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4.59 AVERAGE
4.59 AVERAGE
Fascinating and eye-opening. I felt like I was right there with Roger through his journey. Highly recommend.
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. It's about the author's work with chimpanzees that speak ASL. The chimps now live at Central Washington University, and I've been to a "chimposium" to learn about and observe them. This book says so much about how close we are to the chimpanzees and what it means to be human. Just incredible.
It was Washoe who taught me that "human" is only an adjective that describes "being", and that the essence of who I am is not my humanness but my beingness. There are human beings, chimpanzee beings, and cat beings.
How often do you read a book that changes your life? I will never be the same now that I have read this. At times charming, funny, eye-opening, and devastatingly heartbreaking, Roger Fouts describes his research on communicating with chimpanzees using sign language. Chimpanzees have feelings, social lives, and (he proves) the ability to communicate not only with each other, but with us. This book has broadened my horizons, made me laugh, and broke my heart.
How often do you read a book that changes your life? I will never be the same now that I have read this. At times charming, funny, eye-opening, and devastatingly heartbreaking, Roger Fouts describes his research on communicating with chimpanzees using sign language. Chimpanzees have feelings, social lives, and (he proves) the ability to communicate not only with each other, but with us. This book has broadened my horizons, made me laugh, and broke my heart.
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Chimpanzees speaking sign language, making gin and tonics, consoling humans about lost babies -- the list goes on and on. This shows you how much chimps, the rest of the great apes, and probably many other animals think and feel. Fouts' description of human "sequential" thinking versus chimps' (and animals in general) "simultaneous" thinking is a cool and meritorius idea.
4.5 Stars
An amazing read about our chimpanzee relatives and the ethics of bio-medical research on animals as a whole. I highly recommend it if you're searching for an easy-to-understand but interesting perspective on language and animal conservation.
An amazing read about our chimpanzee relatives and the ethics of bio-medical research on animals as a whole. I highly recommend it if you're searching for an easy-to-understand but interesting perspective on language and animal conservation.
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced