| 9780806531335 |
| (pbk.) |
| 0806531339 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Library 21c | Paperback | 599.883 T476I | Nonfiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
The first book to explore the current knowledge and status of orangutans, a species threatened with extinction in their last refuges of Borneo and Sumatra. Written with infectious personal enthusiasm, The Intimate Ape takes readers into the apes' natural habitat and discovers the complex natures of these great 'men of the forest'. Complete with never-before-published material, The Intimate Ape is the definitive guide to Orangutans and their behaviour.
Author Notes
Shawn Thompson is a professor and journalist. He has covered a variety of social issues, including the difficult survival of the endangered orangutan species, as well as the maintaining of mental health under the prison system. His published works include The Intimate Ape: Orangutans and the Secret of a Vanishing Species; A River Rat's Guide to the Thousand Islands; and Letters from Prison: Felons Write About the Struggle for Life and Sanity Behind Bars . He resides in British Columbia.
Bestselling author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson has written nine books on the minds and emotions of animals. His book Dogs Never Lie About Love was a New York Times bestseller, reaching international sales of more than one million. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Of all the great apes, orangutans have been the most neglected by researchers. In this remarkably empathetic book, Thompson (Letters from Prison) sets about correcting this omission. Interweaving his own contact with the apes with the work of primatologists and veterinarians who have made studying orangutans in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra their mission, and how the unassuming orangutan-ostensibly the least compelling primate-came to demand his due. Thompson establishes the individuality of the reclusive Indonesian apes-the paralyzed but inquisitive Kiki; Kusasi, the dominant maverick; the elusive Merah, who bonds with humans over their shared affection for her baby. We also learn that they fashion a kind of leaf doll to take to bed with them, that the Sumatran subspecies are adept at making and using tools, that they communicate and analyze the intentions of others. Even if the narrative gets bogged down and buckles under the weight of detail (some of it quite dry), there is still abundant pleasure to be found in the book's earnest and affectionate portrait of this captivating and increasingly imperiled species. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Journalist Thompson begins his introspective exploration of orangutans and the people who study and work with them with an expression of his own passion for these lesser-known apes. As he travels the rivers of Borneo on his way to the rain-forest home of the orangutan, he writes of those who have gone before, such as William Temple Hornaday, who shot orangutans for taxidermy as museum specimens even while he kept a young one as a pet. The author contrasts this early view of orangs with the dedication of such modern researchers as John MacKinnon, who was the first to spend long hours watching orangutans in the wild; Herman Rijksen, who began the process of rehabilitating formerly captive orangutans for re-release into their forest home; and perhaps the most famous, Biruté Galdikas, who made a commitment to the jungle and felt that she was born to study orangutans. This intimate look at a little-known ape will fascinate.--Bent, Nancy Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Known as the "red apes" and the "thinkers of the jungle," orangutans are the most solitary and preoccupied of the great apes. While highly intelligent, calculating, and expressive, they are also likely to vanish from their native tropical forests in Borneo and Sumatra within a matter of decades. With these facts in mind, Canadian journalist Thompson interviewed orangutan researchers and rehabilitators about their complicated relationships with these humanlike apes. Some of the scientists are well known-such as Herman Rijksen and Birute Galdikas-while others are less so, but all are (or were) intensely dedicated individuals who have made orangutans the priority of their professional and personal lives. VERDICT Unlike Galdikas's Great Ape Odyssey or Desmond Morris's Planet Ape, this is not a summary of the latest scientific research on the orangutan species but an exploration of the inner spirit of individual orangutans and the nature of the human-orangutan bond. General readers interested in the great apes will be captivated by the rich life histories of famous orangutans such as Kusai, Azak, and Sugito. Strongly recommended for all natural history collections.-Cynthia Knight, Hunterdon Cty. Lib., Flemington, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Foreword: Orangutans, Us, and a Common Planet | p. ix |
| 1 Jungle Confidential | p. 1 |
| 2 In Deepest, Darkest Borneo | p. 28 |
| 3 Forest Murmurs | p. 47 |
| 4 Touched by an Ape | p. 67 |
| 5 Sumatra: The Other Side of Paradise | p. 89 |
| 6 Too Smart for Us | p. 108 |
| 7 The Little Schoolhouse in the Jungle | p. 135 |
| 8 Music to Their Ears | p. 157 |
| 9 The Heartfelt Man | p. 179 |
| 10 Our Lady of the Forests | p. 206 |
| 11 Requiem for an Ape | p. 238 |
| 12 Fare Thee Well, Orangutan | p. 259 |
| References | p. 270 |
| For More Information | p. 280 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 284 |
| Index | p. 287 |
