Suggested Readings

Chapter 4: Monkeys, Apes and Humans: The Modern Primates

de Waal, F. (1996). Good Natured: The origins of right and wrong in humans and other animals. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Primatologist Frans de Waal, though fully up on field studies of wild primates, has spent much of his career studying bonobos and chimpanzees in captivity. In this book he argues that moral behavior can be found in nonhuman animals, most clearly in apes but also in other primates and even nonprimate species. Written for a general audience, but with a strong scientific foundation, the book communicates its message in a clear and  responsible way.

De Waal, F. (2001). The Ape and the Sushi Master. New York: Basic Books.

Another by de Waal, one of the best observers of primate behavior in the business. In this book he deals with the question of animal culture in a manner guaranteed to provoke thought. The book is well written and, once begun, almost impossible to put down.

Fossey, D. (1983). Gorillas in the Mist. Burlington, MA. Houghton Mifflin.

The late Dian Fossey is to gorillas what Jane Goodall is to chimpanzees. Fossey devoted   years to the study of gorilla behavior in the field. This book is about the first 13 years of  her study; as well as being readable and informative, it is well illustrated.

Goodall, J. (1990). Through a Window. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

This fascinating book is a personal account of Goodall’s experiences over 35 years of studying wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. A pleasure to read and a fount of information on the behavior of these apes, the book is profusely illustrated as well.

LeGros Clark, W. E. (1966). History of the Primates (5th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

An old classic, this remains a fine introduction to the comparative anatomy of the primates.

Patterson, F., & Linden, E. (1981). The Education of Koko. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Several experiments with captive apes have sought to investigate the full potential of their communicative abilities, and one of the most interesting is that involving Koko the gorilla. This is a particularly readable account of those experiments and their results.