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Записки примата: Необычайная жизнь ученого среди павианов by Роберт Сапольски, Robert M. Sapolsky
svaughn's review against another edition
3.0
I wish Sapolsky had stuck to the baboon stories and maybe expanded more on his emotional landscape throughout that time. The parts with baboons were interesting and funny, the parts about his other travels around Africa felt disjointed and like they were there are amazement or entertainment rather than adding to the narrative of life and fieldwork in parallel. A solid read but not an all time favorite.
maurijauregui7's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I discovered Robert Sapolsky through his Stanford Behavioral Biology class on Youtube and immediately got hooked with his teaching style: fun, dynamic, humble, empathetic, honest and very very informative.
This book is just like that but personal, with some stories I wouldn't believe if I heard them, but that help me understand him even more. A lot of lessons about life can be learned subtly through his stories.
This book is just like that but personal, with some stories I wouldn't believe if I heard them, but that help me understand him even more. A lot of lessons about life can be learned subtly through his stories.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would! Mainly because I am not particularly interested in baboons. Apparently neither was Robert Sapolsky before he started studying them (he was hoping to study the more manly mountain gorilla), but he made the story of this baboon troop ridiculously, soap opera-ishly compelling. Plus some insights about Africa and human nature OR WHATEVER.
morgan_blackledge's review against another edition
5.0
OMG. Sapolsky is an absolute treasure. His books and lectures are quirky, irreverent, funny as hell, brilliant, informative and utterly original.
His Stanford course on behavioral neurobiology (see it for free on YouTube) is a masterpiece. I have watched the entire thing (it's like 36 hours long total) at least 3 times. And I'm fixing to watch it again in preparation for the affective psychology course I'm about to teach.
As a psychology lecturer, I'd be green with envy if I was in the same species as him. But Sapolsky's in a class of his own. I do my best to ape his lecture style, but how ever good at it I get (which is not very) I'm afraid my lectures will always be a pale simulacrum.
Simply put. He's a fuckin genius. My only gripe with him is that he doesn't write enough. I would kill for a new Sapolsky text.
As should be obvious by now, I really love Robert Sapolsky's work. So why did I wait so long to read this book? Because it's a memoir and I typically can't tolerate them. No good reason. I just don't like them. With the exception of this one.
By the end of the book you feel real sense of kinship for Sapolsky and his baboons. He does a marvelous job of closing the empathy gap by rendering the baboons and the people (including himself) in endearing but strangely unsentimental terms. I don't want to spoil the book, but I will say that you really care about the lil guys by the end of it.
If you're a Sapolsky fan (or even if you're not and you just want a terrifically funny and interesting book to read) this thing should be your next read. I feel like I understand the guy and his work so much better now. For the life of me I can't figure out why I waited so long to read it, but I'm really glad I did.
Five stars!!!!
His Stanford course on behavioral neurobiology (see it for free on YouTube) is a masterpiece. I have watched the entire thing (it's like 36 hours long total) at least 3 times. And I'm fixing to watch it again in preparation for the affective psychology course I'm about to teach.
As a psychology lecturer, I'd be green with envy if I was in the same species as him. But Sapolsky's in a class of his own. I do my best to ape his lecture style, but how ever good at it I get (which is not very) I'm afraid my lectures will always be a pale simulacrum.
Simply put. He's a fuckin genius. My only gripe with him is that he doesn't write enough. I would kill for a new Sapolsky text.
As should be obvious by now, I really love Robert Sapolsky's work. So why did I wait so long to read this book? Because it's a memoir and I typically can't tolerate them. No good reason. I just don't like them. With the exception of this one.
By the end of the book you feel real sense of kinship for Sapolsky and his baboons. He does a marvelous job of closing the empathy gap by rendering the baboons and the people (including himself) in endearing but strangely unsentimental terms. I don't want to spoil the book, but I will say that you really care about the lil guys by the end of it.
If you're a Sapolsky fan (or even if you're not and you just want a terrifically funny and interesting book to read) this thing should be your next read. I feel like I understand the guy and his work so much better now. For the life of me I can't figure out why I waited so long to read it, but I'm really glad I did.
Five stars!!!!
rbharath's review against another edition
4.0
I read Robert Sapolsky’s ‘Behave’ recently and really liked it for its tremendous insights on human behaviour. And so, as a recently turned fan of his writing, I looked up his other books and chose "A Primate’s Memoir”. This book however is more about his experiences in Africa to study baboons, and not a deep science read like ‘Behave’. This book is interesting in its own way – Sapolsky combines humour while narrating his experiences very well.
