Customer Reviews (20)

PIctures, pictures, pictures!
With a title including the words "pictorial guide", you can probably gather that this book is heavily laced with photographs of primates throughout. It does not disappoint. This is certainly more "coffee table book" than a leisure read.

The book is layed out starting with prosimians and ending with great apes, documenting a total of 234 species of primates. Lemurs to capuchins, baboons to orangutans, colobi to gibbons, they're all covered. Each picture is accompanied with a brief but detailed write up, indicating a map showing the home range of the primate, general info on it's taxonomy, conservation status, social structure, and other facts. It's amazing to note how extremely tiny the home range of some of these species are, a barely distinguishable dot on the map.

I found it rather sad as I flipped through the wonderful pictures in this book, reading about these beautiful and intelligent creatures, how many of them had the status of endangered or critically endangered. It's depressing to think that if things keep going the way they are now, the only place these primates will exist in the future is on the pages of books like these.

I gave it five stars for excellent information, and for being one of the best collections of primate photos I've seen to date. Though the write-ups are scientific, I think even children would enjoy this book for the pictures. The photograph captions are easy to read, and often amusing.

*** Not to nitpick or second guess the author or his sources, but I have done some work with gibbons personally, and worked with people who have devoted their adult lives to gibbon research, and though it's written here that they fail self awareness tests (mirror tests), many (not all) gibbons have been shown to recognize themselves when presented a mirror.***

Good if you are studying primates, not for the average layman
If you are keen to study primates or currently studying primates, then this will make an excellent reference guide. However, the images and font size can be rather small and the layout is not fantastic. Rather technical in nature and relatively high use of scientic terms which can make reading a chore if you are reading merely for interest. Will recommend this only if you are a hardcore student of primate-tology.

very great book
I'm a student taking combined master and doctoral degree and study about gibbons.
My teacher has this book, So I could borrow and read it.
There are many pictures and general explain about species.
Finally, I got this book, I am very happy.
If you are interested in primate or a student who study primate,
you should have this book.

Excellent book
This well-written book has extensive information and photos on all of the primates in the world, including homo sapiens. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an in-depth look at our own "extended family."

EVERY PRIMATE. WOW!
This has every primate and all the stats you could possibly imagine for each one. As I am a stats man, this is all that's needed to make me happy. Also, there's a color photo for each individual primate, except for the EXTREMELY RARE ones. Also holds the record for sparking my interest in PRIMATOLAGY about a month ago. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

For some work, time doesn't go by. It will be a milestone!
It is not quite easy for a biologist to face Primatology, and it's rather hard (impossible in some Country!) to decide to become a "true" primatologist: too much informations, and too little possibilities to findthem! This work is one of the main friend a primatologist may ask to haveif he wish to take that way, and if he really want to begin study primatebiology. It may be the main help for the student and, at the same time, thebest reference for the researcher. Systematics change, biological conceptsevolve and informations become aged while they born, but every cultureneeds some support to build on it: for Primate Biology, this work is one ofthe best you can find! ... Read more

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Product Description

What parent hasn't wondered "What do I do now?" as a baby cries or a teenager glares? Making babies may come naturally, but knowing how to raise them doesn't. As primatologist-turned-psychologist Harriet J. Smith shows in this lively safari through the world of primates, parenting by primates isn't instinctive, and that's just as true for monkeys and apes as it is for humans.

In this natural history of primate parenting, Smith compares parenting by nonhuman and human primates. In a narrative rich with vivid anecdotes derived from interviews with primatologists, from her own experience breeding cottontop tamarin monkeys for over thirty years, and from her clinical psychology practice, Smith describes the thousand and one ways that primate mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, and even babysitters care for their offspring, from infancy through young adulthood.

Smith learned the hard way that hand-raised cottontop tamarins often mature into incompetent parents.Her observation of inadequate parenting by cottontops plus her clinical work with troubled human families sparked her interest in the process of how primates become "good-enough" parents. The story of how she trained her tamarins to become adequate parents lays the foundation for discussions about the crucial role of early experience on parenting in primates, and how certain types of experiences, such as anxiety and social isolation, can trigger neglectful or abusive parenting.

Smith reveals diverse strategies for parenting by primates, but she also identifies parenting behaviors crucial to the survival and development of primate youngsters that have stood the test of time.

