Almost Human

A Biography of Julius the Chimpanzee

Alfred Fidjestol

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Paperback

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English

Hachette
10 September 2019

Biography: science, technology & engineering; Mathematics & Sciences

ALMOST HUMAN tells the remarkable story of Julius the chimpanzee, born in the Kristiansand Zoo in Norway, and rejected by his mother at just six weeks old. The zoo director and his family fostered Julius with the aim of returning him to his tribe, but Julius wasn't in any rush to reconnect and the tribe repeatedly snubbed him. Despite regular attempts to reintroduce Julius to zoo life, he often returned to his human home.

Julius' story soon caught the imagination of the Norwegian people and he became the star of his own TV show - the nation following his story as he grew up. Finally, after twenty-five turbulent years that saw daring escape attempts, failed relationships, rejection and injury, Julius was settled into a different chimpanzee tribe. Today, at almost forty years old, he enjoys life as a contented alpha chimpanzee with two of his own offspring.

ALMOST HUMAN explores more than this unique chimpanzee's life - it examines how our treatment of animals in captivity has changed over the decades, how the mind of a chimpanzee works, and how much we have in common with the primates who share 98.6% of our DNA. This powerful story shows how Julius was faced with the very same challenges we humans experience - the need for food and safety, the desire for love and sex, how to negotiate status and power, and finding ways to deal with loneliness, sorrow and death. It reminds us that what we all require is very simple: a loving family and a place to call home.

'Alternately joyous and heartbreaking, ALMOST HUMAN is more than just a biography of a confused chimpanzee. It is also a fascinating, well-researched book that provides excellent information about wild and zoo chimpanzees, the history of trafficking live chimpanzee infants out of Africa, and the dramatic change in the way animals have been perceived and treated in zoos over the past century.' Jane Goodall

'... ALMOST HUMAN is a superbly written book that has something of profound importance to say about our relationship with animals, whose existence increasingly we are both defining and curtailing. I doubt there will be a more moving and disturbing celebrity biography published any time soon.' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

By: Alfred Fidjestol
Imprint: Hachette
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 153mm, Width: 234mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 350g
ISBN: 9780733642791
ISBN 10: 0733642799
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 10 September 2019
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Alfred Fidjestol has published several critically acclaimed biographies and history books about humans and cultural institutions. In 2014, Fidjestol became the first non-fiction author ever to receive Glydendal's Hunger Award. He was awarded the Sprakprisen Prize in 2017. He lives in Norway.

Reviews for Almost Human: A Biography of Julius the Chimpanzee

ALMOST HUMAN is a superbly written book that has something of profound importance to say about our relationship with animals, whose existence increasingly we are both defining and curtailing. I doubt there will be a more moving and disturbing celebrity biography published any time soon. - Sydney Morning Herald