The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal

Jared Diamonds award winning work, The Third Chimpanzee, is really a collection of essays put together and given a coherent form. As Diamond notes, the theme is about how the Human species became so unique, and what its achievements and limitations are. Divided into five parts, the first deals with the evolution of humans from other apes, and emphasizes the importance of language in explaining the huge leap forward in human techology and sophistication 40,000 years ago. The second section deals with the biological aspects of the human life cycle. This includes such controversial topics such as adultery, race origins, and aging. In each chapter he brings forth new ideas that are both intellectually sound and original, such as that human races evolved not due to climate, but personal preference. His third section, "Uniquely human," includes two chapters that have generally been overlooked. In one, he argues that the agriculutural revolution has been responsible for both mankind's advances and woes. And the last chapter suggests that scientists are wasting their time looking for other intelligent life in the universe, since intelligence is a small niche that biology filled here, but probably not on other planets. The fourth section is the precursor to Guns, Germs, and Steel, where be begins to lay out his theory, and discusses the disastrous effecs of agricultural societies meeting hunter-gatherer ones. The final section is perhaps the most interesting. It discusses how pre-modern man managed to wipe out the large animals in nearly every new region of the world he came to, whether it be New Zealand, Madagascar, or Polynesia. Ditto for the New World. Europeans were not alone in their destruction of the environment. The book ends with an exhortation for a more prudent ecological policy. In sum, this book is a great read, filled with fascinating insights and theories, that will fill any readers head with a wealth of information he may never have imagined beforehand. Readers familiar with Diamond will not be disappointed, and those who have not yet read him will soon be acquainted with his easy yet sophisiticated writing style, which make it a pleasure to learn about complicated topics such as these.

"The Third Chimpanzee," by Jared Diamond, is a fascinating study on how humans evolved, how seperate they are from other animals, and if anything can be done to stop the global destruction they are causing today. Much of the text of this book illustrates just how much human behavior is controlled by genes; many of the behaviors which are regarded as immoral (adultery, for instance) are shown to give the person who behaves in this manner an evolutionary advantage. Partnered with describing how much of human behavior is genetically controlled is a clear, well documented argument that humans and their unique behavior (specifically culture) are not so unique in the animal kingdom. Almost every form of "unique" human behaviors, ranging from art to language to genocide, have been observed in other species of animals. Diamond makes the point that it is known that these behaviors are not unique to humans; humans just practice these behaviors to a greater degree than most other animal species. Diamond also traces the beginnings of the environmental problems that humans are facing today to the cro-magnon period of human history. Diamond makes the point that many of the large species of mammals, such as the wooly mammoth, were not killed off by the ice age. Rather, the mammoths were driven to extinction by early human hunting parties. Diamond points out with frightening clarity that environmental destruction is part of our evolutionary history based on our genes, a history which is still influencing us today. Finally, Diamond gives some thought to what can be done to reverse humanity's penchant for environmental destruction, and most importantly, if it is too late to save the earth. This book is thought-provoking, scientifically sound, and articulate, and a joy to read. Anybody who has any opinions on human evolution, human interaction, society, or the environment will find this book an intriguing and eye-opening experience. "The Third Chimpanzee" is a triumph of original scientific thought into the history and behavior of human beings

Jared Diamond has to be one of my favorite authors. I could hardly put this book down! After reading "Guns, Germs and Steel," and "Why is Sex Fun?", "The Third Chimpanzee" has also proven to be yet another brilliant work by the author. He asks questions and looks at angles that are fascinating and provide almost endless food-for-thought. He approaches his subjects with open-mindedness and a true desire to uncover the truth.
Human evolution and early human history is a mysterious subject with much of the pieces missing, simply because of how long ago it happened and the lifestyle of those early humans. Yet it is such an important subject-- to understand WHAT homo sapiens really are, how we fit in with the other members of our family tree, how we got to be the way we are. Mr. Diamond applies his experience with hunter-gatherer New Guinian peoples to try to fill in these gaping holes. For thousands of years, all humans lived as hunter-gatherers, yet today it is a lifestyle that is becoming increasingly rare. He also provides insight into our physical evolution, sexual and reproductive evolution, the evolution of language and communication, and how our closest current relatives --the chimps and gorillas-- differ from and are similar to us. He also discusses what he terms "our Great Leap Forward"-- the point were we stopped being pre-human and started being (mentally and behaviorly) modern.
If you are at all interested in early human history and the "whys" and "hows" of many of our "human" characteristics, then this book is for you. You'll find Mr. Diamond's open, honest approach refreshing and easy to follow. Excellent book on understanding what it means to be human, and how we got that way.

I thought that the 12 years past since The Third Chimpanzee was published, until I have read it would be a heavy burden for the book. I was very wrong. The Third Chimpanzee has been without any doubt one of the most interesting, pleasant, and thought-stimulator that I have read.

