Chimpanzee: Lessons from our Sister Species

Strap your brain on, this one is chock full. Some books look smart, some make you think you are smart after you read them, but this one makes me feel the synapses growing as I follow the connections Kevin Hunt makes between what is established researched and accepted scientific knowledge, areas of ongoing and continuous debate about the meaning of the fossil record or the observed natural behaviors in the wild, and what is conjecture about how it all fits together. Unlike an old text book that just tells you 'fact A' without any explanation, Kevin builds up the evidence that leads to 'fact A' . Oh my, real science is sooo satisfying. But he also lays out the journey of what we once thought, what has survived into current thinking, and what has been proven wrong. He offers new ways of thinking about features and behaviors, about the implication of the fossil record in the evolutionary journey of apes that leads to some pretty neat insights about humans too. I am not a primatologist or scientist or professor or even school teacher, I am just a curious person who reads a lot of science books. I am well past usual school age, but as I read I am tempted to reach for my hi-lighter or make a note about an idea Prof Hunt presents. I appreciate that he clearly differentiates between known facts, scientific conjectures and new ideas for further investigation. If you are an anthropology or primatology student looking for a thesis topic, Kevin Hunt offers several. Although this is not a 'story', he does tell relevant bits about his personal journey in his more than 30 years as a researcher. There is no hype in this book, just the rolling out of the complicated evolution of both apes and our current understanding of it. In full disclosure, I know Kevin Hunt personally and saw this book as he was writing prior to publication. I liked it then, and I really like it now. I am enjoying re-reading immensely, not because it is an entertainment like a Mary Roach or Bill Bryson sweeping overview of an interesting topic (though I like their books a lot too) , but because it is real science that is accessible for a mind willing to reach for it. I love books that make me feel smarter, and this is definitely one.

If you want to know as much as possible about Chimpanzees, read this book. And once you finish, read it again. This book is serious scholarship. It's almost as if every sentence carries added knowledge.

I got a copy from the college library and have read only 4 chapters and it's due soon, so I'm here looking up prices for my own copy.I have made many pages of notes, most recently on how food is digested, and how this affects behaviors including whether to socialize or isolate. Wondering about myself. Bitter flavors keep us away from Tannins, Alkaloids and Toxins, but in later life I find myself attracted to bitter flavors. What's that about? Amazing insights on every page.I am not a Biologist, just interested in a little bit of everything.Would be great for home-schoolers.I also aspire to writing fiction (nothing yet) and have created numerous prompts for myself from these pages such as, What if a Leaf-Eating Monkey found itself craving Fruits and Fats?Very well written for someone like me. I read a lot and follow authors who write well. For example (keeping it to Biology) Lynn Margulis, Robert Sapolsky.