Vanessa Woods is not only one of my dearest friends, she’s also an extremely gifted writer. Currently at Duke University, she studies the cognitive development of chimpanzees and bonobos at sanctuaries in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Next June, Vanessa’s latest book, Bonobo Handshake, will be published–and I can’t wait…
Check out this video and read the description below:
Bonobo Handshake
In 2005, Vanessa Woods accepted a marriage proposal from a man she barely knew and agreed to join him on a research trip to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Settling in at a bonobo sanctuary in Congo’s capital, Vanessa and her fiancé entered the world of a rare ape with whom we share 98.7% of our DNA. Vanessa soon discovered that bonobos live in a peaceful society in which females are in charge, war is nonexistent, and sex is as common and friendly as a handshake.
A fascinating memoir of hope and adventure, Bonobo Handshake traces Vanessa’s self-discovery as she finds herself falling deeply in love with her husband, the apes, and her new surroundings. Courageous and extraordinary, Almost French meets The Poisonwood Bible in this true story of revelation and transformation in a fragile corner of Africa.
December 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Fascinating… the plight of all the world’s primates (…save one) is really quite dire, and anything that calls attention to them is a plus.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I’m looking forward to Rick Moody’s next novel, which will be science fiction.
December 28th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Somehow I get the impression that by the end of this book the husband is the one with the most hurt feelings.
December 28th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
That ‘we share 98.7% of our DNA’, or whatever, is a very small deal when you consider we share maybe 40% of our DNA with daffodils.
December 29th, 2009 at 1:33 am
Chris, here’s a news story perfect for your blog. It appears some anti-science activists are going to cut a successful science program at a Berkeley High School.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/berkeley-high-may-cut-out-science-labs/Content?oid=1536705
Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.
The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High’s School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley’s dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse.
Paul Gibson, an alternate parent representative on the School Governance Council, said that information presented at council meetings suggests that the science labs were largely classes for white students. He said the decision to consider cutting the labs in order to redirect resources to underperforming students was virtually unanimous.
December 29th, 2009 at 3:06 am
Look forward to it.
December 29th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
the book looks great, though I always have my doubts that bonobos are are “wonderful” as portrayed….
and…oh, just lovely to see that we are still catering to the lowest common denominator and still claiming that race is the problem. Just so we can forget that it is parents and society that enshrines ignorance.
April 8th, 2010 at 6:46 am
[...] blogged before about Duke primate scientist Vanessa Woods and now I now I encourage readers to go visit her newest blog at Psychology Today Your Inner Bonobo [...]