The Ape and the Sushi Master

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Frans de Waal, the renowned primatologist, advanced significant arguments on the capabilities of our closest relatives and what this says about the human animal in previous books such as Good Natured and Chimpanzee Politics. In this book geared toward a general audience, de Waal argues that apes do have their own culture, passed down through generations through learning.

Douglas Foster

. . .a remarkable journey of discovery to the heart of a profound question: what can we learn about the evolution of our own cultures by studying the behavior of our primate cousins? He broaches the possibility that generous ''helping responses,'' observed among animals reliant on close-knit relationships, have evolved into something more refined -- authentically unselfish behavior. If he's right, this book is a step toward outlining the evolution of our own moral codes.
Not only does de Waal clear away layers of misconceptions in The Ape and the Sushi Master, but along the way he robs us of cheap laughs. ''Bush or Chimp?'' and ''The Chimp Channel'' just won't look the same after exposure to this deftly written, deeply reflective work.
— New York Times Book Review

John Gribbin

[A]bsorbing and entertaining. . . —Washington Post Book World1]

Los Angeles Time Book Review

De Waal is one of our clearest science writers.. .

Los Angeles Times

De Waal is one of our clearest science writers.

New York Times Book Review

[A] remarkable journey of discovery to the heart of a profound question: what can we learn about the evolution of our own cultures by studying the behavior of our primate cousins? [A] deftly written, deeply reflective work.

Science News

Esteemed primatologist de Waal strikes another blow against human uniqueness as he asserts that other animals also possess culture.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A very thoughtful essay.... He writes in a style somewhat like that of Stephen Jay Gould, bringing often complex questions of behavioral research into the ken of thoughtful lay people.

Toronto Globe & Mail

Clear, elegant prose.... Read de Waal for history and theory, a good grounding in the basics.

Washington Post

Absorbing and entertaining...explaining to the interested lay person more clearly than any other book the sound science that lies in the middle of the sometimes shrill debate about the origins of human nature.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Though evidence suggests that animals can teach skills to members of their group, appreciate aesthetics and express empathy, Western scientists are often reluctant to interpret such behavior in cultural terms, claims zoologist and ethologist de Waal (Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes and Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape). "Our culture and dominant religion have tied human dignity and self-worth to our separation from nature and distinctness from other animals," he writes, arguing that this dualism prevents us from recognizing how similar human and animal behavior can be. De Waal cites fascinating examples of animals acting in ways typically thought the exclusive purview of humans (apes that enjoy creating paintings or engaging in nonreproductive sexual activity; rescue dogs that become depressed when they find only corpses). Inspired by the work of Japanese primatologist Kinji Imanishi, whose cultural tradition emphasizes interconnectedness among living things, de Waal argues for an end to the West's anthropocentric bias in science. De Waal prefers a "Darwistotelian" approach, which would seek "to understand humanity in the wider context of nature" and build a concept of human identity "around how we are animals that have taken certain capacities a significant step farther" than have other species. Lucid and engaging, though at times loosely focused, de Waal's "reflections" will likely capture the attention not only of zoologists and social scientists but of animal-rights advocates as well. Agent, Elizabeth Ziemska. (Mar. 1) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Zoo visitors tend to anthropomorphize the actions of the animals they observe. This bias, de Waal points out, is an inherent problem in the study of animal behavior. Noted primatologist de Waal relies on his background of studying chimpanzee behavior (Chimpanzee Politics), and his early following in the footsteps of ethologist Konrad Lorenz, as an anecdotal basis for this entertaining history of ethology. De Waal moves ethology through the stages of viewing animals as soulless creatures, through the "one behavior fits all" mentality, to the current speculation that each species has its own unique behavioral patterns. Ultimately, de Waal shows not only how we see animals but also how we see ourselves as he pokes holes in the theory that man is set apart from the rest of nature by "culture." For academic and larger public libraries. Raymond Hamel, Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Ctr. Lib., Madison Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

Waal (primate behavior, Emory U.) blends autobiographical stories, research findings, and speculation relating to the life of apes. Suggesting that apes can learn culture and are not confined to genetic instinct, he explores the details of social transmission. He also examines how human culture affects the way we look at other animals. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Kirkus Reviews

Humans have no monopoly on culture or ethics, argues a respected expert on our animal cousins. De Waal (Bonobo, 1997, etc.) supports his point with such examples as Japanese monkeys that wash sweet potatoes in salt water to enhance the flavor, a"custom" observed nowhere else in the world, and traceable to a single simian innovator a few decades ago. Such behavior can only be described as cultural, in the sense of being transmitted by example within the social group rather than inherently determined by the genes. Similar instances are numerous, and not just among the primates. Songbirds have local dialects, often based on the performances of"master singers" in their region. Likewise, observations of captive apes have often shown that a particular grooming practice originates with one individual and gradually spreads to the whole troop. Bonobos, the apes perhaps closest genetically to humans, have been seen offering sex in exchange for food. Most of these insights into animal culture have come in recent decades, when western zoologists began to adopt the methods of their Japanese peers, in particular learning to identify and follow individual animals. De Waal suggests that the Asian scientists were able to adopt this approach because their intellectual heritage does not assume, as western culture does, a rigid barrier between humans and animals. Likewise, the once-dominant behaviorist model of mental function, which not only ignores distinctions between individual animals, but considers a result based on bird behavior equivalent to one gathered from mammals, is portrayed here as a peculiarly western aberration. De Waal mixes evocative anecdotes and musings on methodology and philosophywitha sure hand; the reader is likely to come away convinced by his insights. An extremely well-written, highly provocative discussion of the origins and meaning of culture.