The title sums up the provocative proposal that Jared Diamond advances in this book. Why think of humans in any other way than as another chimpanzee? The argument is very well presented - the evidence for the classification of our species in the same branch of the common chimpanzee and the bonobo. What this allows is too escape the trap (we are usually in) of human exceptionalism and, instead, look at our species with some degree of sobriety and equanimity.

The author goes on a brave attempt to investigate the history of our species and our potential for future survival. This is an interesting exercize. We are, so far, the only species we know that is self-aware. But we frequently are unable to do these exercizes where we include ourselves in the planet's tree of life. This book is not an heretic gratuitous provocation, using a device just for shock value or to get media attention and sell more. It is a serious effort to restore humanity to its most precious place: nature. And by that effort, to give us a better perspective of where we are and where our future might take us.

I cannot say that I enjoyed this book. It was tedious and something that doesn't interest me. However, I found it very interesting and have a lot of respect for the knowledge and delivery of Diamond.
Unfortunately, in my naivety, I cannot question anything in this book.
It certainly wasn't a regretful read. It was a learning experience.

A confrontation with the often forgotten stations of incarnation.

The author tackles a variety of topics in his first work and shows similarities with human norms in the animal kingdom in state formation, social and sexual behavior, drug use and rudimentary agriculture by using evolutionary development. The origins and history of communication, xenophobia, art, and warfare are also illuminated in detail.

The influence of environmental conditions can be well explained by the differences between bonobos and chimpanzees. Separated by the insurmountable Congo, the peaceful, matriarchal life of the bonobos developed in an environment of sufficient and comfortable living conditions, while the habitat of the hierarchically structured and highly violent chimpanzees was rather barren and inhospitable. Thus, the thesis comes up: Adverse environmental conditions would require stricter rankings and an evolution promoting aggressive behavior. On the other hand, the wealth of resources enables the bonobos to cooperate socially and peacefully without the necessity of aggression.

In contradiction to this, however, there are both other animal species and specialized groups of people, who still treat each other friendly in the most adverse conditions. To start directly and just with the assumption of the necessity of a more brutal mentality would be too far-fetched and simplified. There are for instance the inexplicable, for the own group sometimes even harmful, behavioral patterns of chimpanzees such as senseless violence, incitement, and persecution of individual group members and genocides in conquest campaigns including cannibalism, which all together already gives a pretty good description of modern humans.

Moreover, bonobos are threatened of extinction because they are defenseless against organized animal attacks or rather raids organized by the chimpanzees, which can be described as an animal precursor to genocide. This shows impressively and sadly that the mentality of humankind awoke long before our rise to power.

It is close to impudence how often Diamond has used parts of this book for his other, later published books. Thus, portions of the chapter on the conquerors of the world were included in the book "Guns Germs and Steel" and sections on the meaning of the habitat are found in "Collapse: Why Societies Survive or Perish."

In the case of personal interest, the reading of the detailed descriptions of both works is, in any case, an option if the relatively short explanations of this work have made one curious.
There are few arguments against the preference to blame humans as the most likely cause of past species extinction and as a secondary cause of climate change, given the apparent archaeological evidence. It may well be that the evolution of ice and warm periods in specific regions had stronger influences, but especially in the always relatively moderate climates, this argument does not withstand because of the adaptability of most animals.
It is argued by skeptics that the finding of fossils is a random gamble that does not allow serious estimates of numbers. Only if one finds excessively many bones of extinct animals in the sediment layers coinciding with human migrations, this should be a clear indication.

At the end of the book, Diamond asks people to avoid the always same mistakes and the cycles of expansion, species extinction, and environmental degradation and at least not do more damage. It is a noble concern because it must be incredibly frustrating, especially from the perspective of an evolutionary biologist, to observe over decades how habitats, that are still to be explored, are irreversibly destroyed right in front of one's nose.

A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_e...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_D...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thi...

Leer a Diamond siempre es una experiencia atractiva. Aquí se enfoca en indagar cuál es la singularidad de lo humano en relación con el resto de las especies, y otra vez esa búsqueda redunda en un interesantísimo texto. Acaso a veces alguna digresión se extienda demasiado, o cuestiones menores aparecen demasiado desarrolladas, pero el balance es sumamente positivo. La prosa fluye, los temas son desafiantes y cada libro del autor es una invitación a seguir leyéndolo. No es poco.

