Save for its ginormous brain, the human being is a pathetic
excuse for an animal. Very few people have walked away from fights
with bears, for instance, and our senses are pitifully dull. In The
Well-Dressed Ape, science writer Hannah Holmes provides a
cheerful—and brutally honest—examination of the monkey
in the mirror. Topics discussed include simian sex, the joy of
cooking, and prairie-dog language, making this the most lively
and well-written science book since Mary Roach’s Stiff.
(Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600. 7:30 pm,
free.)