A Primate's Memoir: Love, Death and Baboons in East Africa

click here for more details, find new or used items	Robert M. Sapolsky Our price £6.74 (£8.99) New from £2.53 Used from £0.70 Pages: 304 (Paperback) ISBN: 0099285770 Pub: Vintage Pub date: 2002-04-04 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 61704

Reader Reviews:

Just buy it (1/1 people found this helpful)

One of the best books I ever read!!!

Is it a biography?... NO! Is it a science book?... NO! Is it a romance?... NO! Is it a traveller's account of Africa?... NO! Is it a creative writer's diary?... NO! IT'S ALL OF THAT IN JUST ONE BOOK!

Entertaining and enlightening memoir of primate life. (3/3 people found this helpful)

As much fun to read as any book by Redmond O'Hanlon or Gerald Durrell, A Primate's Memoir is funny, irreverent, and full of adventure, while also being a serious scientific study of the savanna baboons of Kenya. Sapolsky's goal is to determine the relationship of baboon stress levels to their overall health over a period of years. A neuroscientist, he observes the social hierarchy and interactions of his baboon group, guesses which individuals appear to be most stressed or most relaxed and then checks their hormones and blood chemistry, not an easy procedure, given his clever and not always co-operative population. Sapolsky, who works alone, must first outwit the baboon, use a blowgun to dart him, follow and wait for him to become unconscious, and then carry him half a mile or more to his portable lab facilities, where he then draws blood and does measurements. The baboons, of course, react to stress the way humans do.

The title of A Primate's Memoir is deliberately ambiguous--it is both Sapolsky's memoir and that of his baboon population, and his experiences and interactions with the outside world are remarkably similar to theirs. Leaving the relative safety of the game reserves and hitchhiking into dangerous territories during his "down time," Sapolsky describes his travels with enthusiasm, impeccable timing, and great, self-deprecating humor, subtly selecting details which show how similarly he and his baboon population deal with their worlds' uncertainties. Kenya is experiencing civil unrest and corruption; Uganda has just deposed Idi Amin; the Sudan is in the midst of a long civil war; the border of Zaire is under siege; and the Somalis refuse to accept any borders at all, stealing lands and property wherever they go--all dangerous and stressful atmospheres for their populations and for visitors like the author.

Sapolsky is a great story teller, however, equally entertaining in presenting both his adventures and his research, his world and that of his baboons. While life may be "nasty, brutish, and short," Sapolsky shows us it's a lot more fun if one keeps a sense of humor--and a lot less stressful. Mary Whipple

Africaphile or not, I recommend this book. (1/1 people found this helpful)

During the course of this book, which is also a partial biography of the author's life and career, we follow Sapolsky's research in Kenya as he studies "his" baboons.

In the early years he concentrates on observing baboon behaviour and correlating it to levels of stress hormones. He analyses by taking samples after darting the individuals he has come to know so well. In later years his research evolves and we continue to learn about the characters he has introduced to us. We begin to understand the structure of baboon society and the similarities to our own instinctive behaviours. We begin to see the baboons as individuals with their own personalities and foibles.

Interspersed with the surprisingly captivating insights into baboons are Sapolsky's escapades in Kenya and surrounding countries. As well as providing entertainment and excitement these often provide astonishing lessons in the politics, history and current situation in the nations of East Africa.

We become familiar too with Sapolsky's African friends and discover fascinating facts about the various tribes and groups that share the land. On some occasions Sapolsky shares touching experiences with those he encounters. On other occasions we read, with some trepidation, about incidents where the resentments simmering below the surface explode out into the open.

The entire account is exceptionally well-written and is both touching and disturbing, both informative and entertaining.

Whether you're an Africaphile or not, if you enjoy travel literature at all, I strongly recommend this book.

Baboon love... (0/0 people found this helpful)

I have bought and given this book to five people as a present and they have all said that it is one of the best books that they have read in years.
As for myself I cannot wait to read it again. Robert Sapolsky not only writes about his research on baboons but also gives ou a wonderful picture and history of East Africa in the 60's, 70's and 80's. The wonderful bonus is that it is hilarious.
The perfect read and the perfect present.

Entertaining and enlightening memoir of primate life. (10/10 people found this helpful)

As much fun to read as any book by Redmond O'Hanlon or Gerald Durrell, A Primate's Memoir is funny, irreverent, and full of adventure, while also being a serious scientific study of the savanna baboons of Kenya. Sapolsky's goal is to determine the relationship of baboon stress levels to their overall health over a period of years. A neuroscientist, he observes the social hierarchy and interactions of his baboon group, guesses which individuals appear to be most stressed or most relaxed and then checks their hormones and blood chemistry, not an easy procedure, given his clever and not always co-operative population.

The title of A Primate's Memoir is deliberately ambiguous--it is both Sapolsky's memoir and that of his baboon population, and his experiences and interactions with the outside world are remarkably similar to theirs. Leaving the relative safety of the game reserves and hitchhiking into dangerous territories during his "down time," Sapolsky describes his travels with enthusiasm, impeccable timing, and great, self-deprecating humor, subtly selecting details which show how similarly he and his baboon population deal with their worlds' uncertainties. Kenya is experiencing civil unrest and corruption; Uganda has just deposed Idi Amin; the Sudan is in the midst of a long civil war; the border of Zaire is under siege; and the Somalis refuse to accept any borders at all, stealing lands and property wherever they go--all dangerous and stressful atmospheres for their populations and for visitors like the author.

Sapolsky is a great story teller, however, equally entertaining in presenting both his adventures and his research, his world and that of his baboons. While life may be "nasty, brutish, and short," Sapolsky shows us it's a lot more fun if one keeps a sense of humor--and a lot less stressful.

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