75 delightful photos of primates who reveal their very human-like emotions

Monkey Portraits

by Jill Greenberg

Little, Brown & Company

2007, 128 pages, 8.3 x 10 x 0.4

$7 Buy a copy on Amazon

I recently ran across Monkey Portraits at my local used bookstore – The Iliad Bookshop – and couldn’t put it down. Commercial and celebrity photographer Jill Greenberg spent five years photographing monkeys (and some apes) who she met through animal agencies and trainers, ending up with this collection of 75 spectacular primate portraits. The photos are not only technically beautiful but also truly amazing in the way that Greenberg so perfectly captured the expressions and emotions of these creatures. Animal books aren’t usually my thing, but with this book I studied every monkey on every page, laughing especially hard at the ones who reminded me of someone I knew. These photographs are a reminder of how similar primates are to humans, and how similar humans are to primates. – Carla Sinclair

Note: I bought the paperback, which costs $7 via the link above. A hardback also exists at that link, but the cost will jump to $21.