Even before Darwin developed his theory of evolution by natural selection, scientists recognized that the ape is our closet relative in biological terms. Our history began millions of years ago in the forests and woodlands of Africa where our common ancestor descended from the trees. John MacKinnon, who began his study of ape behavior under the tutelage of Jane Goodall in Gombe, has had wider firsthand experience of the principal apes in the world than any other qualified observer. The first six chapters of The Ape Within Us are based on his field notes of gibbons, and siamangs in Malaya, gorillas in Zaire, chimpanzees and bonobos in East and Central Africa and orang-utans in Borneo and Sumatra. MacKinnon gives vivid and entertaining accounts of the apes' private lives - feeding, protecting their territories, mating, raising their young, reacting to their own and other species. The central chapter of the book looks at the mysterious fossils which are the only tangible clues to man's descent from, or relationship to, his hairy ancestors. Finally, MacKinnon examines our own personal behavior, our social characteristics, our passions, fears, achievements and failures in the light of what we know about the apes. MacKinnon reminds us how primitive we are in so many of our ways, and how subtle, inventive, and sophisticated in their communications that apes can be. It would be wise, he suggests, to learn some lessons from them before it is too late. - Dust jacket.