I also approached to TTC after reading Guns, Germs & Steel (GGS) by Diamond. But contrarily to other people, I find TTC much better book than the former. TTC is more compact, has a more proper length (in relation to its contents), and is less speculative than GGS.

Not all the book keeps the same level of quality, there are some chapters a bit less interesting and clear (because of speculation) than others, but don't doubt that all of them are worthy reading.

The book is divided in five parts. The first part is destined to locate the human just as one more animal species within the filogenetic tree, very close to other apes and particularly to chimpanzees. According with his view, human being should be classified as a third member of the chimpanzeesEgenus, and such genus would be named Homo. But after that, with a small biological change (at least small portion of our DNA), it happened the great leap forward, which made the now apparent differences between humans and other animal species. This part is interesting, supported by strong arguments.

The second part goes through the peculiarities of the human life cycle: our long life, reproductive biology, sexual selection, etc. I think it is the best part of the book. Worthy to read for everybody, there are many things to learn.
The third part analyses some traits commonly assumed to be uniquely human, such as language, art, agriculture, and others more. The conclusion is supposed to be that these traits are not really unique, and that you can find similarities and parallelisms in other animal species, or isn't that the conclusion? This is the most speculative part of the book, and not always in a good way. For me those are the weakest chapters of TTC.

When I was beginning to get disappointed with the evolution of the book the forth part, dedicated to war, conquer, and genocide again attracted all my interest. The story about the Hittites, the indo-european languages and horse-ridding peoples from Asian steppes was one of the most appealing of the book. The chronicle of genocides like the one of Tasmanian people will sure touch you. However, the objective of the section is to discuss the uniqueness of some more obscures traits of human beings. You can guess the conclusion.

The last section is dedicated to humans as a key species, to how humans have spread and increased in numbers and technological power, and its consequences for our environment and biological communities. You will find the role of humans in the extinction of megafauna, the colonization of the American continent, and the risks posed by the present human-driven species extinction crisis. All these topics have been later developed and updated by other authors, but you will not waste your time by reading Diamond's story.

As I said, it is one of the most interesting books that I have read. I strongly encourage the reading of this book, particularly to people who are not especially familiar with natural science, ecology, anthropology, etc. There is much to be learnt and enjoy in it.

Opening with a false statement: "it's obvious that humans are unlike other animals", this book goes on to strenuously refute this widely held assertion. Diamond spends the remaining chapters explaining why the allegation is false. He does this first by showing how close we are to the other primates. He follows that by bringing the human species into a more valid relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom. He uses the mechanisms of evolution, from eating habits through language to sexual practices. The theme of this book is to challenge to us to reconsider our view of our place in life's panorama. It's clear that we can no longer hold ourselves aloof from our relations in the animal kingdom. When art critics and psychologists can be deceived by animal-produced art, the claim that "humans are unlike other animals" rings pretty thin.

The range of topics is extensive, and he handles them with a special talent, exercised with aplomb. We like to think we are exclusive among animals in having speech, writing, agriculture and other aspects of "civilization". Diamond shows us that those aspects we think are particular to us are in fact shared by numerous other species. Ours may be more pronounced, but they are not isolated in us. These abilities differ only in degree, usually limited by environment or physical capabilities. But they are the shared result of the evolutionary process.

Diamond has a special talent for the sweeping view. He's used this aptitude elsewhere, but perhaps none of his books quite match what he's done here. Challenging many of our dearly held beliefs with a refreshing directness, he aptly demonstrates that if we can learn how evolution works, we'll gain a better understanding of ourselves. Given our history over the past four thousand years, our need for this understanding is approaching a critical level. He understands where we've been and where we might be going. There are endless warnings in this book about what decisions we're making and will make. We must do them thoughtfully. But first we must shed the concept that nature "owes" us anything. The biblical injunction to "have dominion over the earth" must be abandoned, and quickly. We share the planet with millions of other species and must act responsibly. Otherwise, extinction, and a premature one, at that, is sure to follow. How many more of those fellow creatures will we take with us?

Those who decry Diamond for "politics" in this book are leading you astray. It isn't his politics that Diamond wants you to follow, but ethics. If there is any aspect of humanity that can separate us from the other animals, it's in making ethical decisions. His final chapter shows our intellect has brought us under two distinct clouds - the nuclear holocaust and the environmental one. The first may be slightly subdued, but the second is gaining on us. We are destroying natural habitat at an unprecedented rate. Diamond calls on us all to make adjustments to reduce and reverse that process. Whatever else of value this book offers, his call for common sense and applying the knowledge gained here is invaluable. If there's a political element involved here, it's the need for political will to save our species - and the other chimpanzees and animals we live with.