In the Shadow of Man

About this book

Reissue of this classic work (the 1988 revised edition).

World-renowned primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodall's account of her life among the wild chimpanzees of Gombe is one of the most enthralling stories of animal behavior ever written. Her adventure began when the famous anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey suggested that a long-term study of chimpanzees in the wild might shed light on the behavior of our closest living relatives. Accompanied by only her mother and her African assistants, she set up camp in the remote Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanzania. For months the project seemed hopeless; out in the forest from dawn until dark, she had but fleeting glimpses of frightened animals. But gradually she won their trust and was able to record previously unknown behavior, such as the use – and even the making – of tools, until then believed to be an exclusive skill of man. As she came to know the chimps as individuals, she began to understand their complicated social hierarchy and observed many extraordinary behaviors, which have forever changed our understanding of the profound connection between humans and chimpanzees. In the Shadow of Man is "one of the Western world's great scientific achievements" (Stephen Jay Gould) and a vivid, essential journey of discovery for each new generation of readers.

Contents

Preface by Jane Goodall xi
Foreword by Richard Wrangham xx
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 Beginnings 1
2 Early days 13
3 First observations 24
4 Vamp life 38
5 The rains 51
6 The chimps come to camp 63
7 Flo's sex life 78
8 The feeding station 88
9 Flo and her family 100
10 The hierarchy 111
11 The growth of the research center 129
12 The infant 144
13 The child 158
14 The adolescent 170
15 Adult relationships 181
16 Baboons and predation 194
17 Death 210
18 Mother and child 221
19 In the shadow of man 234
20 Man's inhumanity 248
21 Family postscript 253

Appendixes
A. Stages of development 269
B. Facial expressions and calls 271
C. Weapon and tool use 275
D. Diet 279
E. Chimpanzee and human behavior 282

Bibliography 285
Index 288
About the Jane Goodall Institute 303

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