Desmond Morris – författare

Peoplewatching is the culmination of a career of watching people - their behaviour and habits, their personalities and their quirks. Desmond Morris shows us how people, consciously and unconsciously, signal their attitudes, desires and innermost feelings with their bodies and actions, often more powerfully than with their words.

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY EDITION - WITH A NEW PREFACE BY THE AUTHORHere is the Naked Ape at his most primal - in love, at work, at war. Meet man as he really is: relative to the apes, stripped of his veneer as we see him courting, making love, sleeping, socialising, grooming, playing. Zoologist Desmond Morris's classic takes its place alongside Darwin's Origin of the Species, presenting man not as a fallen angel, but as a risen ape, remarkable in his resilience, energy and imagination, yet an animal nonetheless, in danger of forgetting his origins. With its penetrating insights on man's beginnings, sex life, habits and our astonishing bonds to the animal kingdom, The Naked Ape is a landmark, at once provocative, compelling and timeless.'Original, provocative and brilliantly entertaining. It's the sort of book that changes people's lives' Sunday Times

A must-read for anyone who has ever wondered why people do what they do, from the popular author of The Naked Ape.This study concerns the city dweller. Morris finds remarkable similarities with captive zoo animals and looks closely at the aggressive, sexual and parental behaviour of the human species under the stresses and pressures of urban living.‘Compelling and absorbing...Morris is concerned with the tension between our biology and our culture, as it is expressed in power, sex, status and war games’ New York Times

How intelligent are horses? Why do they toss their heads and what makes them paw the ground?After spending more than twenty years studying the body language of the human species, Desmond Morris has turned his attention to the behavior of some of our closest animal companions. First he looked at dogs, then cats, and now horses. As Curator of Mammals at the London Zoo he was able to study closely the zebras and wild horse in his charge. More recently, as a racehorse owner, he has scrutinized the glamorous world of thoroughbred racing.Throughout his long involvement with horses, Desmond Morris has never stopped asking questions. In Horsewatching he sets out to answer them. As a zoologist and a lifelong student of animal behavior, he approaches the horse world in an unusual way, dealing with topics often ignored in equine literature. In addition to examining details of behavior, Dr Morris considers such questions as why horseshoes bring good luck, why we don’t eat horses, why jockeys are allowed to whip their mounts and why we call a bad dream a nightmare. And for punters everywhere, he applies his zoological mind to the all-important question of why some horses run faster than others…

The first book to bring together the many different everyday gestures that are used all over the world. Desmond Morris has travelled to over 60 countries while making field studies of human body language, and made notes of hand gestures and facial expressions. The result is a fascinating reference book of over 600 different gestures from Europe, the Middle East, North & South America and the Far East. The book is arranged alphabetically under the part of the body used with Meaning, Action, Background and Locality and each gesture is illustrated with a line drawing. The World Guide to Gestures complements Desmond Morris's bestsellers Manwatching and Bodywatching.

Desmond Morris combines his skills as a zoologist and manwatcher to take a close look at the most remarkable life-form ever to draw breath on this planet - the human baby. In a revealing portrait of life from the baby's point of view, Desmond Morris answers the questions that parents ask: How important is a mother to her baby? How well can babies hear, smell and taste? Why do babies cry? And what makes a baby smile? Do babies dream? Babywatching is a classic to rank alongside Desmond Morris's world bestsellers, The Naked Ape and Manwatching.

First published in 1970, Patterns of Reproductive Behaviour: Collected Papers is a collection of some of Desmond Morris' finest essays on reproductive behaviour. It is evidence of how, and why, Morris has been instrumental in shaping the science of human behaviour.

No other art movement in history has contained two artists as different as Magritte and Miró. This is because Surrealism was not in origin an art movement, but a philosophical strategy. It was a way of life – a rebellion against the establishment that had given the world the hideous slaughter of the First World War. Instead of trying to analyse the work of the Surrealists, bestselling author and Surrealist artist Desmond Morris concentrates on them as people – as remarkable individuals. What were their personalities, their predilections, their character strengths and flaws? Did they enjoy a social life or were they loners? Were they bold eccentrics or timid recluses? Drawing on the author’s personal knowledge of the Surrealists, this book captures their life histories, idiosyncrasies and often-complex love lives, vividly illustrated with images of the artists and their works. The arts of Surrealism were both spectacular and international, shaped by the darkest, most irrational workings of the unconscious. Shocking, witty and always entertaining, Morris’ tales illuminate the striking variation in approaches to the Surrealist philosophy, both in the artist’s work and in their lives.

