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21st out of 120 books
—
84 voters
Next of Kin
For 30 years Roger Fouts has pioneered communication with chimpanzees through sign language--beginning with a mischievous baby chimp named Washoe. This remarkable book describes Fout's odyssey from novice researcher to celebrity scientist to impassioned crusader for the rights of animals. Living and conversing with these sensitive creatures has given him a profound appreci...more
Paperback, 432 pages
Published
September 1st 1998
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published 1997)
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When I was a little girl and signing as a means of communicating with chimps was covered in documentaries and in the pages of Life and Look and National Geographic as a sort of miracle, I thought that Jane Goodall and her colleagues lived unimaginably charmed lives.
At the start of this memoir, one has that same sense: what could be more magical and marvelous than learning how to communicate with animals? Fouts gives you a front and center peek into our closest animal cousins' perspectives and e...more
At the start of this memoir, one has that same sense: what could be more magical and marvelous than learning how to communicate with animals? Fouts gives you a front and center peek into our closest animal cousins' perspectives and e...more
This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. At once, it is eye-opening, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. I cried and smiled and laughed and cried some more. You'll learn about everything from childhood autism, to the evolution of language, to the fight for the humane treatment of lab animals. This book is flawlessly constructed and flows effortlessly from start to finish, making it a book that I couldn't put down for two days straight. What started out an experiment to teach one chimp...more
This book gets 5 stars because of all that it taught me about chimpanzees and scientific study. I never realized just how intelligent chimpanzees really are. I always thought that chimps using ASL were only using 1 or 2 word combinations, and only with nouns. It is amazing the complex sentences, thoughts, and emotions that these "animals" are sharing. I'll never look at a chimp the same again.
There is an ethical dilemma with using primates for scientific study, or for using any animals for that...more
There is an ethical dilemma with using primates for scientific study, or for using any animals for that...more
Is the use of language unique to humankind? How and when did our hominid ancestors acquire language? Do chimpanzees - who are genetically closer to humans than they are to other apes - have language abilities? Is sign language useful where other communication channels fail, for example in children with autism? Next of Kin addresses these and other questions through the story of a young female chimpanzee who was taught American Sign Language in the 1960s. Roger Fouts was assigned to Project Washo...more
This book is amazing. If you have a heart, you will cry often. But if you know what I want to do with my life, you will understand exactly why after reading this book.
One of the chimps in the book, Booee, is a chimp that I took care of in California (which is why I read the book in the first place). And yes, he will do anything for a rasin!
One of the chimps in the book, Booee, is a chimp that I took care of in California (which is why I read the book in the first place). And yes, he will do anything for a rasin!
This book was in the bibliography of Sara Gruen’s Ape House and, because I loved the part of her book dealing with the animals, I wanted to know more about apes learning how to communicate with humans. I enjoyed this look of the first chimpanzee to be taught American Sign Language by Roger Fouts, co-director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute. It’s fascinating to see how close these chimps are to us, and Fouts has some very valid and moving points about the sad way that humans t...more
Next of Kin is equally amazing and heartbreaking. Although I knew of the close genetic connection that chimps have to humans and that some chimps learned to sign, I had no idea of the extent of their vocabulary or their cognitive skills in learning language. Knowing that now makes the thought of them being used for medical research even more devastating. Roger Fout's dedication to the chimpanzees is astounding and should be commended. If this subject interests you, I highly recommend The Chimps...more
In doing research for a journalism assignment, I was recommended Fouts' "Next of Kin." I read the book as I prepared for a trip to the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care, a sanctuary of hope in southern Florida for chimpanzees rescued from labs and similar monstrosities, funded by Jane Goodall and other good people. It was a superb introduction to what I was about to witness, and I ended up using a lengthy quote from the book as an epigram to my article about the sanctuary.
