
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