Notes of a Primatologist: The Extraordinary Life of a Scientist Among Baboons

This book is a memoir of more than twenty years of renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky's acquaintance with East Africa. As a young scientist, the author first arrived in a nature reserve in Kenya with the intention of testing his hypotheses about the nature of stress in humans on wild baboons, which is not surprising given how similar primates are to humans in their biological and psychological responses.
In fact, Sapolsky does not separate himself from his subjects—the experimental animals, which is evident from the title of the book. This gives the narrative a special charm and power.
Together with the author, who has given his beloved animals biblical names, we learn about their lives, sufferings, love, rivalry, struggles for power, illnesses, and deaths. The local inhabitants are equally vivid characters in the book: farmers, gamekeepers, small-time bosses, and ordinary workers.
Over two decades in Africa, Sapolsky experiences his own dangerous adventures, the tragedies of friends, and changes in political regimes—and he writes about it in such a way that you feel almost like a participant in the events.