Jungle Women: The Scientists Who Shaped the Study of Our Primate Relatives

A scientist's memoir that delves into the history of primatology and the women who have shaped the field, including Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Alison Jolly.

Since the 1970s, the field of primatology has been dominated by women--a unique reversal when other science, technology, engineering and math fields are typically populated by men. Yet primatology--the science of primates--breaks this pattern.

Jungle Women shines a light on a scientific discipline in which women take the lead, while transporting readers to the far corners of the earth to understand our closest living relatives. McGoogan's own journey as a primatologist has taken her to Belize, Madagascar and Japan studying wild primates, including lemurs and Japanese snow monkeys--those "shaggy-haired, pink-faced macaques." It is against this backdrop that she explores the stories of the many women who came before her. Intrepid scientists like Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Birute Galdikas and Alison Jolly broke boundaries, made astonishing discoveries, and ultimately shaped the trajectory of an entire branch of science.