Apes Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Gibbons

The most startling aspect of this book, before even opening the front cover, is the colour illustrations. The illustrations are nothing less than beautiful and stand in stiff competition with any justice photographs can do to these majestic primates. The book thoroughly represents each of the ape species in splendid detail, and uses the illustrations to compare morphology between the species, including humans. A relatively unseen, but incredibly useful, comparison.

A foreword from Professor Colin Groves precedes the main body of the book. Such accreditation serves to reinforce the validity of the taxonomies the author presents. Taxonomies, and indeed other encyclopaedic information, are thoroughly researched, and presented in such a way that makes this book extremely accessible to all, regardless of education level. Additionally, the inclusion of bright diagrammatic representations of ape habitats, and interesting historical fact boxes for each species, takes this book away from dense text and into an altogether lighter" understanding of our closest living relatives.

The author begins the book with an overview of what constitutes an ape and then continues with an in-depth look at each ape species and their associated subspecies. The gorillas set the investigation in motion, followed by the chimpanzees, the orangutans, and finally the gibbons. Many of the facts about these animals can seem repetitive, for example, the age range of many gibbons in the wild is similar. Hutchins deals with these repetitions by placing them in engaging "Did you know?" boxes, each one worded differently enough to keep the reader entertained and interested in the more mundane facts, such as the animal's height or arm span.

The book concludes with a "those who care" section detailing the efforts of pioneers in the field, such as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. This section is a particularly useful reference guide and includes a comprehensive list, with up-to-date contact details and website addresses, of the major conservation groups for each ape species and the broader protection agencies such as WWF.

This is a short book (80 pages) aimed at people who need a quick, reliable reference guide. However, the ability of this book to appeal to a vast audience is possibly one of its greatest assets. The book, both pictorially and factually, bring apes into your living room. One glance at the front cover invites further examination and most people would be unable to resist "sneaking a peak".

The illustrations are the story of this book. Each picture really does paint a thousand words. The book presents many of the facts and a large proportion of the information pictorially, making its interpretation simple, exciting and alluring. It is rare to encounter a book of such design with such a range of accurate information. Many books are either one or the other, text or illustrative. The crossover between the two, as presented in "Apes..." makes it relatively unique.

"Apes..." has mileage and could possibly be the first in a series of books. The author could potentially cover lemurs, New World monkeys and Old World monkeys using the same format. More so, other mammalian species could be incorporated, and even non-mammalian animals, should there be a market. The primate order, in general, sparks peoples' interest, whether at a professional or scientific level or as a curiosity. Therefore in many respects primates warrant a range of books that cover the entire order. Certainly a wealth of primate books exist, none however, quite like the work produced by Hutchins."

- Tara Cooper Queen's University