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Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human | 
| Author: Elizabeth Hess
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
List Price: $23.00
Buy New: $12.96
You Save: $10.04 (44%)
New (34) Used (8) from $9.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 8194
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0553803832
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.98850929
EAN: 9780553803839
ASIN: 0553803832
Publication Date: February 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling books online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080516225610T
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Product Description
Could an adorable chimpanzee raised from infancy by a human family bridge the gap between species—and change the way we think about the boundaries between the animal and human worlds? Here is the strange and moving account of an experiment intended to answer just those questions, and the astonishing biography of the chimp who was chosen to see it through.
Dubbed Project Nim, the experiment was the brainchild of Herbert S. Terrace, a psychologist at Columbia University. His goal was to teach a chimpanzee American Sign Language in order to refute Noam Chomsky’s assertion that language is an exclusively human trait. Nim Chimpsky, the baby chimp at the center of this ambitious, potentially groundbreaking study, was “adopted” by one of Dr. Terrace’s graduate students and brought home to live with her and her large family in their elegant brownstone on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
At first Nim’s progress in learning ASL and adapting to his new environment exceeded all expectations. His charm, mischievous sense of humor, and keen, sometimes shrewdly manipulative understanding of human nature endeared him to everyone he met, and even led to guest appearances on Sesame Street, where he was meant to model good behavior for toddlers. But no one had thought through the long-term consequences of raising a chimp in the human world, and when funding for the study ran out, Nim’s problems began.
Over the next two decades, exiled from the people he loved, Nim was rotated in and out of various facilities. It would be a long time before this chimp who had been brought up to identify with his human caretakers had another opportunity to blow out the candles on a cake celebrating his birthday. No matter where he was sent, however, Nim’s hard-earned ability to converse with humans would prove to be his salvation, protecting him from the fate of many of his peers.
Drawing on interviews with the people who lived with Nim, diapered him, dressed him, taught him, and loved him, Elizabeth Hess weaves an unforgettable tale of an extraordinary and charismatic creature. His story will move and entertain at the same time that it challenges us to ask what it means to be human, and what we owe to the animals who so enrich our lives.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Who is human and who is inhumane? April 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of the best books of any I have read for several years. It was fascinating, and couldn't put it down. The author presents the complicated study as fairly as possible. Nim was an imp, he was a master manipulator, he deserved a better fate. Perhaps his last years were not so bad. I will never think of animal research the same way again.
Very entertaining April 6, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is so entertaining. Anyone who loves animals will find it almost impossible not to fall in love with Nim. The book is amusing, well written and hard to put down once you get into it.
Angela Coldwell - author of 100 Essential Steps to Less Stress and Anxiety 100 Essential Steps to Career Success 100 Essential Steps For Healthy Living
 Disturbing April 4, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I ordered the book because of my interest in Nim and what happened to him, but I did not expect it to be a vicious attack on Roger Fouts, his life and his work. It is sad that the followers of Herb Terrace who are genuinely concerned with the welfare of captive chimps should feel the need to vilify Roger who has devoted his adult life to their protection.
He was finally able to provide a permanent home for Washoe and four other "signing chimps" that is a model for the treatment of captive chimps. They enjoy birthday parties and an enriched environment where they sign to eachother and to their human caretakers while non-invasive research in communication continues.
I would have hoped that this deeply moving story of Nim would awaken new interest in the plight of the captive chimpanzees without adding to the rancor that surrounds competing theories.
A bittersweet, but wonderful piece March 22, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
To keep this short and sweet, I received this book in the mail yesterday morning and finished all 300+ pages by last night. I could not put it down. It really touched my soul. I always considered myself an animal lover, but after reading this tragic story there is no doubt in my mind that animals really do have personalities, emotions and souls. Shame on people who treat them as if they were worthless and disposable. Although I found myself crying during various chapters in the book, I am so glad I read it because it really opened my eyes. It makes me want to get involved in animal rights! What a great tribute to such a wonderful soul that was Nim Chimpsky.
The Power of Nim March 19, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
One of the real tragedies of Nim Chimpsky is that he and the other chimps profiled in the book have more intelligence, honesty, and "humanity" than the so-called scientists entrusted with their care. What an indictment--not only of medical testing and laboratories who are now the whipping boys of animal activists--but of the "social" scientists who believed that their experiments were any less traumatic or inhumane for the chimps than the biologists with their Hepatitis C vaccines! Out of all of the psychologists, students, and volunteers in Project Nim, only a hand full displayed the loyalty, perservance, compassion, and integrity of Nim and his fellow chimps. This book calls into question all of our preconceived notions of what species is the most advanced and enlightened. My money is on the chimps.
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