Apes

Patrick Colgan is the executive director of the Canadian Museum of
Nature in Ottawa.

Apes, the seventh volume in the Natural History series, introduces
middle-school readers to our most endearing cousins. The book’s first
two chapters outline the affinity of apes and humans; trace the
evolutionary approach that began with the work of Charles Darwin,
continued with the work of anthropologist Louis Leakey, and expanded
with the studies of primatologists Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, and
Biruté Galdikas; and describe the phylogeny and key characters of
primates generally. Chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans are all well
covered in individual chapters, which compare the apes’ behavior,
social systems, modes of communication, feeding habits, reproduction,
and general life history. A concluding chapter emphasizes the richness
of ape life and the urgent need for conservation. The text is
scientifically solid, stylistically direct, and sensitive without
sentimentalism. Accompanying the text are superb color photographs and
drawings, and maps showing where the apes live. There is an index but
regrettably no bibliography or source list for further reading. Highly
recommended.