Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are by Frans De Waal (2006)

Stopped a fourth from the end. Not very good. Expected better from a famous scientist. ( )

Haz el bonobo baby!

Just finished Our Inner Ape by Frans De Waal. It was outstanding. De Waal, who mostly studies chimpanzees, is also an authority on the lesser-known bonobo, which exhibits behaviors such as generosity and altruism that he argues are just as much a part of our nature as our more violent qualities often linked to our commonalities with chimpanzees. This is one of those great science books that can be read by an educated layperson. And where else are you going to read Yogi Berra, Keith Richards and the Chinese sage Mencius quoted in the same work? (There's also an interesting comparision between gun ownership and breast-feeding.) Also, De Waal takes a shot at Richard Dawkins' selfish gene, which is pretty convincing. ( )

My non-fiction readers' group discussed this book -- and what a lively discussion it was! It was amazing how the author was able to make a scientific subject interesting and most accessible to non-scientists. Our Inner Ape was a wonderful book start to finish ... highly recommended! ( )