Next of Kin:
My Conversations with Chimpanzees

By Dr. Roger Fouts with Stephen Tukel Mills.
Introduction by Dr. Jane Goodall.

NEAVS Advisory Board Member Dr. Roger Fouts explores our next of kin in this enriching book about chimpanzees.

"For centuries humankind has dreamed of talking to animals. Over the past thirty years Roger Fouts has turned that dream into reality by pioneering communication with chimpanzees through sign language - beginning with a high-spirited, unforgettable chimp named Washoe.

Fouts's groundbreaking work with Washoe and other chimpanzees- who share more than ninety-eight percent of our DNA - made scientific history as their unprecedented dialogues opened a window into chimpanzee consciousness and the origins of human language and intelligence.

This remarkable books tells the dramatic story of Fouts's odyssey from novice researcher to celebrity scientist to compassioned crusader for rights of animals. At the heart of the story is Fouts's magical thirty-year friendship with Washoe, whom we watch grow from a mischievous baby chimp fresh out of the NASA space program into the matriarch of a clan of chimpanzees who fill these pages with tales of humor and heartbreak, loyalty and love.

Living and conversing with these sensitive creatures has given Fouts a profound appreciation of how much we share with our closest biological relatives, and that they can teach us about ourselves. It has also made him-at significant risk to his own career-an outspoken opponent of biomedical experimentation on chimpanzees.

NEXT OF KIN is a voyage of scientific discovery and interspecies communication unlike any that has come before. This stirring tale of friendship, courage, and compassion will change forever the way we view our biological-and spiritual-next of kin."

-From the book jacket

$14.00