Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

by Elizabeth Hess

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now Elizabeth Hess's unforgettable biography is the inspiration for Project Nim, a riveting new documentary directed by James Marsh and produced by Simon Chinn, the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553803832
• ISBN13: 9780553803839
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 369 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Heartwarming and heartbreaking story

Elizabeth Hess's "Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human" is simply put, one of the most entertaining, well-written biographies that I can recall. That its subject happens to be a precocious, temperamental, but lovable chimpanzee is quickly forgotten as I turned page after page. "Nim Chimpsky" was born in unusual circumstances: he was plucked when he was days old to participate in a scientific study of whether chimps could acquire language. His very name was a clever rebuke to linguist Noam Chomsky, who famously declared that language was a uniquely human ability. Columbia University professor Herb Terrace put Nim in a human home, where he slept in a bed with his human "mother" Stephanie LaFarge, learned how to smoke cigarettes, and was taught American Sign Language for hours a day in a university classroom. Nim soon could not wake up without a cup of coffee and brought tissues to his human mother when she cried. "Project Nim" started off promisingly enough, as Nim bonded quickly and easily with humans, and learned many signs. But the project soon went awry. Funding was a perpetual issue, as was finding caretakers for Nim as he got older, less pliant, and more dangerous. (Adult chimps are very powerful and easily overpower humans.) Then there was the issue that although Nim's ability to communicate with humans was unquestioned, Terrace was unconvinced that Nim actually had the skills to learn language. He noticed that Nim never was able to form sentences the "human" way. Terrace finally concluded that Nim was an accomplished mimic. At the ripe old age of 5, Nim was sent back to his "roots" in an Oklahoma chimp farm, and then sold to a biomedical laboratory before Terrace, some animal activists, as well as Nim's former caretakers protested. Nim spent his last years in a retirement farm of sorts for primates, and died unexpectedly at the age of 26. Hess clearly has some disdain for the haphazard and unorganized way "Project Nim" was run, as well as the researchers who seemed to care more about academic one-upmanship that the well-being of Nim. Yet her book has none of the stridency and self-righteousness that would accompany an "animal rights" polemic. The book is remarkably well-written, with its characters (both human and chimp) practically leaping off the page. Hess has compassion for Nim's fate, but she doesn't demonize most of the humans in Nim's life, not even Herb Terrace. The one exception is William Lemmon, who ran the Oklahoma "chimp farm" where Nim was born and controlled his animals with a cattle prod. In 1982 he heartlessly sold his chimps to biomedical laboratories, Nim included. Some things have to be read to be believed. For instance, Lemmon apparently placed several chimps in homes and the chimps developed sexual relationships with their owners! Nim also requested joints and smoked up with his caretakers. Hess recounts all of this with a matter-of-factness and refusal to sentimentalize or preach that is refreshing. As Nim gre

A bittersweet, but wonderful piece

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.

A Great Read

This book is a wonderful biography of Nim, a signing chimp, but it also serves as a study of the sometimes blurred boundaries between what it means to be an "animal" and what it means to be human. Elizabeth Hess has done an extraordinary job of unraveling Nim's story and presenting it in a lucid and compelling manner. She makes the story, the science, and the learnings from Nim's life accessible to the reader.

Fascinating and thought provoking

This is a must read for anyone interested in the complexities of species to species interaction. Elizabeth Hess looks deeply into the life of a chimp who was brought into the home of a Columbia professor to learn if human-like language skills could be acquired by the chimp if raised as a person. This is a fascinating story and a thought provoking one.