As an anthropologist, I’ve read a few ethnographies.  They are generally fairly dry and academic. I’ve also read a few ethologies of primate behavior, which tend to be much more entertaining.  I recently finished a book that manages to successfully blend both ethnography and ethology: Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin.

Martin does an excellent job of incorporating the data gleaned from participant-observation (she moved into the habitat of Park Avenue East and interacted on a daily basis with the women there) with the behavioral insights informed from research done  by primatologists on the other great apes (humans are a type of great ape) and monkeys.  Her scientific study of New York City women in the 0.1% shows that even the wealthiest women living in one of the wealthiest cities in the world are really not far-removed from our primate cousins.

Primates of Park Avenue is an enjoyable, fast read that demonstrates how an anthropologist with an interest in primatology views her fellow humans.  Frankly, there is a little chimp/bonobo in all of us.