A unique beautifully illustrated exploration of our fascination with our closest primate relatives & the development of primatology as a discipline This insightful work is a compact but wide-ranging survey of humankind's relationship to the great apes (chimpanzees bonobos gorillas orangutans) from antiquity to the present Replete with fascinating historical details & anecdotes it traces twists & turns in our construction of primate knowledge over five hundred years Chris Herzfeld outlines the development of primatology & its key players & events including well-known long-term field studies notably the pioneering work by women such as Jane Goodall Dian Fossey & Birute Galdikas Herzfeld seeks to heighten our understanding of great apes & the many ways they are like us The reader will encounter apes living in human families painting apes apes who use American Sign Language & chimpanzees who travelled in space A philosopher & historian specializing in primatology Herzfeld offers thought-provoking insights about our perceptions of apes as well as the boundary between human & ape & what it means to be either