Mama’s Last Hug

Primatologist Frans de Waal turns from animal intelligence to animal emotions. The book begins with Mama, a chimpanzee matriarch, and the biologist Jan van Hooff, who was closely bonded to her; as she lay dying he visited her night cage for a last hug, and the filmed goodbye, in which she patted his neck, went viral. That gesture, often considered typically human, is common to all primates. From such stories de Waal argues that humans are not alone in feeling love, fear, shame, guilt, disgust or empathy. He discusses facial expressions, sentience, the emotions behind politics and the illusion of free will, and proposes that emotions are like organs: humans have none that other animals lack.

Yuval Noah Harari endorsed it as a warm, compassionate book full of insight into the lives of animals, humans included.