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  • Mama's Last Hug

  • Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
  • Written by: Frans de Waal
  • Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
  • Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (42 ratings)

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Mama's Last Hug cover art

Mama's Last Hug

Written by: Frans de Waal
Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times best-selling author and primatologist Frans de Waal explores the fascinating world of animal and human emotions. 

Mama's Last Hug opens with the dramatic farewell between Mama, a dying 59-year-old chimpanzee matriarch, and biologist Jan Van Hooff. This heartfelt final meeting of two longtime friends, widely shared as a video, offers a window into how deep and instantly recognizable these bonds can be. 

So begins Frans de Waal's whirlwind tour of new ideas and findings about animal emotions, based on his renowned studies of the social and emotional lives of chimpanzees, bonobos, and other primates. De Waal discusses facial expressions, animal sentience and consciousness, Mama's life and death, the emotional side of human politics, and the illusion of free will. He distinguishes between emotions and feelings, all the while emphasizing the continuity between our species and other species. And he makes the radical proposal that emotions are like organs: We don't have a single organ that other animals don't have, and the same is true for our emotions. 

©2019 Frans de Waal (P)2019 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Mama's Last Hug

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Toronto Tower Crane Operator

Tremendous book. Give it a listen. Not a waste of time at all. Wish you health and happiness...

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Lifetime of work into a masterpiece of a book.

You can tell the amount of research and knowledge that went into this book. it's amazing and sad how science and religion try and put there own touch on the topics touched in this book. I agree with what this book stands for and was touched by it for sure. Amazing book give it a listen 10/10 for me

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To Stir the Heart

In Mama's Last Hug, Frans De Waal relates experiences few modern, urbanites will ever realize. Humans are so removed from ever experiencing other species with whom we share our planet that we relegate thoughts, if any, to the most superficial sound bites we may have encountered in our knowledge-impoverished lives.

De Waal shows us how real the feelings and spirits of our close relations are - how necessary their feelings and thought processes are to survival. He also notes some faculties and abilities that leave us in the dust. De Waal's lifelong work and the knowledge gives us enhances our lives and helps us look at each other as well as other species with fresh, open eyes and hearts. I loved this book.

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we are closer than we think

very interesting look at the similarities of human emotions and animal emotions. We are not so different!!!
Great narration by L J Ganser too.

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Great book, lousy reading

I would much prefer the author to read his book, accent and all, than have this phone mid-Atlantic accent reade.

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Just amazing

Well written, well delivered and most importantly crucial and inspiring information for present and future generations!

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Fascinating book!

You don’t need to be a behavioural scientist to enjoy this book. The author ( and narrator) do an excellent job of illustrating his and others observations so you can make your own conclusions about the parallel between animal and human emotions.
Informative, plenty of humour, shocking and though provoking.
5/5

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Loved!

It took me abit to get used to the narrator, but the content made me stay. Such interesting science!

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