The Song of the Ape

“The Song of the Ape” is an engrossing, well-written story that delves into the author's inspiration to study primates, unsuccessful historical attempts to teach chimpanzees various human languages, and current studies of chimps in captivity and the wild. Each story about the five main chimps, including the great Little Mama and Higgy to Elgin, Gin, and Cindy, is fascinatingly presented in parallel to stories about chimps being observed in Tanzania and other locations. This is not a stuffy, academic work, but is a book that will appeal to people of divergent interests and will make you interested in what Halloran will uncover next.