Ariel's Reviews > Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees
Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees
by
by
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This book was a heartwarming and heartbreaking story about people--not all of them human people. It tells the story of Roger, a chimpanzee language researcher, and his companion and colleague in his study, a chimpanzee named Washoe. Washoe is crossfostered with humans in her early life, where she learns to use American Sign Language. Along the way we meet other chimpanzees, each with their own personality and style. Sadly Roger helplessly watches many of them head into biomedical research laboratories, where they are considered property without any rights. (view spoiler) I would recommend this book to anyone, although I caution that some of the things the chimps endure (Never with Roger, who is a respectful man now dedicated to animal rights) are so horrible I felt nauseated. This book was published in 1997, about two years after I declared my vegetarianism at eight. I feel heartbroken that this was happening while I doted on my stuffed animal companions and hamsters. This book was a wake-up call to me about makeup. I just started using makeup about a year ago, and for some reason it never occurred to me they'd test it on animals. I am giving up some favorite brands and using only cruelty free ones. This book is wonderful and thought provoking.
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Reading Progress
August 16, 2014
–
Started Reading
August 16, 2014
– Shelved
September 6, 2014
–
72.1%
"So sickened by the lab conditions Roger witnessed that I had to stop. Locking a social non-human person in an isolated tiny cell with no stimulation for their entire lives while you experiment on them by injecting diseases into them should be a criminal offense, not something heartily funded by the NIH. Also, they made Jane Goodall cry."
page
323
September 7, 2014
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Finished Reading