The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal [Paperback]

Desmond Morris (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 13, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0385334303 | ISBN-13: 978-0385334303

"A startling view of man, stripped of the facade we try so hard to hide behind."  In view of man's awesome creativity and resourcefulness, we may be inclined to regard him as descended from the angels, yet, in his brilliant study, Desmond Morris reminds us that man is relative to the apes--is in fact, the greatest primate of all.  With knowledge gleaned from primate ethnology, zoologist Morris examines sex, child-rearing, exploratory habits, fighting, feeding, and much more to establish our surprising bonds to the animal kingdom and add substance to the discussion that has provoked controversy and debate the world over. Natural History Magazine praised The Naked Ape as "stimulating . . . thought-provoking . . . [Morris] has introduced some novel and challenging ideas and speculations." "He minces no words," said Harper's.  "He lets off nothing in our basic relation to the animal kingdom to which we belong. . . He is always specific, startling, but logical."

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Here is the Naked Ape at his most primal - in love, at work, at war. Meet man as he really is: relative to the apes, stripped of his veneer as we see him courting, making love, sleeping, socialising, grooming, playing. Zoologist Desmond Morris's classic takes its place alongside Darwin's Origin of the Species, presenting man not as a fallen angel, but as a risen ape, remarkable in his resilience, energy and imagination, yet an animal nonetheless, in danger of forgetting his origins. With its penetrating insights on man's beginnings, sex life, habits and our astonishing bonds to the animal kingdom, The Naked Ape is a landmark, at once provocative, compelling and timeless. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

"A startling view of man, stripped of the facade we try so hard to hide behind." In view of man's awesome creativity and resourcefulness, we may be inclined to regard him as descended from the angels, yet, in his brilliant study, Desmond Morris reminds us that man is relative to the apes--is in fact, the greatest primate of all. With knowledge gleaned from primate ethnology, zoologist Morris examines sex, child-rearing, exploratory habits, fighting, feeding, and much more to establish our surprising bonds to the animal kingdom and add substance to the discussion that has provoked controversy and debate the world over. Natural History Magazine praised The Naked Ape as "stimulating . . . thought-provoking . . . [Morris] has introduced some novel and challenging ideas and speculations."

"He minces no words," said Harper's. "He lets off nothing in our basic relation to the animal kingdom to which we belong. . . He is always specific, startling, but logical." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Delta (April 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385334303
• ISBN-13: 978-0385334303
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Desmond Morris was born in 1928. Educated at Birmingham and Oxford universities, he became the Curator of Mammals at London Zoo in 1959, a post he held for eight years.

In 1967 he published The Naked Ape which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and has changed the way we view our own species forever.

An accomplished artist, TV presenter, film maker and writer, Desmond Morris's books have been published in over thirty-six countries.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic December 30, 1999

By Harold F. Hedrick

Format:Paperback

Desmond Morris wrote "The Naked Ape" in the late 1960's, and it is a classic which established the field of evolutionary anthropology. His ideas were revolutionary at the time, and he clearly says so. If there is a fault in the book, it is that he covers too much ground too quickly. I think his purpose at the time, however, was simply to condition the reader to thinking of people as an animal that has been subject to the forces of biological evolution on the Savannah for 98 percent of our evolution. Our species only formed farming communities 10,000 years ago.

Much of Morris's conjecture has been turned into solid research in more recent years. For example, studies have found that males are sexually attracted to females having a waist/hips ratio of 0.7. This is universal among contemporary societies including primitive societies. When shown diagrams of women having different waist/hips ratios, male members of the primitive societies chose the 0.7 ratio and specifically indicated child bearing ability being linked to it. Females universally are attracted to males having a waist/hip ratio of 0.85.

