Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Foreword : conserving great apes / Jane Goodall -- Toward an understanding of the orangutan's social system / Carel P. van Schaik and Jan A.R.A.M. van Hooff -- Comparative socio-ecology of gorillas / David P. Watts -- Comparative socio-ecology of Pan paniscus / Frances J. White -- Social ecology of Kanyawara chimpanzees : implications for understanding the costs of great ape groups / Richard W. Wrangham [and others] -- Ranging and social structure of lowland gorillas in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon / Caroline E.G. Tutin -- Sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas in the Ndoki Forest, Congo / Suehisa Kuroda [and others] -- Dietary and ranging overlap in sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Zaïre / Juichi Yamagiwa [and others] -- Social grouping in Taï chimpanzees / Christophe Boesch -- Coalition strategies among adult male chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania / Toshisada Nishida and Kazuhiko Hosaka -- Male rank order and copulation rate in a unit-group of bonobos at Wamba, Zaïre / Takayoshi Kano -- Comparing copulations of chimpanzees and bonobos : do females exhibit proceptivity or receptivity? / Yukio Takahata, Hiroshi Ihobe and Gen'ichi Idani -- Conflict as negotiation / Frans B.M. de Waal -- Language perceived : paniscus branches out / E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh [and others] -- Reciprocation in apes : from complex cognition to self-structuring / Charlotte K. Hemelrijk -- Chimpanzee intelligence in nature and in captivity : isomorphism of symbol use and tool use / Tetsuro Matsuzawa -- Comparative positional behavior of the African apes / Diane M. Doran -- Nest building behavior in the great apes : the great leap forward? / Barbara Fruth and Gottfried Hohmann -- Comparative studies of African ape vocal behavior / John C. Mitani -- On which side of the apes? Ethological study of laterality of hand use / William C. McGrew and Linda F. Marchant -- Savanna chimpanzees, referential models and the last common ancestor / Jim Moore -- Reconstructions reconsidered : chimpanzee models and human evolution / Adrienne Zihlman -- Afterword : a new milestone in great ape research / Junichiro Itani.

The great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) are our closest living relatives, sharing a common ancestor only five million years ago. We also share key features such as high intelligence, omnivorous diets, prolonged child-rearing and rich social lives. The great apes show a surprising diversity of adaptations, particularly in social life, ranging from the solitary life of orangutans, through patriarchy in gorillas to complex but different social organisations in bonobos and chimpanzees. As great apes are so close to humans, comparisons yield essential knowledge for modelling human evolutionary origins. Great Ape Societies provides comprehensive up-to-date syntheses of work on all four species, drawing on decades of international field work, zoo and laboratory studies. It will be essential reading for students and researchers in primatology, anthropology, psychology and human evolution.