Mom's last hug

"A captivating and heartfelt book full of compassion and deep insights into animal life." Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens - A Short History of Humanity Frans de Waal, a Dutch primate researcher and ethologist, has been studying animal behavior for four decades. Her earlier book, We’re Smart Enough to Understand How Smart Animals Are ?, dealt with animal intelligence, Mama’s Last Embrace tells fascinating stories about their rich emotional lives. The book begins with the death of chimpanzee matriarch Mama, who was closely associated with biologist Jan van Hooff. When Mama was already dying, Van Hooff visited him in his cage. Their farewell, which was videotaped, blew up the internet. Millions of people have witnessed Mama greet her with a wide smile and then hug the professor. Man is not the only race, De Waal argues, who can love, hate or be ashamed, feels joy, disgust or empathy. Mama’s last embrace will help us recognize the many ways people and animals relate to each other, and after reading it we will have a new look at the world around us. Frans de Waal (1948) is a Dutch-born American primate researcher, ethologist, professor in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta. For decades, it has been examining the social behavior, conflict resolution, cooperation and empathy, and sense of justice of primates. But Waalt was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2007.