Examining the body language displayed in works of art is a whole new way of looking at art. The gestures portrayed can reflect the mores of a particular period in history, the customs of a certain culture or a fashion in artistic styles. Exploring these with masterful subtlety, celebrated artist and anthropologist Desmond Morris uncovers fascinating insights about changing social attitudes and conventions through history and around the world, finding surprising similarities as well as now rarely used gestures. Morris selects a number of key gestures, such as the handshake, the pointed foot, or the glove-slap, and groups them by the message they are intended to convey, such as Greetings, Status and Threats. He discusses the previously unconsidered symbolism behind these. What is understood as a gang sign today may have borne a more enigmatic meaning for Botticelli. And what did Napoleon’s hidden hand really mean? Postures: Body Language in Art uniquely combines the author’s expertise in both art and social science, so that even the most familiar paintings are suddenly seen in a new light.

A concise compendium of the lives and work of the 101 most significant Surrealists by one of the last surviving members of the movement, bestselling author and artist Desmond Morris, who knew several of the key participants personally. 2024 marks the centenary of Surrealism, one of the most influential artistic movements of the modern era. In 1924, André Breton wrote the Surrealist Manifesto, a call to arms which established Surrealism as a literary and artistic movement. Rather than attempting to analyse the work of the Surrealists, bestselling author and Surrealist artist Desmond Morris focuses on them as remarkable individuals. What were their personalities, their predilections, their character strengths and flaws? Did they enjoy a social life or were they loners? Were they bold eccentrics or timid recluses? Featuring 101 artists, from the famous – Duchamp, Dali, Magritte, Miro, Carrington, Kahlo, Picabia, Ernst and others – to the neglected – Mesens, Rimmington, Sage, Fini, Bellmer, Colquhoun and Gonzalez – this book draws on the author’s personal knowledge of the Surrealists, capturing in concise form their life histories, idiosyncrasies and often-complex love lives. Surrealism was both spectacular and international, shaped by the darkest, most irrational workings of the unconscious. Shocking, witty and always entertaining, Morris's potted summaries and punchy anecdotes illuminate striking variations in artistic approach to the Surrealist philosophy, both in the artists’ works and lives. A complement to Morris's earlier biographical volumes, 101 Surrealists encapsulates each artist in new and abridged texts that convey with immediacy the impact and significance of each of the 101 artists featured.

No other art movement in history has contained two artists as different as Magritte and Miró. This is because Surrealism was not in origin an art movement, but a philosophical strategy. It was a way of life – a rebellion against the establishment that had given the world the hideous slaughter of the First World War. Instead of trying to analyse the work of the Surrealists, bestselling author and Surrealist artist Desmond Morris concentrates on them as people – as remarkable individuals. What were their personalities, their predilections, their character strengths and flaws? Did they enjoy a social life or were they loners? Were they bold eccentrics or timid recluses? Drawing on the author’s personal knowledge of the Surrealists, this book captures their life histories, idiosyncrasies and often-complex love lives, vividly illustrated with images of the artists and their works. The arts of Surrealism were both spectacular and international, shaped by the darkest, most irrational workings of the unconscious. Shocking, witty and always entertaining, Morris's tales illuminate the striking variation in approaches to the Surrealist philosophy, both in the artists’ work and in their lives.With 72 illustrations

Peoplewatching is the culmination of a career of watching people - their behaviour and habits, their personalities and their quirks. Desmond Morris shows us how people, consciously and unconsciously, signal their attitudes, desires and innermost feelings with their bodies and actions, often more powerfully than with their words.

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY EDITION - WITH A NEW PREFACE BY THE AUTHORHere is the Naked Ape at his most primal - in love, at work, at war. Meet man as he really is: relative to the apes, stripped of his veneer as we see him courting, making love, sleeping, socialising, grooming, playing. Zoologist Desmond Morris's classic takes its place alongside Darwin's Origin of the Species, presenting man not as a fallen angel, but as a risen ape, remarkable in his resilience, energy and imagination, yet an animal nonetheless, in danger of forgetting his origins. With its penetrating insights on man's beginnings, sex life, habits and our astonishing bonds to the animal kingdom, The Naked Ape is a landmark, at once provocative, compelling and timeless.'Original, provocative and brilliantly entertaining. It's the sort of book that changes people's lives' Sunday Times

A must-read for anyone who has ever wondered why people do what they do, from the popular author of The Naked Ape.This study concerns the city dweller. Morris finds remarkable similarities with captive zoo animals and looks closely at the aggressive, sexual and parental behaviour of the human species under the stresses and pressures of urban living.‘Compelling and absorbing...Morris is concerned with the tension between our biology and our culture, as it is expressed in power, sex, status and war games’ New York Times

The personality of the cat is a fascinating mixture of affection, domesticity and active independence. You may think you know your cat as he purrs in your lap, but come across your pet in the street on a dark night and you might think that Bagpuss suffers from a dual personality.Every single feline pet carries an inheritance of amazing sensory capacities, vocal utterances, body language and territorial displays. By answering such questions as 'what does a cat signal with its ears? 'why does a cat rub up against your leg?' and 'why does a cat swing its head from side to side when staring at its prey?', Desmond Morris decodes the private world of the cat. Your cat is full of surprises and our finest zoologist is about to reveal their secrets in this beautifully repackaged edition of a much loved bestseller.