The argument between nurturing versus evolution is likely to continue. This book started the argument. It is certainly a serious argument. Some readers may prefer not to think as humans as being animals. Some readers, particulary those interested in newer cultural trends such as feminism, may find certain of Morris's arguments objectionable. The material is oriented towards understanding how biological evolution of Homo Sapiens has affected their social behavior. It is not directly related to how to get along with your lover or spouse. However, the book was as thought provoking today as when it was written.... It is an excellent introduction to the field of evolutionary anthropology. Read more ›

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Naked As In Stripped Of Our Illusions Of Self September 8, 2005

By Ellie Reasoner

Format:Paperback

If human beings ever make contact with an intelligent species from beyond planet earth, then the observations those "people" might make about us would probably read quite a bit like the ones evolutionary zoologist Morris makes in this humorous but deadly serious study of the human animal. The very things we have come to see as mundane about ourselves are the very traits Morrison zeroes in on here. Very little escapes this careful study, although in some cases humanity might collectively wish it had. In this book the human species is anatomically, psychologically, sociologically and biologically cataloged and classified. We read a dispassionate critique of our mating habits, the ways in which we raise our young, our preferences for foods, for where we live, for how we interact with one another, and what bodily features are universally desired over others. In the end I was left both amazed and embarrassed to be among the membership in this great and crazed life form.

49 of 56 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars the naked ape September 29, 2000

By Peter Gray

Format:Paperback

This book can rightfully be called a classic. It represents an early account of the ways in which an evolutionary perspective can illuminate human behavior. It confronts a wide range of subjects, from the signaling value of postures to the role of infant crying. The use of a carnivore model to interpret the evolution of the human family is admirable, in its attempt to link such a phenomenon with knowledge of other animals, if misleading. All this said, however, The Naked Ape should be read cautiously by anyone seeking a current understanding of similar subject matter. For example, Morris' claim that human behavior should best be understood in complex nations such as Britain (p. 51:"The only solution is to take average results from large samples of the most successful societies. The small, backward, and unsuccessful societies can largely be ignored.") represents an assumption since turned on its head by evolutionary psychologists. Read alone, this book will generate interest but too-often misinform; read in combination with more recent work (e.g. Pinker's How The Mind Works) this book can be seen as most valuable.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic in sociobiology March 12, 2001

By Joseph H Pierre

Format:Paperback

Desmond Morris is that rarity, a scientist who can speak plainly to the layman, without jargon, and impart an understanding of science clearly. Being human, he of course also makes assumptions that later discoveries cast into doubt. So it is with this book.

Morris, in his career, has studied many species, including rabbits, birds, turtles, fish--and primates (he was curator of mammals at the London Zoo); particularly human beings, whom he sees as the greatest of the primates. Of course virtually all humans would agree with that.

Much of this book would seem to reflect undeniable fact, for those of us who accept the apparent gradual changes of organisms over thousands of generations in their attempt to survive in a changing environment--a case usually termed "evolution."

For those who deny evolutionary "theory" in favor of creationism, this will be a boring book, and a waste of time.

One particular facet of Morris's view of human evolution both disturbed me and led me to further investigation: his mention of the theory that pre-hominids had passed through a re-entry phase which brought about dramatic physical changes in our species that made us unique among other primates, our cousins, who shared our last common apelike ancestor.

Specifically, the theory, the Aquatic Ape Theory (AAT) as it is known, he only briefly mentioned and seemed content with the view that our earliest ancestor, faced with a receding arboreal African environment which became insufficient to support all of the primates and thus forced them out, dropped from the trees and hit the African savannah running bipedally, and changed their diet to include meat, shedding their fur as they ran to cool off....

Problem: The fastest animals on earth are quadrupeds, and are covered with fur. Also humans have a subcutaneous fat layer that provides warmth (and flotation.)

Eventually, I found Elaine Morgan's books (The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, and Scars of Evolution,) which I found much more persuasive than the Savannah Theory which he espoused.

Nevertheless, Desmond Morris and Robert Ardrey (The Social Contract, and African Genesis,) have made huge contributions and should be read by anyone with an interest in this subject.

Joseph H. Pierre

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