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A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons by Robert M. Sapolsky
apatrick's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderfully interesting. Sapolsky is so smart, and funny, too. This is really interesting science, well-written, with a great sense of humor. It made me want to find everything else he's ever written. This book was on my to-read list for a long time, but a few months ago, there was an internet video going around of him lecturing about Depression and the obviousness of its biological basis. That was so great (informative, accessible but not dumbed down, etc.) that I decided to go back and find this book at the library. Now I'll be looking for anything else of his I can find.
itsneverbecky's review against another edition
4.0
An emotional rollercoaster of a book, a memoir of a primate on other primates. Insights into monkey & human cultures that are vastly different which are mostly non-judgemental, even though some is warrented (TW: FGM), the author is careful to avoid appropriation & is well aware of colonialism. There is a flood of characters but each is memorable. I felt the middle a little repetitive & my mind wandered a little but the ending was fantastically poignant. And I think the baboons came out as the better primates.
hailthefargoats's review against another edition
4.0
A Primate's Memoir is by Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University. This 304 page memoir follows Sapolsky over 30 years as he researches stress in baboons in Kenya. The book is divided into four sections, growing up with both the baboon troop and Sapolsky. The first chapter of each section heavily focuses on the baboon troop; who is the new alpha male, what those females are doing, and what their children are accomplishing. Then, the rest of the section often focuses on Sapolsky's adventures not in the bush. He travels to Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, and other places and ends up on some pretty amazing adventures.
Overall, I think it's a fantastic read. Read just the first chapter and you'll hear Sapolsky's voice; it jumps off the page. He has two levels of humor: the basic humor, the gags and gimmicks that everyone understands. He also has that second, deeper level of humor for the witty. The readers who pay attention to detail. And know a little bit more than the average reader. This second level humor shines through with name references that upon further research, you feel the need to laugh out loud. He's clever, if you can catch it.
The only thing I was expecting more was about the primates, the reason Sapolsky keeps coming back to Kenya. Or if not the baboons what sort of papers did he publish? What did the baboons teach him academically? Because the book is about his own self-discovery, aided by these primates. Which hits at the core of what a memoir is. Self-discovery. A transformation.
Probably my favorite section of the whole book is right before section four, 230ish pages into the book. The chapter leading up to this section dives into the story of Dian Fossey, a zoologist who went to Rwanda and discovered gorillas. She fell in love with them; she made a home in the forest and never left. And she tired to protect them. Sure, she probably went about it in an unconventional and potentially unsuccessful way. But she got people talking. Fossey was brutally murdered and her house was left in the jungle. Sapolsky goes on a hike and at the very ends runs into Fossey's house. He ends the chapter with this section:
"Fossey, Fossey, you cranky difficult strong-arming self-destructive misanthrope, mediocre scientist, deceiver of earnest college students, probable cause of more deaths of the gorillas than if you had never set foot in Rwanda, Fossey, you pain-in-the-ass saint, I do not believe in prayers or souls, but I will pray for your soul, I will remember you all of my days, in gratitude for that moment by the graves when all I felt was the pure, cleansing sadness of retuning home and finding nothing but ghosts" - A Primate's Memoir
Brilliant. The way the words roll off the page, forcing you to read it quicker. My heart sped up and I wanted to get to the end of the paragraph and yet, stop to soak it in. I want a voice like that. If I can be published and get this feeling and reaction from my readers, then I've done my job.
Would I tell people to read this book? Absolutely. You can even borrow my copy, complete with notations. You'll be glad you did.
Overall, I think it's a fantastic read. Read just the first chapter and you'll hear Sapolsky's voice; it jumps off the page. He has two levels of humor: the basic humor, the gags and gimmicks that everyone understands. He also has that second, deeper level of humor for the witty. The readers who pay attention to detail. And know a little bit more than the average reader. This second level humor shines through with name references that upon further research, you feel the need to laugh out loud. He's clever, if you can catch it.
The only thing I was expecting more was about the primates, the reason Sapolsky keeps coming back to Kenya. Or if not the baboons what sort of papers did he publish? What did the baboons teach him academically? Because the book is about his own self-discovery, aided by these primates. Which hits at the core of what a memoir is. Self-discovery. A transformation.
Probably my favorite section of the whole book is right before section four, 230ish pages into the book. The chapter leading up to this section dives into the story of Dian Fossey, a zoologist who went to Rwanda and discovered gorillas. She fell in love with them; she made a home in the forest and never left. And she tired to protect them. Sure, she probably went about it in an unconventional and potentially unsuccessful way. But she got people talking. Fossey was brutally murdered and her house was left in the jungle. Sapolsky goes on a hike and at the very ends runs into Fossey's house. He ends the chapter with this section:
"Fossey, Fossey, you cranky difficult strong-arming self-destructive misanthrope, mediocre scientist, deceiver of earnest college students, probable cause of more deaths of the gorillas than if you had never set foot in Rwanda, Fossey, you pain-in-the-ass saint, I do not believe in prayers or souls, but I will pray for your soul, I will remember you all of my days, in gratitude for that moment by the graves when all I felt was the pure, cleansing sadness of retuning home and finding nothing but ghosts" - A Primate's Memoir
Brilliant. The way the words roll off the page, forcing you to read it quicker. My heart sped up and I wanted to get to the end of the paragraph and yet, stop to soak it in. I want a voice like that. If I can be published and get this feeling and reaction from my readers, then I've done my job.
Would I tell people to read this book? Absolutely. You can even borrow my copy, complete with notations. You'll be glad you did.
superracoon's review against another edition
I don't understand why the subtitle is "A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons" when it's not about baboons. I thought it would be a book about baboons, but well over half of it is about the people he met in Africa, all of whom he either describes as children, rascals, or incompetent corrupt thugs. Whenever he is alone with an African he seems to think they will murder him? He talks fondly about "my village" (of humans) and "my troop" (of baboons) in a way I found quite unsettling. He described fretting for a friend/employee who I assume is an adult (?) "like a worried parent".
I just wanted a book about baboons. Years later, he named his children after baboons, you think he'd like baboons enough to write a book about them. The world did not need another outsider's perspective on Kenyan people and their neighbours, dear lord.
I just wanted a book about baboons. Years later, he named his children after baboons, you think he'd like baboons enough to write a book about them. The world did not need another outsider's perspective on Kenyan people and their neighbours, dear lord.
blacklake's review against another edition
4.0
This was simply a fascinating book on both primatology and local culture, as well as being a wonderful collection of life experiences. I very much enjoyed the writing, especially about the baboons.
I find it hard to forget, though, how he called a child affected by disease a "monster", several times, and casually mentioned that there was an idiot in every town. I can't stand this way of talking about people, and it soured the book for me. I admit the book was so good I read it anyway, but it made me heartsick to hear anyone, and especially a neurologist of any kind, talk this way. The tone of the book is casual, but this went far beyond casual for me.
I find it hard to forget, though, how he called a child affected by disease a "monster", several times, and casually mentioned that there was an idiot in every town. I can't stand this way of talking about people, and it soured the book for me. I admit the book was so good I read it anyway, but it made me heartsick to hear anyone, and especially a neurologist of any kind, talk this way. The tone of the book is casual, but this went far beyond casual for me.
meamaunz's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it! It made me laugh, cry, care about baboons (a lot), learn more about Africa and its ways, and it introduced me to the fantastic researcher that Robert Sapolsky is. Would recommend to almost everyone.
em_prkr's review against another edition
5.0
So humorous. Candid. Wonderful read even if you do not have a special interest in nonhuman primate behavior.