A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons
'A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons' by Robert M. Sapolsky is a captivating memoir that takes readers on a journey through the author's experiences studying baboons in East Africa. Sapolsky's narrative skillfully blends scientific insights with personal anecdotes, offering a unique exploration of primate behavior and neurobiology. The book provides a rare glimpse into the world of primatology, highlighting the challenges and adventures of field research in the African wilderness.
Robert Sapolsky's writing style is described as insightful, humorous, and engaging, drawing readers into his unconventional life as a neuroscientist living among wild baboons. Through witty and self-deprecating storytelling, Sapolsky shares the highs and lows of his research on the savanna, creating a narrative that is both informative and deeply human. The book not only delves into the complexities of primate behavior but also reflects on the interplay between humanity and the animal kingdom, offering thought-provoking insights into our shared evolutionary history.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains content that may be triggering for some readers, including discussions of war, governmental corruption, disease, and famine.
From The Publisher:
In the tradition of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Robert Sapolsky, a foremost science writer and recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, tells the mesmerizing story of his twenty-one years in remote Kenya with a troop of Savannah baboons.
"I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up; instead, I had always assumed I would become a mountain gorilla," writes Robert Sapolsky in this witty and riveting chronicle of a scientist's coming-of-age in remote Africa.
An exhilarating account of Sapolsky's twenty-one-year study of a troop of rambunctious baboons in Kenya, A Primate's Memoir interweaves serious scientific observations with wry commentary about the challenges and pleasures of living in the wilds of the Serengeti-for man and beast alike. Over two decades, Sapolsky survives culinary atrocities, gunpoint encounters, and a surreal kidnapping, while witnessing the encroachment of the tourist mentality on the farthest vestiges of unspoiled Africa. As he conducts unprecedented physiological research on wild primates, he becomes evermore enamored of his subjects-unique and compelling characters in their own right-and he returns to them summer after summer, until tragedy finally prevents him.
By turns hilarious and poignant, A Primate's Memoir is a magnum opus from one of our foremost science writers.
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About the Author:
Robert M. Sapolsky is the author of several works of nonfiction, including A Primate's Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, and Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. He is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant. He lives in San Francisco.
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