Customer Reviews (4)

Learned tons
I bought this book and read it as I was considering adopting my first child.I have a degree in biology and psychology and was fascinated by the authors camparisons of parenting behaviors between human and non human primates.The author also compares human parenting pre and post industrial revolution.I found valuable information about how non-human primates either do or do not parent orphans and that information informed decisions I made about how to handle helping the baby I adopted make the transition into my home.The information about how pre-industrial human societies raised children has been helpful in making many different choices about how to raise my child.This is a well researched book and I'd recommend it to anyone considering having children.

A Pleasure to Read, Pageturner for Parents
As a mother, I am enjoying this book for the author's accounts of raising cottontops and teaching them how to parent, and I must say that although I'm just a few chapters in, I am engrossed in the subject and find primate parenting fascinating! The book is accessible, well-written, and insightful; I've learned so much about the complexity of primate behavior across species and that motherhood woes and foibles aren't just limited to humans. I haven't finished Smith's book yet, but already I find myself wondering how we humans in postindustrial cultures are managing to cope without the social network of care that other primates and preindustrial human societies have.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction but especially to any parent who has ever wondered how other animal parents make it look so easy.

A New Parent Loved Reading this Book
As a new parent and a graduate student in psychology, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Parenting for Primates.It was fascinating to read how others (nonhuman primates, parents in preindustrial societies) care for their infants, wean them, and share (or don't share) parenting responsibilities. This book provides a different perspective than any other parenting book I've read (and I've read many).Every time my baby grabs my hair when I pick him up, I think about how if we were nonhuman primates this would help him hold on as I swung through the trees.This book is filled with interesting insights, and I found it hard to put down.

a unique and captivating book
I have read a lot of parenting books but never one as fascinating as this one--which is really part parenting, part primate behavior and part memoir.The author's stories of her attempts to get her tamarins to parent are totally can't-put-the-book-down engrossing, but the connection to her observations of parenting issues in her clinical psychology practice is even more interesting.This would be an especially good read for new parents. ... Read more

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This book examines the evidence of primate and human evolution in the light of new evolutionary models and advances in taxonomic theory. Dr. Groves discusses the "Nomogenesis" of Lev Berg and criticizes the cladistic school of taxonomy, adapting it in the light of theories of speciation.The result is a theory in which internal processes play a major role in human evolution and taxonomy becomes of major importance in evolutionary interpretation. The book will interest students and teachers of human biology and evolution, physical anthropologists, zoologists, paleontologists, and primatologists. ... Read more

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This book is about the social life of monkeys, apes and humans. The central theme is the importance of social information and knowledge to a full understanding of primate social behavior and organization. Its main purpose is to stress evolutionary continuity, i.e. that there are direct connections between human and nonhuman society. This view is often downplayed elsewhere in the anthropological literature where the notion that humans have culture and animals do not is prevalent. Topics covered include an overview of the contexts of behavior; a comparison of blind strategies and tactical decision-making; social cognition; a review of intentionalist interpretations of behavior; kinship; language and its social implications; and the constraints of culture. ... Read more

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Winner of the 1994 Governor General`s Award "If you buy only one book this decade let it be Rogue Primate."- The Toronto Star (1994)

Customer Reviews (5)

Very Disappointing
I was really looking forward to reading this book, based on its premise, and the other reviews.I hoped it would expand and enlighten my own unarticulated thoughts on the human animal, and its disconnect from the natural world.I was so disappointed that the book, in my opinion, failed to really explore and run with this large and very important issue.I found the writing difficult, and it often seemed that Livingston was writing for an academic journal, and was mainly interested in discussing and rebutting esoteric points with his fellow ecologists, rather than exploring a larger and broader view of his subject for the general audience to whom the book was intended.I found the book tedious and repetitive, and a chore to read.The infrequent moments when the author did actually write clearly about his larger theme of humans as a species cut off from nature tended to be sarcastic quips against society, which I thought diminished the points he was trying to make.

harsh truths.will your soul cry?
this is an excellent book.

it expresses truths that most humans would rather not acknowledge about their own ancestry, psychology, and place on earth and in the universe.

it takes courage to digest this book and to evaluate it critically.

nice companion to The Naked Ape.

not for the weak-minded or weak-at-heart.

KNOW THYSELF--even if it scares you or gets you a bit depressed, this book will likely make an impact.

think carefully before embarking on this journey.it might be easier just to eat some nachos and watch TV.

Buy this while it's still available
Livingstone was a brilliant original thinker who was decades ahead of his time.The environmental community ignored him, because he was a robust critic of their ideology.This book does the best job that I have seen of describing humankind's transition from ordinary animals into domineering monsters.It's a crucial book for those who are seriously trying to understand ecological history.

