One of the world's foremost primatologists explores what our two closest relatives in the animal kingdom - the chimpanzee and the bonobo - can tell us about the duality of our own human nature
We have long attributed man's violent, aggressive, competitive nature to his animal ancestry. But what if we are just as given to co-operation, empathy, and morality by virtue of our genes? From a scientist and writer whom E.O. Wilson has called the world authority on primate social behaviour comes a lively look at the most provocative aspects of human nature power, sex, violence, kindness, and morality through our two closest cousins in the ape family. For nearly 20 years, Frans de Waal has worked with both the famously aggressive chimpanzee and the lesser-known egalitarian, erotic, matriarchal bonobo, two species whose DNA is nearly identical to that of humans. He brings these apes to life on every page, revealing their personalities, relationships, and power struggles, creating an engrossing narrative that explores what their behaviour can teach us about ourselves and each other.
