non-fiction
Chimpanzee: The Making of the Film
with Christophe Boesch and with a forward by Jane Goodall
Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom. They share 98 percent of our genetic makeup; yet despite our many commonalities, some aspects of chimp behavior remain a mystery to us. Biologists studying chimpanzees have made significant discoveries about our primate cousins, but the bulk of that knowledge has been gained relatively recently. We still have much to learn, and the need to learn is great; chimpanzees are highly endangered in the wild, and some primatologists believe that they are at the brink of extinction.
In the hope that increased awareness will brighten the future for these great apes, Disneynature has released a film following in the footsteps of Earth, Oceans, and African Cats. That film is Chimpanzee. Chimpanzee: The Making of the Film chronicles the entire process of the movie’s creation, from the idea that the directors pitched to Disneynature, to the challenging filming that took place deep in the heart of Africa. Using their own words, the filmmakers discuss ground lost and ground won—both in the context of the chimpanzees’ territory wars, and the progress of the film itself.
Hardcover out 13 March 2012, Disney
ISBN: 9781423153641
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Sugar
"This is not simply one of those quirky popular science/history books that takes a commonplace domestic item and builds up a dossier of extraordinary but ultimately useless facts about it. The story of sugar is indeed an extraordinary one, but it is a story of life and death. It is inextricably bound up over the centuries with the development of civilisations, the global spread of slavery, the conduct of brutal wars, the distribution of economic power around the world and the lamentable state of the modern western diet.”
Sanjida O'Connell does for sugar what Dava Sobel did for Longitude: make gripping drama out of dry school lessons.
The Guardian
Sanjida O'Connell unforlds the complex story of the quest to satisfy our sweet tooth in this absorbing and illuminating history of sugar.
New Scientist
Hardcover 256 pages
ISBN: 1852270349 Virgin Books, 25th November 2004
Click to read the introduction
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Nature's Calendar
BBC Wildlife presenters Chris Packham, Mile Dilger, Sanjida O'Connell and Janet Sumner reveal where you can find the very best wildlife. This practical guide will take you to locations across the British Isles to explore an extraordinary diversity of habitats and species, covering the best wildlife locations, the best times to visit and the wildlife you are likely to see there.
"The text bubbles with enthusiasm for the delights offered by each venue, and provides realistic assessments of the likelihood of encountering rarer species...Short of physically taking readers to these places, it's hard to see what more could be done to get potential wildlife watchers off the couch and into the countryside." Phil Gates, BBC Wildlife Magazine
Hardcover 256pp
ISBN 978-0-00-724646-5, 2007 Harper Collins, £17.99
Mindreading
Did you know that it is much easier to detect lying in a stranger than with someone you've known for a very long time? That if any animal is staring at you it can only mean one of three things: it either wants to fight, feed, or mate with you? How we react to one another socially is the most important aspect of our lives. Without a Theory of Mind, we could not predict what others are likely to do, feel or believe; we could not love, lie, cheat, communicate or develop mature relationships. Yet there are those who have no understanding of how other people think and feel: young children, autistics, and people with a rare disorder known as Asperger's syndrome. Research indicates that great apes and possibly dolphins may possess an awareness of other beings' minds and be able to adapt accordingly.
Hardcover: ISBN 0-385-48402-X William Heinneman 1997.
Paperback edition ISBN 0-7493-2264-O Arrow 1998
Click to read Chapter 5 (Mindreading)