Our Inner Ape

Narrator Alan Sklar turns what could have been a dull rendition of an analytical study into a fascinating description of what could be our closest primate cousins. Listeners will learn about the group dynamics of these captivating creatures and how different they are from humans, yet how alike. Sklar adds just a touch of a smile to his sonorous voice, conveying friendliness, warmth, and humor. Listen to who screeches the loudest at the next office party or watch who takes the head of the table at the next family reunion, and you'll have an idea how De Waal finds the connections between Bonobos, chimpanzees, and humans. R.O. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Starred review from August 8, 2005
Noted primatologist de Waal (Chimpanzee Politics
) thinks human behavior cannot be fully explained by selfish genes and Darwinian competition. Drawing on his own primate research on chimpanzees and bonobos—our closest animal relatives—he shows how much we can learn from them about ourselves: our qualities of "fellow feeling and empathy" as well as our power-obsessed, violent side. We are "bipolar apes," de Waal says, as much like bonobos as like chimps. The latter are known for their viciousness and "red in tooth and claw" social politics, but bonobos offer a radically different social model, one of peace and hedonistic orgies; de Waal offers vivid, often delightful stories of politics, sex, violence and kindness in the ape communities he has studied to illustrate such questions as why we are irreverent toward the powerful and whether men or women are better at conflict resolution. Readers might be surprised at how much these apes and their stories resonate with their own lives, and may well be left with an urge to spend a few hours watching primates themselves at the local zoo. Agent, Michelle Tessler
.