Natural History of Primates - by Robert W Sussman & Donna Hart & Ian C Colquhoun (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The first new primatology text available in over a decade--24 chapters combine the latest in-depth findings on ecology, behavior, and conservation from top primatologists

Review Quotes

All of the writers are distinguished independent investigators; and perhaps the book's most remarkable feature is that ... the end result is as comprehensive, authoritative, and unified an account of the primates as you could ever wish to find in a single manageable volume.

Collaborative, insightful, comprehensive, and necessary is the apt description of The Natural History of Primates by Robert Sussman and a panoply of colleagues. In this excellent edited volume there is neither theoretical myopia nor "ownership" of species and field sites. Rather, the text is an impressive overview of the natural history of, and what we know and don't know, about the living primates. A perfect legacy for Robert Sussman whose intellectual generosity and pedagogical acuity ushered in a contemporary primatology that is deeply anthropological, wholly biological, sincerely ecological, and moving steadily towards more equitable and just practices. I encourage all scholars, students and individuals interested in the marvelous world of the primates to read this text and join so many of us in learning from Sussman's vision of what primate studies should and can be.

The Natural History of Primates is a comprehensive, well-organized, and up-to-date text that is essential for anyone with an interest in primate studies. The book synthesizes a large amount of information according to taxonomic group, making it easily accessible to students and researchers alike.

The Natural History of Primates is a most authoritative, comprehensive, and indispensable taxonomic survey of more than six decades of observations and discoveries on primate behavior and ecology. Undoubtedly it will be a historical benchmark for many years to come.

The Natural History of Primates is a rich, state-of-the-science compendium of information on the taxonomy and natural history of primates in all their glory, with chapters written authoritatively by many primatologists experienced in the field with their subjects. It should be awarded space on the bookshelves of all aspiring and professional primatologists.

The Natural History of Primates offers an up-to-date summary of the unmanageable number of field studies on primate behavior and ecology that have been published over the last 50 years. The text is an authoritative synthesis of the socioecology of all living primates, including the most recent new discoveries. Data on predation on primates are summarized in unprecedented detail, and information on the population status and conservation efforts on their behalf is more accessible than in the usual technical reports. Truly a remarkable contribution to primatology.

The Natural History of Primates: A Systematic Survey of Ecology and Behavior is an entirely approachable yet comprehensive introduction to primate behavioral ecology. Each chapter is organized around a taxonomic group of primates, and most are written or co-written by former students of Dr. Sussman's. The impressive scope and coverage highlight both the scholarship of the late Robert W. Sussman and his mentoring of an outstanding generation of scientists. This book is a 'must read' for students interested in learning how primates interact with their environment.

This is an extremely valuable book that provides up-to-date and thorough reviews of the naturalistic behavior of living primates by an impressive collection of authorities for each group. It will be the major go-to reference on primate behavior for scholars, teachers, and students.

About the Author

Robert W. Sussman was a Professor of Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, and until his death in 2016 was considered one of the most outstanding field primatologists of his generation. He was the author of almost 200 journal articles, book chapters, books, and edited volumes on a wide range of issues in primate behavior, ecology, and conservation. In 2015, Bob published a landmark volume titled The Myth of Race: TheTroubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea (Harvard University Press). His death represents a major loss to the world's primate community.
Donna Hart is recently retired from the Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri - St. Louis. She earned a PhD at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research areas include predation on primates and the ramifications of predation on early hominins. The latter topic is explored in Man the Hunted, the book for which Hart, and her co-author Bob Sussman, were awarded the 2006 W. W. Howells Book Prize from the American Anthropological Association. Preceding academics, Hart worked in the field of wildlife conservation, specializing in international wildlife treaties.
Ian. C. Colquhoun first conducted behavioral observations on lemurs while an undergraduate at the University of Western Ontario. Fieldwork on lemurs continued during MA (McMaster University) and PhD studies (Washington University in St. Louis). He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario and past president of the Canadian Association for Biological Anthropology/l'Association Canadienne d'Anthropologie Biologique and member of the Madagascar Section of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group.