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Summary: A most compelling and thought-provoking book
Review: I read this book in one day, I put aside everything else because I couldn't put this book down. It is one of the most compelling and thought-provoking book I've ever read. The kind of compassion Washoe and Roger have for the people around them has inspired me immensely. I cannot help but tell other people who are not interested in "monkeys" by relating the story of Lucy's behavior in front of a Playgirl magazine! That should be familiar enough!
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Summary: Most unexpected emotional rollercoaster since I was a teen!
Review: I started the book thinking that it would simply be a good read. Since I went to school at Central Washington University, I met the chimps and Roger several times. I did not expect to be introduced to Washoe as a mother, a sister, and a friend. Roger has tenderly portrayed Washoe and her family as more than five animated research chimps. He has created an emotional, psychological, and intellectual link between us and our ape cousins. He has introduced us to the next "generation" of people.
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Summary: a fasicnating story to all of us
Review: If you like a modest, exuberant, funny, generous and emotional true story as i do, then i would strongly recommend you to read Next of Kin which is fasicnating by telling the thougtful mind and intelligence of Chimpanzees, and deeply affecting by their human like behaviors to communicate and live in their society. When humans think they are the only primate who can have the great intelligence of language and logical behavior, Washoe, a smart chimpanzee in an ASL project, against this scientific establishment. Her learning pattern and behavior is like a human child's. People criticized that Washoe can sign is because of reinforcement but not her own thought. However, atfer staying with Washoe for a long time, Roger figures out that she does think. She signs dogs when she sees a real dog. She knows to sign use key to unlock the door that shows she realizes key can open door. Being a foster daughter of human , washoe does think herself as human. When she realizes the truth by sending to Dr. Lemmon 's island which there are many chimps. She was grief but learns to accept and show love to other chimpanzees even though she 's out of contact with other same primate for a long time. She uses and teaches ASL to communicate with other chimps. All of her behaviors tell us that chimps are so much like us. Many scientists use them to do many painful and inhuman experiments. however, they have never thought about they are hurting our relative ancestor. We should start care them and stop using any product by animal experiments.
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Summary: Chimp Champs
Review: In doing research for a journalism assignment, I was recommended Fouts' "Next of Kin." I read the book as I prepared for a trip to the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care, a sanctuary of hope in southern Florida for chimpanzees rescued from labs and similar monstrosities, funded by Jane Goodall and other good people. It was a superb introduction to what I was about to witness, and I ended up using a lengthy quote from the book as an epigram to my article about the sanctuary. Fouts has given an incredible and heart wrenching insight into a world we too often choose to ignore - the world side by side to our own "civilized" one, the world of the animal kingdom. It is, perhaps, our view of it as a separate world from our own that first gets us into trouble. The human being is an arrogant being. We like to think that we are the superior beast - the thinking, feeling, building, progressive being that rules the earth - but so often the human being is not so superior at all, but only... a beast. Fouts takes that arrogance down several notches. He reveals the remarkable intelligence of the chimpanzee mind. He reveals the astounding emotional depth of the chimpanzee heart. He unveils the tragic suffering of the chimpanzee life when we forget these emotional and intellectual capacities. In a time when scientific strides in all fields - space exploration, medical, or other - can easily be made without the torment of our animal brethren, this book bears witness to our human cruelty and argues effectively for an abandonment of such treatment forever. We are not, after all, a superior creature on this planet. We are only one among many, sharing a global environment to which all of our varied species have a right to live in, enjoying our freedom to live our lives without the threat of enslavement by others - human or animal.
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Summary: A moving and inspiring book, and a gripping story as well
Review: Next of Kin is a great book. Nothing else I have read in recent memory has had me talking like this. The combination of hilarious stories of chimps' behavior and communication and the unsettling accounts of the treatment of chimps in research labs makes for a powerful combination. My favorite "utterance", from the hands of Washoe: "Please give me that hot smoke!" (asking for a cigarette). Roger Fouts makes a convincing case that the next (urgent) step for the growth of humanity is to extend our concept of humanity to the chimps, our next of kin.
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Summary: This Book Will Change You
Review: No matter your philosophy on the feelings and intellect of animals, this book will change it. I believe that animals have emotions and cognitive skills, but this book really enhanced and helped direct my own personal creed.