Human Domesticates
The backbone of this book is the idea that human beings were/are the first domesticated species, and the ONLY evolved (being product of our biological and cultural history) domesticates.Human domestication was caused by dependence on a technology centered ideology that eventually led to the rationale frequently employed today of, "If we can do it, we should do it" (the people become servants of the tool as opposed to the tool serving those who employ it).Livingston explains that being a domesticate means being completely dependent upon something (one's handler) for survival; in the case of humans, the dependence is an ideology based on "storable, retrievable, transmissable technique."It is an exploration of how we (humans) got here and what it means to be the first domesticate, the only evolved one at that; he goes on to critique some of the aspects of present day civilization in light of the ideology of technology that it is founded on.

It's a marvelous book that anyone who is interested in evolution, ecology, social problems, ideology, or why humans are the way they are in general should enjoy reading.A very very great book; it's one of those rare pieces of scholarly writings that anyone can pick up, read, and understand. Like the other reviewer, I wasn't always in complete agreement, but that's only because the book was so thought provoking.

An Interesting Collection of Ideas
This is one of the very few books that ever changed the way I look at things. I don't agree with all of the author's opinions (and he doesn't ask me to), but after reading this I doubt I'll ever look at humanity's relation to "Nature" - or even the idea of seperation of the two - the same way again. ... Read more

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The emergence of the genus Homo is widely linked to the colonization of "new" highly seasonal savannah habitats. However, until now, our understanding of the possible impact of seasonality on this shift has been limited because we have little general knowledge of how seasonality affects the lives of primates. This book documents the extent of seasonality in food abundance in tropical woody vegetation. It then presents a systematic analysis of seasonality's impact in food supply on the behavioral ecology of non-human primates and ultimately applies its conclusions to primate and human evolution. ... Read more

Product Description
Handbook of Primate Husbandry and Welfare covers all aspects of primate care and management both in the laboratory environment and in zoos. From the welfare and ethics of primate captivity through to housing and husbandry systems, environmental enrichment, nutritional requirements, breeding issues, primate diseases, and additional information on transportation and quarantine proceedings, this book provides a completely comprehensive guide to good husbandry and management of primates. Designed to be a practical field manual, the authors present the material using lists, tables and illustrations to clarify best practice.

• Representative species are covered – from marmosets through to macaques
• One of the first books dedicated to the care of primates in captivity
• Written by authors with many years of experience working with primates
• Suitable for those working with primates in either laboratories or zoos

Customer Reviews (1)

Great service
Thanks for getting my book to me so fast and for describing its condition well. It was everything you said it was. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: C. Scribner's sons in 1897 in 74 pages; Subjects: Primates; Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Apes ... Read more

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Primates in Perspective is the first edited volume to offer a comprehensive overview of primatology since 1987. Forty-four original essays--by fifty-nine leading researchers in the field today--provide wide-ranging and contemporary coverage of all of the major areas of primatology.
Arranged in six sections, the text begins with an introduction to primatology and a review of the natural history of the major taxonomic groups within the order Primates. It goes on to cover methodologies and research design for both field and captive settings; primate reproduction; primate ecology and conservation and their roles in the daily lives of primates; and such aspects of social behavior and intelligence as communication, learning, and cognition. The volume ends with a concluding chapter by the editors that discusses the future of primatological research.
Ideal for introductory primatology courses, Primates in Perspective can also be used in upper-division behavior and conservation courses. Additionally, it is an invaluable reference tool for primate researchers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Very thorough
The condition of the book was excellent.It came a little later than was originally estimated but not much later (about 1 day).There is a TON of information in this book. Almost anything you need to know about a certain primate group can be found in this book.However, if you're looking for something about a specific species, the information may be too general.Otherwise, very informative text with good organization.

useful book for primatology students
great book if you are interested in learning all about primates. Students or professionals can still learn a lot by reading some of the chapters.

primate lover
this book gives you all you need to know about primates with it being easy to read

A great guide for budding primatologists
As a student interested in primatology, at a college without any primatology courses, this book was extremely useful for helping me understand the field better. I recommend to all who are interested in primates!