The single most important book that fed a mind starving for truth, as I stumbled out of seminary with a thousand more questions and issues than when I went in. Diamond has written a veritable blueprint for the human being... Who we are, and how we came to be this way - drawing on a host of parallels from the animal kingdom: speech, communication, sex, mate selection, etc.

It's not a refutation of anything religious. It's a fascinating book that sheds much light on that most peculiar (yet apparently not so very, after all) creature: the human being.

If there was an "owner's manual" for every person to read, this is it.

a bit dated, but informative and sobering

Insightful.

Kitabın çerçevesi daha adından başlayarak sağlam oturtulmuş. Dünya üzerindeki diğer canlılardan gerçekten farklı mıyız? Bu sorunun peşine bizleri düşüren yazarın bize mantıklı argümanlarla ilettiği çıkış noktasına göre; bir uzaylı dünyadaki yaşamları incelese muhtemelen bizi diğer iki şempanze türüne çok benzeyen üçüncü bir şempanze türü olarak çok ayrıcalıklı olmayacak bir yere oturturdu muhtemelen.

Ama baktığımızda biz diğer canlıların yapmadığı bir çok şeyi yapmaktayız. Sanat mesela, ya da soykırımlar. Ama gerçekte böyle mi? Yoksa en insani saydığımız karakteristiklerin dahi doğada kökenleri mi var? Diamond elindeki verileri ortaya dökerek bu meseleyi açıklığa kavuşturuyor. Elbette her zaman olduğu gibi bazı soruların kesin yanıtları yok.

Sonuç olarak; insanlık tarihinin doğaya dokunan temeller üzerinde yükselişine tanıklık etmek maksadıyla okunabilecek bir kitap Üçüncü Şempanze.

This book was both very interesting and entertaining. It precedes Diamond's book Guns, Germs, and Steel. It ties in pretty well with some other books I've recently read including The Sixth Extinction and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and even Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History.

It's a little out-of-date. For example, our ancestor Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals co-existed approximately 100,000 years ago. New research shows that many modern humans contain a little Neanderthal DNA showing that there was interbreeding, whereas Diamond was pretty sure that there was basically no interbreeding.

The title of this book comes from the fact that chimpanzees and pygmy chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than chimps are to gorillas. Thus, especially from the perspective of chimps, humans are a third chimp.

Fun topics include the emergence of language in humans, male penis and testes size, sexual selection, adultery, racial variation due to sexual selection not natural selection, aging, menopause as an adaptive solution to childbirth, the arts, agriculture and animal domestication, drug use, the question of intelligent alien life, genocide, and extinction. Whoo. It didn't always feel like it was well-organized or related but it was all very interesting.

Personally, I don't think the menopause explanation makes a lot of sense. It seems like if you weren't well-suited to give birth to your partner's baby, a first or second birth would kill you. At the rate of a baby every 4 years from ages 16-40, you'd be up to 6 births before menopause. Instead, menopause seems to make grandmothers more available to tend to their grandchildren instead of having more babies of their own (think prehistoric Michelle Duggars).

What is distinct to our species, the third chimpanzee, distinct ways we affect the environment, and the threats we create for the whole ecosystem.

This is a wonderful book by a great author. In fact, I prefer this book to the other books that I've read by Jared Diamond. It is entertaining, informative, and every page is interesting. The book covers a vast range of topics, such as how are humans qualitatively different from other animals, why do men do stupid things to impress women, why do people practice adultery, why do humans practice genocide, how did languages evolve, why do some people become addicted to drugs, why do humans produce art, and why do humans age. The book ends with the ecological harm humans have done to the planet (not just recently, but in ancient times as well), and the extinctions of species that we cause. Diamond shows how none of these activities are unique to humans; each activity has some analog in animal behavior, as well.

Like Diamond's other books, there is plenty of speculation here. He makes sweeping generalizations that are not always held up by documented facts. But Diamond's enthusiasm rings loud and clear, and his speculations always sound reasonable, at least to me.

It's impossible to write a fair review of the contents of a 20+-year-old popular science book. There are more up to date, and just as easily accessible, books you could read on the subjects Diamond addressed. As for style, it's generally well-written as Diamond's books always are.

My advice: if you see this one on a "free, take what you want" bookshelf, leave it there. It's like n clipping of a magazine article from the early 90s. It's just not going to be as awesome and life-altering now as you thought it was then.

There's a lot of better stuff out there if you're interested in popular science discussions of any of the topics he addresses. We've learned a LOT in 20 years, which kind of makes this book irrelevant. I think even Diamond would have to agree.