Among the Great Apes: Adventures on the Trail of Our Closest Relatives

by Paul Raffaele

Overview

“A fantastic book. . . . Anyone who cares about animals will benefit hugely from reading it.” —Shaun Ellis, star of Animal Planet's "Living with the Wolfman" and author of The Man Who Lives with Wolves

Award winning adventure journalist Paul Raffaele’s Among the Great Apes is the first book in over a decade—and possibly the last ever—to take its readers into the lives of our charismatic cousins the great apes in their native habitats. Raffaele, a feature writer for Smithsonian magazine, has been called “nothing less than a one-of-a-kind world treasure” by renowned author Alvin Toffler.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061671845
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/15/2011
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Paul Raffaele has scored many world scoops for such magazines as Reader's Digest, Parade, and Smithsonian, including stories on North Korea, Saharan slave traders, and East Timor's fight for independence. He lives in Sydney, Australia.

Table of Contents

Prologue xi

The Mountain Gorillas: Gorillas and Guerillas in the Mist 1

The Wild, Wild Chimpanzees 69

The Bonobos: Our Long-Lost Cousins 129

King Kong at the Brink: The Western Lowland Gorillas 183

The Cross River Gorillas: Rarest of the Rare 237

The Enigmatic Orangutans: Borneo's Man of the Forest 295

A Call to Arms 343

Bibliography 353

Index 355

What People are Saying About This

Shaun Ellis

“A fantastic book that’s also a really emotional ride. Anyone who cares about animals will benefit hugely from reading it.”—Shaun Ellis, star of Animal Planet’s Living With the Wolfman and author of The Man Who Lives With Wolves

Peter Nichols

“[A] modern, non-fiction version of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World: a time-warp glimpse into man’s most primordial nightmare; exciting, fantastic, horrific—and a very well-written travel narrative.”

Editorial Reviews

Australian journalist Raffaele (Among the Cannibals) embarks on another journey to remote corners of the earth, this time to enlighten readers about the plight of the great apes. Memories of earlier trips and historic accounts intertwine with his current expeditions as he examines the environments and conditions these mammals now face. Much of his focus involves three species of gorillas (mountain, western lowland, and river), yet chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans are also discussed. Raffaele is passionate about the future of these great apes and the human interactions that have pushed them to the limits in their natural environments. The prose is easy and often engaging. VERDICT While Raffaele takes great care to make sure readers have an understanding of what is taking place, he sometimes becomes overly repetitious and invokes an almost preachy tone. That aside, readers will become educated about the primate studies that have taken and continue to take place and as a result will become better acquainted with "our closest relatives." Recommended.—Kyrille Goldbeck, Newman Lib., Blacksburg, VA

Library Journal

A fantastic book that’s also a really emotional ride. Anyone who cares about animals will benefit hugely from reading it.” —Shaun Ellis, star of Animal Planet’s Living With the Wolfman and author of The Man Who Lives With Wolves

Shaun Ellis

[A] modern, non-fiction version of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World: a time-warp glimpse into man’s most primordial nightmare; exciting, fantastic, horrific—and a very well-written travel narrative.

Peter Nichols

Praise for AMONG THE CANNIBALS: “Simply fascinating. . . . Raffaele’s book is worth devouring.

Associated Press Staff

Praise for AMONG THE CANNIBALS:“Simply fascinating. . . . Raffaele’s book is worth devouring.

Associated Press