Very Difficult Book
I am taking a class at Harvard University, and this book WAS required for it.Not any more.While it is understandable that a text for a graduate level priamtology class should be challenging, the way this book is organized makes it very dificult to truly get any meaning from the text.The major complaint is that there is lots of text simply summarizing data or describing the various primates.For example there are 1 1/2 pages describing the range of a group of New-World monkeys in South America.I would have found it useful to include a map of this range since I am hardly an expert in the local geography of the Amazon Basin.Simpliy stating names of locations does me no good.The data that they do present are usually in table form-- but there is so much of it (tables are often 2-4 pages long) that it is extremely difficult to get any meaning from them.What would be much more useful would be transforming much of the data into graph/chart form to visulaize what the data mean.Moreover, many of the groups of primates are simply described in the text-- having a diagram or picture as an example of the subject would be extremely useful.

To summarize, there is plenty of information in this text, but it is written in such a way that it is virtually incomprehensible, and the text lacks graphical interpretations of the data and examples of the subject matter that would proivde auseful support.That is why our professor elected to drop the reading from this book. ... Read more

Product Description

From Nigeria's needle-clawed bush baby to the snub-nosed langur of Tibet, from loris to lemur, from the woolly monkey to the "naked ape," primates are among the world's most diverse -- and distinctive -- groups of mammals. Seventy million years of evolving primate anatomy (much of it significantly influenced by a tree-dwelling lifestyle) has resulted in such defining characteristics as stereoscopic vision, a relatively large brain, grasping hands and feet, and superior levels of dexterity and muscular coordination.

Now Ronald M. Nowak offers a comprehensive guide to this fascinating and varied order of mammals. Walker's Primates of the World includes scientific and common names, the number and distribution of species, measurements and physical traits, habitat, daily and seasonal activity, population dynamics, home range, social life, reproduction, longevity, and status of threatened species. Recently extinct genera, such as the giant lemurs of Madagascar, are covered in full. Textual summaries present accurate, well-documented descriptions of the physical characteristics and living habits of primates in every part of the world.

In a new introduction, noted primate conservationists Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands, and William R. Konstant discuss the taxonomy and distribution of primates as well as their distinguishing characteristics, special adaptations and particularly striking features, such as sociality. They also report on conservation efforts past and future, and assess the factors, largely human-caused, that are threatening non-human primates with extinction.

Praise for Walker's Mammals of the World:

"Professional naturalists will find [these volumes] invaluable as a handy reference, and amateurs -- at least those citizens alive to their earthly environment -- should delight in finding so much fascinating information made so available and palatable." -- Audubon

"What an amazing lot mammals are, seen here in all of their diversity!... Walker has made available a mine of information, for the specialist as well as for the casually interested... If you want to find out about a mammal, then, here is the place to look." -- New York Times

"Every mammalogist must have [these books], and those who profess a broad interest in the fauna of the world will want them." -- Natural History

Customer Reviews (3)

An excellent resource
All of the books of this series are exceptional resources for biologists (amateur and professional), zoo workers or frequenters, students, teachers, or Discovery Channel watchers. The scope of information includes descriptions of basic biology, like diet, habitat, reproduction, and life cycle, and also has in-depth scientific information for those who would use it as a scholarly resource. I would recommend these books to anyone with an interest in the subject.

Excellent for research, not something to curl up with...
This book is an excellent resource if you're looking to do any type of research, it would also be perfect to use as a ready reference tool for identiying certain species, but it is written in a dictionary type of style so it is not an incredible easy read.

You can enjoy the primates world with this book!
Before I got this book, I didn't know about pramates at all. Because I didn't have much interest to primates. And now I'm interested in primates, and want to know more. On this book, there're many photos and stories about primates. You can enjoy primates world with this book. ... Read more

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Introduces a number of mammals, including the bat, baboon, and gray whale. ... Read more

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The field of occupational health and safety constantly changes, especially as it pertains to biomedical research. New infectious hazards are of particular importance at nonhuman-primate facilities. For example, the discovery that B virus can be transmitted via a splash on a mucous membrane raises new concerns that must be addressed, as does the discovery of the Reston strain of Ebola virus in import quarantine facilities in the U.S. The risk of such infectious hazards is best managed through a flexible and comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety Program (OHSP) that can identify and mitigate potential hazards. "Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates" is intended as a reference for vivarium managers, veterinarians, researchers, safety professionals, and others who are involved in developing or implementing an OHSP that deals with nonhuman primates. The book lists the important features of an OHSP and provides the tools necessary for informed decision-making in developing an optimal program that meets all particular institutional needs. ... Read more

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Primates include a wide variety of mammals from the relatively ancient lineages of lemurs on Madagascar and tiny tarsiers of Southeast Asia to the gorillas of montane Africa. Of course, humankind are also primates - one twig on the primate evolutionary tree. Primate Anatomy: An Introduction, Second Edition is a succinct and readable survey of primatology focusing particularly on the anatomy of primates. Following an introduction, the chapters are organized by organ system. Also included are chapters dealing with reproduction, chromosomes, blood groups, and molecular studies of primate evolution. This book would be ideal for an introductory course in primatology and should appeal to both faculty and students who need a brief treatment of the essentials of primatology.