Fouts has given an in...more
Fouts has given an in...more
A completely amazing, emotional book. A must read for anyone interested in human and animal welfare. I haven't been so emotionally affected by a book since "the only kayak."
p. 88 "I often found myself in heated exchanges with Washoe that reminded me of my own childhood. For ex., in early 1969, I had the thankless job of keeping her in the garage on laundry day while Susan Nichols used the washer in the Gardner's home to clean Washoe's clothes. Before, whenever Washoe had seen us gathering up he...more
p. 88 "I often found myself in heated exchanges with Washoe that reminded me of my own childhood. For ex., in early 1969, I had the thankless job of keeping her in the garage on laundry day while Susan Nichols used the washer in the Gardner's home to clean Washoe's clothes. Before, whenever Washoe had seen us gathering up he...more
This book tried to reach a wide audience and I'd say was successful. I was looking for information specifically about chimpanzees using sign language and there were some technical portions that covered that, but these were stories about chimpanzees, mostly focusing on a fortunate group of them who were put in optimal social settings to facilitate communication, first with humans and then strictly with each other. The author makes it easy to read between the lines, though, and know that most chim...more
Love this story! Heart-wrenching depiction of animal research, and the intelligence and social life of our "nearest kin". This book covers the decades-long relationship of Roger Fouts with a chimp by the name of Washoe. Roger became acquainted with Washoe when she was part of an experiment to teach a chimp sign language. Later he became her caretaker and friend, eventually creating an extended chimp family for Washoe to rule over.
Dr. Fouts was my psychology professor at the University of Oklahoma in 1977 and spoke about his research with Washoe often. I read this book for the first time just a couple of months before Washoe's unexpected death.
I loved this book. We are all closer than we know. Who hasn't looked into the eyes of a beloved pet or a strange animal and seen real intelligence and feeling there? Very moving and inspiring.
I loved this book. We are all closer than we know. Who hasn't looked into the eyes of a beloved pet or a strange animal and seen real intelligence and feeling there? Very moving and inspiring.
Very moving. I fell in love with the chimps, who through no fault of their own, ended up in captivity and not living in the wild. This is the story of how Roger Fouts fought for these chimps in order to get them away from a sadistic doctor, and into the safest environment he could provide for them. It was not an easy journey. I have been sending money to help Roger support them ever since reading this book.
one of my favorite books of all time. i love chimps. i love reading about chimp behavior and psychology. They are so similar to humans in so many ways, it's scary. if you are an animal lover then this book will make you cry a lot but it will show you that chimps are very intelligent, emotional beings. the shit that we humans put them through is just horrible. i recommend that everyone read this book.
Dec 27, 2011
Colby Qualls
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
uca-honors-related,
social-science
This book has certainly altered my perception of the superiority of the human species. It is such a fascinating tale of such a certainly human-like character. The problem is that even still today we are not willing to accept certain facts about our own origins. Roger Fouts does not hold punches with anyone or any group. He is willing to deal out the blame, even on himself. I only hope that such ideas displayed in this book gain more momentum in the upcoming years.
Fouts undercuts the main thrust of his argument (that the great apes, and eventually all animals, deserve the same level of compassion and consideration as human beings when it comes to scientific study and medical experimentation) by relying too heavily on the emotional connection forged between himself and the chimpanzees for which (he would say 'whom') he cared. Still, it is a mostly well written book -- only occasionally tedious in its repetitiveness or indulgence of spending two pages makin...more
Hmmmm.....just some of the good things I can think of about this book:
1. I learned how close we are psychologically, emotionally, verbally, and mentally to chimps
2. I learned to view animals in a much more connected way. I mean that I feel closer to all animals.
3. I saw again how susceptible humans are to holocaust/slavery type thinking.
4. This booked messed with my head. I will never be the same. I will forever after think of chimps as thinking/feeling/talking hominids. And I will be more sensi...more
1. I learned how close we are psychologically, emotionally, verbally, and mentally to chimps
2. I learned to view animals in a much more connected way. I mean that I feel closer to all animals.
3. I saw again how susceptible humans are to holocaust/slavery type thinking.
4. This booked messed with my head. I will never be the same. I will forever after think of chimps as thinking/feeling/talking hominids. And I will be more sensi...more
I was reminded of how cruel mankind can be to not only other people and differing cultures, but how cruel we can be to animals. Yet, there always seems to be a glimmer of hope in the few humans who act to repair the damage. This book is also a reminder of how we aren't really so far removed in our emotional states from the creatures that we so often take for granted.
