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A stirring account of hope and survival for the planet's endangered great ape species.
For most of his life, veterinarian Rick Quinn ignored a deep longing to meaningfully protect the endangered animals that fascinated him. Then one day, he read two magazine clippings about the great apes and knew it was time to set aside excuses and find the means to help. Armed with his camera and an insatiable curiosity, Dr Quinn set off for the front lines of great ape conservation.
Just Like Us is a gorgeous tribute to our not-too-distant relatives as well as the courageous people who are risking their lives to protect them.
In this remarkable memoir, we follow Dr Quinn's seven-year journey across seven African countries and Indonesia, where he photographed each great ape species in its natural habitat. Using inspiring stories juxtaposed with stunning photographs, he illuminates the threats to great ape survival as well as the complexity of saving them. The result delivers an empathetic sense that these magnificent beings really are – strikingly so – just like us. The author will donate all proceeds of your book purchase to Docs4GreatApes.
Avid wildlife photographer and founding director of Docs4GreatApes, Dr Rick Quinn serves on both the Canadian and global boards of the Jane Goodall Institute. His veterinary career includes ten years in general practice, training as a veterinary ophthalmologist, and working in a speciality practice managing eye problems in his animal patients. Rick has taught veterinary undergraduate and graduate students and residents. He continues to lecture globally about veterinary ophthalmology and great ape conservation. Rick and his wife, Diane, a family doctor, have raised four children. They live in Ontario, Canada.
Primatologist and anthropologist Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE is considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. Goodall is best known for her sixty-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees since she first went to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in 1960. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots program, and she has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. She has served on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project since its founding in 1996. In April 2002, she was named a UN Messenger of Peace. Goodall is an honorary member of the World Future Council. Goodall is the author of numerous books, including In the Shadow of Man and Reason for Hope.
"Just Like Us is an invitation to connect to the natural world with action and hope."
– Foreword Reviews
"Just Like Us is an entertaining and informative read that illustrates how one ordinary person can be a catalyst for positive change."
– Jane Goodall, primatologist and bestselling author
"Just Like Us will be a classic and is a must read. The book adds much to what we can learn about ourselves. A beautifully written adventure with great apes, with some of the most difficult and stunning photographs of the great apes ever made."
– Thomas Mangelsen, award-winning nature and wildlife photographer and conservationist
"A thoughtful, personal, and beautifully photographed journey into some of the world's hardest-to-reach places in search of the last great apes. Just Like Us inspires us to care about our highly threatened relatives in the rainforest and lays out steps we can take to help save them."
– Rhett Butler, CEO and founder of Mongabay.com
"Outstanding photography! This book is a valuable contribution to the public's understanding of our remarkable 'near relatives.'"
– Robert Bateman, wildlife painter and environmental icon
