Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series)

Hess, Elizabeth

ISBN 10: 1410406865 / ISBN 13: 9781410406866

Published by Thorndike Pr, United States, 2008

About this Item

LARGE PRINT. Reasonable and presentable LARGE PRINT hardcover book withdrawn from the library collection . Some shelf wear to the covers. Tight binding. The text flows clearly from beginning to end. Enjoy this worthwhile large print edition.

Seller Inventory # 202001078670446

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series)
• Publisher: Thorndike Pr, United States
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1410406865
• ISBN 13: 9781410406866
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

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 Oscar-winning team known for Man on Wire. Hess, a consultant on the film, says, “Getting a call from James Marsh and Simon Chinn is an author’s dream. Project Nim is nothing short of amazing.”

An adorable baby chimp, a loving family, and an experiment that changed the lives of all it touched . . .

Project Nim, the brainchild of a Columbia University psychologist, was designed to refute Noam Chomsky’s claim that language is an exclusively human trait. Nim Chimpsky, the chimpanzee chosen to realize this potentially groundbreaking experiment, was raised like a human child and taught American Sign Language while living with his “adoptive family” in their elegant Manhattan town house. But when funding for the study ended, Nim’s problems began. Over the next two decades he was exiled from the people he loved, put in a cage, and moved from one facility to another, including, most ominously, a medical research lab. But wherever he went, Nim’s humanlike qualities and his ability to communicate with humans saved him. A creature of extraordinary charm and charisma, Nim ultimately triumphed over a dramatic series of reversals and obstacles. His story, both moving and entertaining, also raises the most profound questions of what it means to be humanâ and about what we owe to the animals who enrich our lives.

About the Author

Elizabeth Hess is a journalist who continues to write about animals. Her articles have appeared in the Village Voice, New York magazine, the New York Observer, the London Telegraph, the Bark, Art in America, Art News, Artforum and many other publications. She is the winner of a Genesis Award (1998) for an investigative article on New York City’s animal control program, which appeared in New York magazine. Along with Nim Chimpsky, her books on animals include Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter. Hess is currently writing a social history of the American Pit Bull Terrier.