Just Like Us
A Veterinarian’s Visual Memoir of Our Vanishing Great Ape Relatives
Rick Quinn’s Just Like Us presents each of Earth’s great ape species in their natural forest settings through extraordinary photographs and an elucidating, entertaining account of the Canadian veterinary opthamologist’s own education about our nearest relatives.
During this memoir, Quinn moves from curious ignorance to uncomfortable awareness. His transformation into a conservationist includes wry jokes at his own expense and meaningful reflections on the cost-benefits of great ape tourism.
With a cogent breakdown of human habituation and its effects on various great ape populations, Quinn addresses the human threat to great apes’ survival with insight and compassion. He notes that our destinies are intertwined, not only because the human fight for survival often infringes on great apes, but because of our many biological similarities.
Quinn is humble in narrating his fish-out-of-water story, which emphasizes the apes themselves and the crucial, often invisible frontline work of the civilian and medical personnel living closest to these species. At its heart, Just Like Us is an invitation to connect to the natural world with action and hope.
Reviewed by
Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
