Primate Diversity

Rating:
Summary: wonderful book for introductory primate course
Review: I am using this book for a university level primate survey course. Though some books are now available for upper level primate behaviour and ecology courses, few of these books are accessible to beginning students, many of whom do not yet "know" they have an interest in primatology. This book is up to date, provides pertinent information on the Order Primates in a wonderful easy to read style. This information is accompanied by equally delightful drawings. Furthermore, despite her "accessible" writing style, Falk also introduces the beginning student to many of the important controversies in the study of primate behaviour and evolution.

Rating:
Summary: Better books are out there
Review: I have been working for a number of years teaching primatology courses, and find this text to be dead last in the list of ones I might choose to assign to my students. If one has little respect for the undergraduate students to whom one is teaching primatology, then it might be OK, but some professors take their jobs seriously. It is a bit light on science, has nice pictures with cutsey captions, and frankly shows an atypical lack of modesty for a scientist in that the author has had herself drawn as the model human in all her cladograms. Whether this book is poor because the author does not believe college students to be capable of comprehending a worthy text (like that of John Fleagle), or because she does not understand theory-driven issues herself is not clear, but in later editions more attention needs to be paid to issues scientific relevance.

More effort needed on this one before it is passable.