This book is a recollection of more than twenty years of the renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky’s acquaintance with East Africa. As a very young scientist, the author first came to a nature reserve in Kenya with the intention of testing on wild baboons his guess about the nature of stress in humans, which is not surprising given how similar primates are to humans in their biological and psychological responses. Actually, Sapolski does not separate himself from his charges — experimental animals, which is obvious from the title of the book. And this gives the story a special charm and power. Together with the author who gave his favorites biblical names, we learn about their life, suffering, love, rivalry, struggle for power, illness and death. No less striking characters in the book are local residents: farmers, gamekeepers, petty bosses and simple hard workers. For two decades in Africa, Sapolsky has experienced both his own dangerous adventures, and the tragedies of friends, and the change of political regimes — and writes about it in such a way that you almost feel like a participant in the events.
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