My Family Album: Thirty Years of Primate Photography

by Frans de Waal

For more than three decades Frans de Waal, the author of best-sellers such as Chimpanzee Politics and The Forgotten Ape, has studied monkeys and apes in zoos, research parks, and field settings. Photographing his subjects over the years, de Waal has compiled a unique family album of our closest animal relatives. To capture the social life of primates, and their natural communication, requires intimate knowledge, which is abundantly present here, in the work of one of the world's foremost primatologists. Culled from the thousands of images de Waal has taken, these photographs capture social interaction in bonobos, chimpanzees, capuchin monkeys, baboons, and macaques showing the subtle gestures, expressions, and movements that elude most nature photographers or casual observers.

De Waal supplies extended captions discussing each photograph, offering descriptions that range from personal observations and impressions to professional interpretation. The result is a view of our primate family that is both intensely moving and personal, also richly evocative of all that science can tell us of primate society. In his introduction, de Waal elaborates on his work, his mission in this volume, and the particular challenges of animal action photography.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Science

174 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 2003

About the author

Frans de Waal has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. The author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, among many other works, he is the C. H. Candler Professor in Emory University’s Psychology Department and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Reviews

[da AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely insights and beautiful photos. Gorgeous book by someone who's studied our wonderful fellow creatures for many years.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! It is fantastic from the first page to the last. The photographs are lovely and thought-provoking with wonderful information provided for each one. The similarities between us and the other primates are made obvious. I love the connection to them that I felt looking at the photographs. Everyone should read this book, and I think it’s a requirement if you enjoy Frans de Waal’s other books.

[Karrie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Frans's book "Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are" I had too see the faces of the monkeys and apes he was talking about. Another great book that shows the intelligence of our "cousins".

[JackieChan Tremblay · Rating 4 out of 5]

P.9
P.140

Passé simple
Imparfait
Passé composé
Présent

[Jer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Photos and simple writings that give us a little insight to how similar we are to our furry cousins. The book is setup with a paragraph on one page and the photograph on the other. A gem that I'm seriously considering purchasing for my own collection.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great coffee table book.

[Vinayak Stephen]

it is too good