Robert Sapolsky has this strong urge to study baboons in their natural surroundings and welcomes a break from lab work. He goes to Kenya (to the bush near Serengeti) and studies a baboon troop closely over several years. He personalises the experience very well – each baboon has a name, and their behaviours are described in ways we can easily relate to. There is a social hierarchy among the baboons and power is attained by the Alpha male after being tested & accepted by the rest of the troop. There is a lot of interesting information on male – female pairing, aggression, emotions and other behaviours. To study the impact of hierarchy and events on baboons parameters, he goes around shooting anaesthetic darts at the baboons and taking blood samples. This becomes more and more difficult as the baboons start looking out for him and recognise the dart gun.
There are large portions of the book on Sapolsky’s experiences with the local Masai tribes, local culture, corruption and conflicts. His interaction with the local tribes makes for great reading. He also makes trips to Uganda when Idi Amin’s regime falls, survives the aftermath of a coup attempt and makes a difficult trip to Sudan. He critically examines the legacy of Dian Fossey (I did not know about her story earlier), though in a mature way. There is a situation he covers towards the end of the book where a few baboons contract tuberculosis, and he finds it frustrating in battling a corrupt system to save the baboons.
Sapolsky explains his fascination with studying the brain to the fact that his father suffered from brain disease. This is the portion I was uncomfortable with in ‘Behave’ as well, but the issue comes more directly in this book. Sapolsky briefly relates how lab animals live miserable lives – confined and put through great cruelty causing them acute pain & suffering (sometimes for nothing). He goes on to mention that he did not see an alternate to this with the larger good in mind. I do not think this is adequate examination of a very serious issue. There are some tragic incidents as part of his darting experiences as well, however careful he tries to be.
I recommend this for the absorbing writing of his experiences, description of baboon behaviour and new cultures. I found ''Behave’ to be more impressive, but then, just maybe my expectations were too high after reading it first.
Also, this is my first audiobook! I do admit to struggling with it a bit though – I found it more difficult to focus – I was more prone to distraction, and had to invest more time in completing the book (in comparison to reading). However, there are surely other obvious advantages and hope to get better at listening to my next audiobook.
My rating: 4.25 / 5.
Robert Sapolsky has this strong urge to study baboons in their natural surroundings and welcomes a break from lab work. He goes to Kenya (to the bush near Serengeti) and studies a baboon troop closely over several years. He personalises the experience very well – each baboon has a name, and their behaviours are described in ways we can easily relate to. There is a social hierarchy among the baboons and power is attained by the Alpha male after being tested & accepted by the rest of the troop. There is a lot of interesting information on male – female pairing, aggression, emotions and other behaviours. To study the impact of hierarchy and events on baboons parameters, he goes around shooting anaesthetic darts at the baboons and taking blood samples. This becomes more and more difficult as the baboons start looking out for him and recognise the dart gun.
There are large portions of the book on Sapolsky’s experiences with the local Masai tribes, local culture, corruption and conflicts. His interaction with the local tribes makes for great reading. He also makes trips to Uganda when Idi Amin’s regime falls, survives the aftermath of a coup attempt and makes a difficult trip to Sudan. He critically examines the legacy of Dian Fossey (I did not know about her story earlier), though in a mature way. There is a situation he covers towards the end of the book where a few baboons contract tuberculosis, and he finds it frustrating in battling a corrupt system to save the baboons.
Sapolsky explains his fascination with studying the brain to the fact that his father suffered from brain disease. This is the portion I was uncomfortable with in ‘Behave’ as well, but the issue comes more directly in this book. Sapolsky briefly relates how lab animals live miserable lives – confined and put through great cruelty causing them acute pain & suffering (sometimes for nothing). He goes on to mention that he did not see an alternate to this with the larger good in mind. I do not think this is adequate examination of a very serious issue. There are some tragic incidents as part of his darting experiences as well, however careful he tries to be.
I recommend this for the absorbing writing of his experiences, description of baboon behaviour and new cultures. I found ''Behave’ to be more impressive, but then, just maybe my expectations were too high after reading it first.
Also, this is my first audiobook! I do admit to struggling with it a bit though – I found it more difficult to focus – I was more prone to distraction, and had to invest more time in completing the book (in comparison to reading). However, there are surely other obvious advantages and hope to get better at listening to my next audiobook.
My rating: 4.25 / 5.
jamie_toomai's review against another edition
3.0
Drags in the beginning when it's lots of stories of his travels in Africa--sure he's self conscious about it, but enough with the white voices talking about Africa. Second half is excellent. A deep spiritual reflection. Throughout I like his laconic voice as a writer. 3.5 stars. Would be 4 had he cut the length in half.