Monkeytalk: Inside the Worlds and Minds of Primates

by Julia Fischer

Monkey see, monkey do—or does she? Can the behavior of non-human primates—their sociality, their intelligence, their communication—really be chalked up to simple mimicry? Emphatically, no. And as famed primatologist Julia Fischer reveals, the human bias inherent in this oft-uttered adage is our loss, for it is only through the study of our primate brethren that we may begin to understand ourselves.An eye-opening blend of storytelling, memoir, and science, Monkeytalk takes us into the field and the world’s primate labs to investigate the intricacies of primate social mores through the lens of communication. After first detailing the social interactions of key species from her fieldwork—from baby-wielding male Barbary macaques, who use infants as social accessories in a variety of interactions, to aggression among the chacma baboons of southern Africa and male-male tolerance among the Guinea baboons of Senegal—Fischer explores the role of social living in the rise of primate intelligence and communication, ultimately asking what the ways in which other primates communicate can teach us about the evolution of human language.Funny and fascinating, Fischer’s tale roams from a dinner in the field shared with lionesses to insights gleaned from Rico, a border collie with an astonishing vocabulary, but its message is it is humans who are the evolutionary mimics. The primate heritage visible in our species is far more striking than the reverse, and it is the monkeys who deserve to be seen. “The social life of macaques and baboons is a magnificent opera,” Fischer writes. “Permit me now to raise the curtain on it.”

Genres: Biology, Science, Nonfiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 20, 2012

About the author

Die Tochter des Theaterregisseurs Olf Fischer und der Schauspielerin Ursula Herion sprach als Kind in Hörspielen des Bayerischen Rundfunks beispielsweise in der Serie Wumme. Sie hat in den Hörspielen von Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl zweimal der Nichte Meister Eders, Bärbel, ihre Stimme geliehen, sprach aber auch mehrmals andere Charaktere (wie die Karoline aus dem Vorderhaus), unter anderem auch Jungenrollen (wie z. B. Fritz’ Freund Thomas in Die Gummiente). Es folgten eine Schauspielausbildung und Engagements beim Chiemgauer Volkstheater, Theater K, Theater die kleine Freiheit, sowie Produktionen des Komödienstadels. Des Weiteren moderierte sie beim Bayerischen Rundfunk die Magazine Hauptsache Beruf, Euroklick, Das Technikmagazin und Telekolleg Biologie. Außerdem arbeitet sie als Sprecherin in Hörfunk und Fernsehen und für zahlreiche Hörbuchproduktionen

Reviews

[Riversue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good clear and concise coverage of primates and language. It touches on their minds but it is not in depth.

[Elizabeth Gabhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for what it is -- a scholarly look at the scientific research investigating how monkeys and great apes think and communicate.

[Alvaro Fuentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué buen libro, quizás demasiado académico para el lector general, sin embargo me pareció súper interesante y bien escrito. Me dejó la sensación que al final los primates "cercanos" a los humanos no son tan parecidos a nosotros, sobre todo en el tipo de inteligencia que desarrollamos. No solo expone muy bien el material sobre la organización social de alguno primates sino que uno también se entera como es en realidad el trabajo de campo de un primatólogo.