Product Description
For more than three decades Frans de Waal, the author of best-sellers such as Chimpanzee Politics and Bonobo: 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.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 3 reviews)

A beautiful work of portraiture

"My Family Album" catalogs 30 years of de Waal's black and white photographs of both wild and captive primates. The bulk of the shots are of chimps and bonobos, but a third are of monkeys and there are striking photographs all around. While the principle effect of the book is to get across the intelligence, complexity and beauty of these fellow animals, there are enough funny faces for the book to work on that level.
April 03, 2004

A loving photographic tribute

Noted primatologist Frans de Waal has put together a beautifully printed pictorial tribute to primates. In high quality black-and-white photographs, he documents similarities and differences among non-human primates in areas as diverse as play, confrontation, sex, familial ties, and social activities. The accompanying text describes not only the meaning behind the pictures but also, in true de Waal form, how they relate to human behavior. Although de Waal is a scientist, this concise and clearly written book is meant for the lay reader.

De Waal's specialty is the study of non-human primates in captivity, so the majority of these photographs do not show monkeys and apes in their native habitat. Instead, you'll find remarkable close-ups of expressions and interactions that capture moments of the individual lives. Although de Waal is best known for his study of chimpanzees and bonobos, he includes photographs of macaques, capuchins, baboons, and snow monkeys.

This book is a real treat. I recommend it highly for anyone who has an interest in animal life.
December 29, 2003

They're not like us, they're unique

Frans de Waal's collection of primate portraits covers various species of monkeys in many social situations. Long hours spent with his subjects means that Waal had their total trust when photographing them. Thus, his subjects have a natural, unforced manner that allows their true nature to shine through. Waal's accomplishment, in this occasionally hilarious, frequently touching, but always fascinating collection of photographs is that he transcends the notion that the value of primates lies in how much they are like humans. His texts and pictures reveal them not as inferior versions of homo sapiens, but simply as @what they are: intelligent, sensitive, highly socially evolved creatures. This is a beautiful and fascinating book.
December 28, 2003

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