* The only introductory text on primatology on the market
* First time comprehensive survey of molecular primatology
* Plenty of information that is not found in other textbooks
* Up-to-date discussion of all aspects of taxonomy and anatomy
* Many unique and informative illustrations, charts, and tables ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A great book
This book is really nice. Is technic and talk about a lot of different monkeys and a lot of subjects. I purchased without any problem. I liked so much.

Aye aye!
Well, I'm an armchair student of primatology and physical anthro (you can't cover everything in only 4 years of college!) so I have not the capacity to give a true academically critical reading of this book...but I must say, I have really, really enjoyed reading and studying it & soaking up the information!

This is, flat-out, a textbook--it's not meant as a "fun" book about apes and monkeys.
If you haven't already got a passing fair (ok, in-depth) knowledge of mammalian anatomy to start with, you may well be lost.
But as a text I found it an easy, clear and concise read with helpful diagrams, charts and illustrations.
In short..if this author chose to update this work as more information becomes available, I'd buy it again. And again.

Very good book
Although the book misses a lot of information on the anatomy of the pelvic girdle, it is a very good book, specially on the higher primates. It could have more details, it could be a bigger book. ... Read more

Product Description

The goals of this volume are twofold. First, it aims to provide a novel focus on adaptive explanations for cranial and postcranial features and functional complexes, socioecological systems, life history patterns, etc. in early primates. Second, it aims to offer a detailed rendering of the phylogenetic affinities of such basal taxa to later primate clades as well as to other early/recent mammalian orders. Thus, in addition to the strictly paleontological or systemic questions regarding Primate Origins, the editors plan to concentrate on the adaptive significance of primate characteristics. These questions are best approached through both paleontological and neontological comparative research on a variety of primate and non-primate materials. The volume is timely because it capitalizes on an increasing and important degree of novel independent museum, field and laboratory based research on many of the important outstanding issues regarding primate origins. Furthermore, by intergrating such a disparate sources of experimental, comparative, paleontological, ecological and molecular information into a single edited volume, it provides the broadest possible perspective on early primate phylogeny and the adaptive uniqueness of the Order Primates.

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Ever since Charles Darwin first formulated his theories on evolution, much research has been conducted in primate cognition. In this book, Michael Tomasello andJosep Call review what is already known about the cognitive skills of nonhuman primates, and assess the current state of our knowledge. They integrate empirical findings on the topic from the beginning of the century to the present, placing this work in theoretical perspective. The first part examines the way primates adapt to their physical world, mostly for the purpose of foraging. The second part lokos at primate social knowledhe and focuses on the adaptations of primates to their social world for purposes of competation and cooperation. In the third section, the authors construct a general theory of primate cognition, distinguishing the cognition in primates from that of other mammals (human in particular). Their broad-ranging theory should provide a guide for future research. Primate Cognition is an enlightening exploration of the cognitive capacities of our nearest primate relatives. It is a useful resource for a eide range of researchers and students in psychology, behavioral biology, primatology, and anthropology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It is a great reference
Read the other review.Other than telling the world how much I love this book, I don't have much more to add, except that this is a reference I actually use on a weekly basis.

The best reference on (non-human) primate cognition research
This is a very technical work compared to the 'popular' talking apes literature.One the other hand, it is not as detailed as "Chimpanzee Politics : Power and Sex Among Apes" by Frans De Waal.The book comprehensively covers all non-human primate cognition research as of 1996.The authors do a masterful job of keeping their own opinions from dominating the text, allowing the hundreds individual studies to stand more-or-less on their own.

The book is organized along Piaget's outline of cognitive development.It is broken into 3 major sections: (1) knowledge of the physical world, (2) knowledge of the social world and (3) a theory of cognition.I found the first section the best researched and interesting.The last sections is underdeveloped, but represents the state of research.Overall, the book is expertly crafted.

A necessary reference for any serious about primate research. ... Read more