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Table
of Contents Buy from The University of Chicago Press
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The Author
Dario Maestripieri
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Have said about it:
“Rhesus monkeys and humans are highly
successful survivors in a complex and sometimes cruel world.
Macachiavellian
Intelligence, a good read about the nitty-gritty details of how rhesus
monkeys make it, tells
us a lot about ourselves. It's often not a pretty picture
to read about manipulative social opportunism, but if we
ignore the important
message of this book we, not the monkeys or other animals, will be the big
losers.”
<Marc Bekoff, author of Minding Animals
and The Emotional Lives of Animals>
“Macachiavellian Intelligence provides
deep insights into the fascinating psychology of both rhesus
macaques and
humans. Written in an engaging style with gripping examples that highlight key
principles, it
gives readers a profound understanding of the things we all care
about—sex, status, dominance, aggression,
kin, cooperation, and conflict.
Macachiavellian Intelligence is a must-read for anyone interested in the
strategies we primates use to navigate the complexities of social living.”
<David M. Buss, author of The
Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating and The Murderer
Next
Door: Why the Mind is Designed to Kill>
"Dario Maestripieri has spent more than 20 years
studying rhesus macaques; he knows what he is talking
about. Maestripieri tells the story with incisive prose, sharp wit and admirable
brevity. He also has perfect
timing. The idea that our human brains evolved largely to deal with the demands
of society is very much in
fashion."
<Alison Jolly, The Times - Higher Education Supplement>
"Primate books are good for us. They remind us that we're primates, too. And the
embarassing primate
books are best. Macachiavellian Intelligence is an excellently
embarassing primate book, and just
the thing to make us blush and shuffle our feet."
<Michael Bywater, The Telegraph>
"Maestripieri has studied rhesus macaques all over the world, and his knowledge
of and fascination with this
species make this book a delight to read. ... His claim that the "monkey in the
mirror" looking back at us may
look surprisingly like a rhesus macaque is highly compelling. ...One of the
great joys of this book is Maestripieri's
use of pop culture-based metaphors: he illustrates the workings of a dominance
hierarchy by using Hollywood
tough guys Chuck Norris, Clint Eastwood and Steven Seagal, and the image of a
young rhesus male dressed
as Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, ready to kick major monkey booty, is
forever imprinted on my mind."
<Carissa Leeson, Evolutionary Psychology>
"Macachiavellian Intelligence is written in a lively and frequently
conversational way...Maestripieri commonly
makes
direct and helpful comparisons between human and macaque behaviour and social
groups, and often
uses
his own behaviour, experiences and thoughts to illustrate points. The book is
also wonderfully concise".
<Todd Freeberg, Animal Behaviour>