Next of Kin is a fascinating, emotionally powerful book. Through science and pholosophy it deepens understanding of our human nature as it explores how we can communicate through sign language with Chimpanzees. It will also show some ugly truths about the inhumane treatment humans are capable of committing. It's an amazing book and place. Highly recommended.
This was an incredibly interesting and thought provoking book. I was aware of Koko the gorilla's sign language abilities but somehow never heard of Project Washoe that predated it. The book was repetitive at times, but not to the point of being annoying. I learned a ton and will be thinking about it for quite a while. (It is also deeply disturbing).
I found an older version of this book at the library book sale. Quite a gem. It was about Washoe and few other chimpanzees that Roger keep safe from animal research. I learn about animal research which really is animal abuse in many ways. Roger Fouts and Jane Goodall tried to stop this kind of animal research.
I read it just few months before Washoe died.
I read it just few months before Washoe died.
I bought this after visiting the chimpanzee institute in Ellensburg, WA. EVERYONE should read this book. It is a real eye-opener, and also very emotional at times. (The first chapter will make you cry.) Most people in this book, human and chimpanzee, are wonderful. But you will also meet a research scientist who is pure evil.
If you think humans have the monopoly on emotional depth, read this book and be proven wrong. Had to read Next of Kin for a class an ended up reading the whole book in one go. The prose can be a bit halting at times, but the stories and information keep you going. If you live animals you need to add this book to your collection.
A story of the psychologist who taught chimpanzees to communicate with American Sign Language. As a 12-year-old I was riveted, and I still enjoy rereading this insightful, compassionate story. It has it all: love, conflict (among big-name academics and within the chimps's social groups), evolution, philosophy and personal struggle.
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. It's about the author's work with chimpanzees that speak ASL. The chimps now live at Central Washington University, and I've been to a "chimposium" to learn about and observe them. This book says so much about how close we are to the chimpanzees and what it means to be human. Just incredible.
This is an honest, difficult, wonderful book. Psychologist Roger Fouts (currently at Eastern Washington University) recounts his life experiences (beginning as a graduate student) with Washoe, a chimpanzee who learned sign language as a youngster (and with their-Fouts' and Washoe's- experiences with other chimps and humans). Although the book is not without examples of funny, charming or surprising chimpanzee behavior (such as one girl chimp's interest in Playboy magazine), the real heart of the...more
Fresh from visiting the Chimpanzee Language Institute (which I stumbled on) I felt compelled to read more about the chimps I had just met and -- yes -- signed to. I am a lazy non-fiction reader but this was an account that had me spell bound. It has deepened my understanding, made me laugh, and made me cry.
About 15 years ago, I discovered a strong need to know more about primates. Fouts' book was not only a delight to read but formed a solid foundation for my love of all things chimp. His writing is friendly and not too scientific and his subjects are fascinating.
I like chimps, I like sign language, and I like the psychology and sociology of communication, especially as it relates and compares to other primates. So this was that. And it was also an emotional tale of what we do to animals in captivity.
Truly engrossing and amazing story of Roger Fouts's work on language aquisition that began when he taught a young chimpanzee, Washoe, to use ASL. He traces the development of spoken language in humans to the gestural language of chimpanzees in the wild and demonstrates the close relation betwen ourselves and others in the ape family. He also gives a impassioned plea for an end to animal research under conditions of fear, pain, and severe deprivation. Some of this was hard to read. My guess is th...more
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11 avr. 13:28