The book tells story of a young grad student who falls into a cross-fostering experiment with a young chimpanzee named Washoe. Two professors are raising her as a human child and teaching her sign language. Fouts ends up as Washoe's lifelong caretaker and friend, traveling with her as she is moved from university to university, trying to protect her against a system that views her as an unfeeling piece of property. Along the way other chimpanzees join him and Washoe, until he has a small family of chimps, all capable of sign language, to care for.
The book is remarkable for many reasons. The narrative is interesting, clearly explained, and easy to read, even when Fouts discusses the physiology of language and evolution. The story is fascinating, the antics of the chimps are hilarious and eye-opening, and Fouts' journey to find Washoe and her family a good home (from Reno to Oklahoma to Washington) is determined and inspiring. The subject matter is phenomenal. Reading about Washoe's son, Loulis, learning sign language from her (the first animal to be taught a human language by another animal), the interactions between the chimps and humans (Lucy, who brews tea and serves it to Fouts every morning) and the brief legal history of the chimpanzees as research subjects, is incredible.
Read this book with an open mind. It will change you.
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Summary: I found this book captivating from start to finish.
Review: Normally I read mostly fiction, but my lifelong interest in child development and education was piqued by an interview with Dr Fouts on NPR. This book was so compelling. I agree with all the reviews ahead of mine. I just regret I never studied with a teacher like Roger. He & his wife must be incredible people. I wish I had money to help with his mission and the animals.
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Summary: There is hope for humanity.
Review: One of the problems in reading a lot is that it becomes difficult to find books that provide substance, an opportunity to learn and a riveting subject. I am pleased to advise that this book does all of this and more. Roger Fouts does not claim to be a hero. In fact, he confesses to being disappointed, confused, even weak at times. All the more reason to admire his dedication to his subjects and his refusal to buckle under severe pressure. This book gives the reader an opportunity to visit with and begin to understand another species, to develop some understanding of another language, to understand the history and development of the human species along with the workings of academia and the "scientific" mind (and you thought "Freddy" was scary!). At times it is heartwarming, at others it touches on the cold, cruel, self-absorption that humans are capable of. It well demonstrates the belief that "evil is possible where empathy is absent". This book underlines our responsibility to all life on Earth to act with respect and caring towards all species. Reading about Washoe, her family and her friends will not always be easy but it will change you for the better. They teach us about our own humanity. They also provide strong reinforcement and inspiration for those who sometimes feel isolated and alone in their journey to protect the voiceless.
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Summary: The closest you'll ever come to knowing another species
Review: Roger Fouts has written an extraordinary book that combines insight with scientific fact as he relates his experiences with a special chimpanzee who changed the direction of his life. As a graduate student in experimental psychology at the University of Nevada, Fouts is given an assistantship to "teach a chimpanzee to talk" using modified American Sign Language, and thus begins his introduction to impishly clever Washoe. Washoe is in almost every sense a "person", with specific character traits, likes and dislikes, habits and methods. When she is in danger of being dumped into a medical facility at the end of the study, Fouts fights to protect her against the woefully inadequate laws and accepted scientific procedures. His battle not only for Washoe but for all captive chimpanzees becomes the focus of his career. Because Washoe and her companions have the ability to express themselves, this is at times a heartbreaking tale as Fouts and the reader discover how closely related chimps and humans truly are. Through his passionate storytelling and his breadth of knowledge, Fouts gives readers an intimate glimpse into these fascinating non-human lives. I cannot express adequately how moving and instructive this account is. It will affect you on a deeply emotional level - I can't imagine how anyone can emerge from this story unchanged. I highly recommend this book for all readers, from teenagers to adults, from casual to serious readers.
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Summary: Chimps ARE our next of kin
Review: Roger Fouts presents his heart-warming story of his involvement in the study of chimpanzees and their ability to communicate with humans through the use of sign language. Roger has been involved in this study for over 30 years since he was a graduate student working for the Gardeners, a husband/wife research team who had the idea to raise chimps like human children and to use signs with them. We soon learn that the chimps quickly acquire many signs and that they can use the signs in inventive ways. According to Fouts, chimps can actually create spontaneous sentences using signs. This means that humans are not the only animals who think and use language. After reading this book, you will change your mind about animals and you will see that animal experimentation is horrid and uncalled for. To think that there are sentient beings living for years in small cages in order to participate in experiments that ultimately lead to their deaths is unnerving. If this book inspires a few people to actively become involved in helping to free primates and other animals from cruel captivity, it will be wonderful. The book also makes us realize that we are not too far removed from chimps genetically. Roger Fouts should be rewarded for his pioneering work with chimps. The chimps should be rewarded by humans treating them humanely.
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