A startling view of man, stripped of the facade we try so hard to hide behind. In view of man’s awesome creativity and resourcefulness, we may be inclined to regard him as descended from the angels, yet, in his brilliant study, Desmond Morris reminds us that man is relative to the apes—is in fact, the greatest primate of all. 

          With knowledge gleaned from primate ethnology, zoologist Morris examines sex, child-rearing, exploratory habits, fighting, feeding, and much more to establish our surprising bonds to the animal kingdom and add substance to the discussion that has provoked controversy and debate the world over. 

          Natural History Magazine praised The Naked Ape as "stimulating . . . thought-provoking . . . [Morris] has introduced some novel and challenging ideas and speculations." "He minces no words," said Harper’s. "He lets off nothing in our basic relation to the animal kingdom to which we belong. . . He is always specific, startling, but logical."