05.04.07
Next of Kin by Roger Fouts
Nick Says
You Should Buy Next of Kin (click here)
You will learn many, many things from this book, but the two things you’ll never forget are that
1) Roger Fouts is a good man and a great writer
and
2) chimpanzees are amazing. Utterly amazing.
This book will make you want to learn American Sign Language so that you can converse with Washoe and the rest of her family at The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute as well as with Chimpanzees and other primates all over the world.
It’s a very lively read, as Roger knows how to tell a story, and his story has its dramatic twists and curves with familiar characters we have all seen in our own lives (the insensitive boss, the mad scientist, the loving mother, the happy child). In brief, it is the story of Roger Fouts’ career working with chimpanzees that began almost by accident when he met Washoe in 1967 and went to work with Allen and Beatrix Gardener.
You’ll learn not only about chimps and people and their stories together, but also just how important Gestural Communication is to primates (including of course ourselves). I was glad to hear the other day that more research is being done regarding gestural language and Bonobos (you may have seen the recent NPR story about Primate Gestures).