{"product_id":"our-inner-ape-a-leading-primatologist-explains-why-we-are-who-we-are-9781594481963","title":"Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are","description":"\u003cb\u003eVisit the author's Web site at www.ourinnerape.com\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's no secret that humans and apes share a host of traits, from the tribal communities we form to our irrepressible curiosity. We have a common ancestor, scientists tell us, so it's natural that we act alike. But not all of these parallels are so appealing: the chimpanzee, for example, can be as vicious and manipulative as any human.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet there's more to our shared primate heritage than just our violent streak. In \u003cb\u003eOur Inner Ape\u003c\/b\u003e, Frans de Waal, one of the world's great primatologists and a renowned expert on social behavior in apes, presents the provocative idea that our noblest qualities--generosity, kindness, altruism--are as much a part of our nature as are our baser instincts. After all, we share them with another primate: the lesser-known bonobo. As genetically similar to man as the chimpanzee, the bonobo has a temperament and a lifestyle vastly different from those of its genetic cousin. Where chimps are aggressive, territorial, and hierarchical, bonobos are gentle, loving, and erotic (sex for bonobos is as much about pleasure and social bonding as it is about reproduction).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile the parallels between chimp brutality and human brutality are easy to see, de Waal suggests that the conciliatory bonobo is just as legitimate a model to study when we explore our primate heritage. He even connects humanity's desire for fairness and its morality with primate behavior, offering a view of society that contrasts markedly with the caricature people have of Darwinian evolution. It's plain that our finest qualities run deeper in our DNA than experts have previously thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrans de Waal has spent the last two decades studying our closest primate relations, and his observations of each species in \u003cb\u003eOur Inner Ape\u003c\/b\u003e encompass the spectrum of human behavior. This is an audacious book, an engrossing discourse that proposes thought-provoking and sometimes shocking connections among chimps, bonobos, and those most paradoxical of apes, human beings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Riverhead Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781594481963\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.63lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.08h x 5.78w x 0.83d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/03\/2006 pg. 20\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCommonweal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/21\/2007 pg. 23\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Frans de Waal","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38470682869941,"sku":"9781594481963","price":20.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_590407f3-b5f3-41f0-ae2c-40dfc32d6abf.jpg?v=1612926644","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/our-inner-ape-a-leading-primatologist-explains-why-we-are-who-we-are-9781594481963","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}