Super cool!

The name really says it all

They're human!!! I mean... We're monkeys!!

Gorgeous photographs w/ great little, one-word titles. I see myself and my peers in all of it. At the very least, find it in your local library. The images will stay with you.

If you have a thing for our furry relatives, this book is for you.

Brilliant photographs; found at a used bookstore and had to get!

"We recognize people because we have in fact met their relatives on countless occasions. Everyone is a remix of the same code. It is this uncanny feeling, a slip in perception and knowledge, that at once binds us to our fellow earth travelers, but also, i think, explains our fascination with looking at portraits. We recognize, then misrecognize, then recognize ourselves, ad infinitum."

-paul myoda

finally i own this book! it's gorgeous and funny and will not help you if you already feel uncomfortable in the monkey house at the zoo.

Just simply amazing.

Those who page through Monkey Portraits will come away with a renewed appreciation for the sentience of primates. In these extreme close-ups, we unmistakably recognize expressions of joy, annoyance, mischievousness, embarrassment, shyness and more. While the body shapes of monkeys and apes may be exotic, there is no doubt that there is a someone behind those eyes.

Seeing these remarkable images will no doubt cause more aware readers to ponder the many ways we torment and snuff out these someones. We drive species to the brink of extinction through habitat loss and the bushmeat trade. We experiment on them by scores. We confine them as “exotic pets.” And we use them, too often abusively, for entertainment.

Which brings me to the disappointing aspect of this book. The photographer used showbiz primates for her portraits; animals who would sit and pose on cue in a studio. The monkeys’ and apes’ “credits” at the end of the book list things like “Jack in the Box commercial” and “Maxim magazine.” Their origins are often animal rental agencies with names like “Benay’s Bird and Animal Source.”

While the backgrounds of the animals don’t diminish the power of the photographs, it is sad the photographer chose to support the use of primates in show business, particularly great apes. That many of these young chimps and orangutans probably have  sad pasts and even sadder futures adds a melancholy edge to the portraits.

As you may or may not guess from the title, this book contains nothing but monkey portraits. Let me repeat that: this book. contains nothing. but monkey portraits. that is to say, the entirety of this book is comprised of photographs of various monkeys. To reiterate, many monkeys were photographed and then those photos were subsequently collected and made into a book — this book — which is called, aptly enough, Monkey Portraits.

An exhilarating picture book with brilliant studio portraits of monkeys (and apes, as well). Jill Greenberg is surely the Annie Leibowitz of primates.

If you love great apes and monkeys, this is the perfect book for you! The photo's are great.