Afarensis reviews Elizabeth Hess’ Nim Chimpsky and recommends it strongly:
This is the best book I have read this year and I recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in primates. It is hard, sometimes to do justice to a book so in closing I will quote from the final page:
They occasionally signed a few words to each other, although Byrne had often said that sign language was irrelevant to their relationship. From time to time Byrne believed that their discussions, however they communicated, verged on the philosophical. It was as if Nim was questioning Byrne, asking him over and over, “Why am I here? Why am I locked in this cage?” Byrne had thought seriously about the answer to that question. He concluded that Nim was not asking to escape but making a more poignant comment on the injustice of his captivity.
Here are the links to some of my earlier posts: on Nim; an interview with Hess; and, another review.
Update: Afarensis points to this NPR piece and excerpt in the comment section below.
Tags: Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky
June 14, 2008 at 9:32 am |
Yes, I do. I also agree, whole heartedly with Barbara King’s assessment that a large part of the aggression was created by separation anxiety (combined with a lack of understanding of chimp behavior in general). NPR also did a piece on Nim.
June 14, 2008 at 11:03 am |
Dear Afarensis,
Thanks for stopping by and the pointer; I will hoist the NPR link to the post.
Guru