Sex and Friendship in Baboons
Worth buying if: You follow primatology field studies and know Barbara B. Smuts’s observational style.
Skip it if: You expect a lab-based experimental paper rather than a narrative field study.
Exact edition: Hardcover · ISBN-13 9780202020273. The Amazon link uses this ISBN, so the product page should open to the edition shown here.
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Summary
In Sex and Friendship in Baboons, primatologist Barbara B. Smuts blends rigorous field observation with vivid anecdotes to show how mating, alliances, and grooming structure baboon societies and individual relationships.
Why this book now
Smuts’s 1985 fieldwork remains essential for anyone studying primate sociality, animal politics, or human parallels in friendship and sexual strategies.
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Best for readers who...
Good fit if you want...
- You follow primatology field studies and know Barbara B. Smuts’s observational style.
- You want real-life baboon episodes on mating, grooming, and coalition-building.
- You expect a lab-based experimental paper rather than a narrative field study.
- You seek a textbook treatment of methodology instead of anecdotal behavioral detail.
- You need the newest edition, freshest examples, or the most current framing.
Decided it fits?
Exact edition: Hardcover · ISBN-13 9780202020273
Worth buying if: You follow primatology field studies and know Barbara B. Smuts’s observational style.
Skip it if: You expect a lab-based experimental paper rather than a narrative field study.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Reader guide
Cues to help you decide faster.
Reading commitment
Balanced Moderate time
At 303 pages, expect a steady immersion in long-term field episodes and detailed behavioral description rather than a light overview.
What stands out here
This Aldine De Gruyter edition preserves Smuts’s empirical field notes and narrative case studies that made the book influential in primate social-behavior literature.
Best way to approach it
Read slowly, savoring individual baboon case studies and cross-referencing Smuts’s behavioral terms to appreciate patterns across chapters.
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Hardcover: ISBN-13 9780202020273
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.