A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons
Written by Robert M. Sapolsky
Narrated by Mike Chamberlain
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
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.
Robert M. Sapolsky
Robert M. Sapolsky is the author of several works of nonfiction, including Determined, The Trouble with Testosterone, and Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. His book Behave was a New York Times bestseller and named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant. He and his wife live in San Francisco.
Related to A Primate's Memoir
Related audiobooks
Different: Gender and Our Primate Heritage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Peace and Violence in Human Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Social Leap: The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come From, and What Makes Us Happy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Intelligence in Nature: An Inquiry into Knowledge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wildhood: The Epic Journey from Adolescence to Adulthood in Humans and Other Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tales from the Ant World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Meaning of Human Existence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Human Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Social Conquest of Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Biography & Memoir For You
The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From Blood and Ash Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Divine Rivals: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If He Had Been with Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twisted Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Local Woman Missing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Lies Between Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hit and Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nothing to See Here Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Multi-Voice, A: The Bad Beginning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pet Sematary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Five Years: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for A Primate's Memoir
33 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Some of the chapters are truncated. At least 5 chapters end abruptly.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outstanding memoir. Whimsy mixed with science and tragedy, Dr Sapolsky proves to be every bit as capable a storyteller as a scientist. Bravo, sir.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. One that will have you connecting the big picture of everything for the rest of your life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Watched all of Dr. Sapolsky's talks I could find on YouTube since I was fascinated by his discoveries on primate behavior and how it relates to humans. This book is a recollection of his experiences during the time he lived with baboons but no so much a scientific analysis on how those important lessons apply to our daily lives. For that, I recommend his other book "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers."
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fascinating stories of travels to game reserves in Africa to study baboons. Ending is marvelous and sophisticated.