I just finished reading The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism among the Primates by Franz De Waal. The author writes clearly about the application of his lifelong work with chimpanzees and bonobos. He intertwines the narrative with another of his passions, the artwork of Hieronymus Bosch. In both he sees lessons about the human condition. I personally found the art aspect added additional interest, but some reviewers did not find it relevant to the topic. They obviously did not get that Franz De Waal's thought on the origins of religion was a big part of the human condition he was exploring. However, I do agree with many critics who say that he was too soft on religion and its effect on the human race. He doesn't seem to think humans can get along very well without the guidance of religion, but he does just fine without it.
Besides exploring evidence of altruism and empathy in apes, the author goes into detail describing the changes in the scientific community over the last decades regarding those topic. Science has come around to his point of view, humans are not unique when it comes to basic humanistic traits. Mr. De Waal is obviously fond of his subject of study and irritated with those who would deny any higher order emotions and motivations to all animals. He does a good job of providing multiple examples of compassion and cooperation among primates. I highly recommend this book.
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