Our inner ape: a leading primatologist explains why we are who we are

Description

One of the world's foremost primatologists explores what our two closest relatives in the animal kingdom--the violent, power-hungry chimpanzee and the cooperative, empathetic bonobo--can tell us about the duality of our own human nature. We have long attributed man's violent, aggressive, competitive nature to his animal ancestry. But what if we are just as given to cooperation, empathy and morality by virtue of our genes? For nearly twenty years, Frans de Waal has worked with both the famously aggressive chimpanzee and the lesser-known egalitarian, erotic, matriarchal bonobo, two species whose DNA is nearly identical to that of humans. In this book, he lets their personalities, relationships, power struggles, and high jinks captivate our hearts and minds. The result is a surprising narrative that explores what their behavior can teach us about the most provocative aspects of human nature.--From publisher description.;Apes in the family -- Power -- Sex -- Violence -- Kindness -- The bipolar ape -- Photo gallery.