A primate's memoir

In the tradition of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Robert Sapolsky, a foremost science writer and recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, tells the mesmerizing story of his twenty-one years in remote Kenya with a troop of Savannah baboons. "I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sapolsky, Robert M. (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Simon and Schuster, [2001]
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Summary:In the tradition of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Robert Sapolsky, a foremost science writer and recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, tells the mesmerizing story of his twenty-one years in remote Kenya with a troop of Savannah baboons. "I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up; instead, I had always assumed I would become a mountain gorilla," writes Robert Sapolsky in this witty and riveting chronicle of a scientist's coming-of-age in remote Africa. An exhilarating account of Sapolsky's twenty-one-year study of a troop of rambunctious baboons in Kenya, A Primate's Memoir interweaves serious scientific observations with wry commentary about the challenges and pleasures of living in the wilds of the Serengeti - for man and beast alike. Over two decades, Sapolsky survives culinary atrocities, gunpoint encounters, and a surreal kidnapping, while witnessing the encroachment of the tourist mentality on the farthest vestiges of unspoiled Africa. As he conducts unprecedented physiological research on wild primates, he becomes evermore enamored of his subjects - unique and compelling characters in their own right - and he returns to them summer after summer, until tragedy finally prevents him. By turns hilarious and poignant, A Primate's Memoir is a magnum opus from one of our foremost science writers.
Physical Description:304 pages ; 25 cm
ISBN:9780743202411
0743202414
Author Notes:Robert M. Sapolsky is a Professor of Biology & Neurology at Stanford & a Research Associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya. He is the author of "The Trouble with Testosterone" & "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers", both Los Angeles Times Book Award finalists. A regular contributor to Discover & The Sciences & a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, Sapolsky lives in San Francisco, California.

(Bowker Author Biography)