Following on from the international success of The Naked Woman, bestselling zoologist Desmond Morris turns his attention to the human male. The Naked Man is a study of the masculine body from head to toe, exploring how biological features have been modified, suppressed or exaggerated by customs and changes in social fashions.Packed full of scientific fact, engaging anecdote and thought-provoking conclusions, including a controversial chapter examining male sexuality, The Naked Man is a must-read for anyone interested in this far from rare, but nevertheless endangered species.

The human female form is the brilliant end-point of millions of years of evolution, loaded with amazing adjustments and subtle refinements. It is the most remarkable organism on the planet. At different times and in different places, human societies have tried to improve on nature, modifying and embellishing the female form in a thousand different ways. In this new study, people-watcher Desmond Morris turns his skill and attention to the female form and takes the reader on a guided tour 'from head to toe'. Highlighting the evolutionary functions of biological features that all women share, Morris explores the enhancements and constraints that human societies have developed in the quest for control and perfection of the female form. Written from a zoologist's perspective and packed full of scientific fact, fascinating anecdote and thought-provoking conclusions, The Naked Woman builds on Desmond Morris's unrivalled experience as an observer of the human animal.

Desmond Morris combines his skills as a zoologist and manwatcher to take a close look at the most remarkable life-form ever to draw breath on this planet - the human baby. In a revealing portrait of life from the baby's point of view, Desmond Morris answers the questions that parents ask: How important is a mother to her baby? How well can babies hear, smell and taste? Why do babies cry? And what makes a baby smile? Do babies dream? Babywatching is a classic to rank alongside Desmond Morris's world bestsellers, The Naked Ape and Manwatching.

Desmond Morris considers the cat in myth and history, and answers questions he received from cat owners after the publication of the internationally best-selling Catwatching.

How intelligent are horses? Why do they toss their heads and what makes them paw the ground?After spending more than twenty years studying the body language of the human species, Desmond Morris has turned his attention to the behavior of some of our closest animal companions. First he looked at dogs, then cats, and now horses. As Curator of Mammals at the London Zoo he was able to study closely the zebras and wild horse in his charge. More recently, as a racehorse owner, he has scrutinized the glamorous world of thoroughbred racing.Throughout his long involvement with horses, Desmond Morris has never stopped asking questions. In Horsewatching he sets out to answer them. As a zoologist and a lifelong student of animal behavior, he approaches the horse world in an unusual way, dealing with topics often ignored in equine literature. In addition to examining details of behavior, Dr Morris considers such questions as why horseshoes bring good luck, why we don’t eat horses, why jockeys are allowed to whip their mounts and why we call a bad dream a nightmare. And for punters everywhere, he applies his zoological mind to the all-important question of why some horses run faster than others…

One of the best chronicles of human intimacy--from the handshake through the twelve stages that people pass through on their way to the total sexual embrace.

The first book to bring together the many different everyday gestures that are used all over the world. Desmond Morris has travelled to over 60 countries while making field studies of human body language, and made notes of hand gestures and facial expressions. The result is a fascinating reference book of over 600 different gestures from Europe, the Middle East, North & South America and the Far East. The book is arranged alphabetically under the part of the body used with Meaning, Action, Background and Locality and each gesture is illustrated with a line drawing. The World Guide to Gestures complements Desmond Morris's bestsellers Manwatching and Bodywatching.

What is it about the canine personality which has singled this animal out from all the 4,236 species of non-human mammals to be man’s closest companion? Strangely enough, all dogs, from scruffy mongrels to haughty show champs, are members of the same species – that of the wolf. In Dogwatching, zoologist Desmond Morris gives answers to fascinating fundamental questions about our canine companions – questions so often overlooked by standard dog books, which concentrate on grooming, feeding and veterinary care. It is a book for dog-lovers everywhere, one which will lead to an even deeper bond of understanding and an insight into such remarkable and delightful creatures.Why do dogs bark?Why does a frightened dog put its tail between its legs?Why do puppies chew slippers?Why does a dog bury a bone?Why does a Pointer point?Why do we cure a hangover with the ‘hair of the dog’?Do dogs have a sixth sense?Why do some dogs chase their own tails?

The leopard is the ultimate cat. It makes the lion and the tiger appear overblown and all the other members of the cat family look puny. Whereas lions hunt in the open and then share their kill, the leopard is solitary, stealthy and selfish. This cat ambushes its prey and then carries it high into a tree where it can dine alone. The leopard has commanded respect and awe in mankind for centuries, and is called the ‘perfect predator’, capable of frustrating the most dedicated big game hunter. Leopards are known to attack humans, and the book contains some compelling images of this amazing animal in action.In Leopard, renowned zoologist Desmond Morris shows all sides of the animal’s character: its athletic elegance, its predatory skill, its wary shyness, its cunning intelligence, its parental devotion and its preference for solitary living, even its capacity to seek revenge. Morris traces the evolution of leopards, their role in circuses, and how we are now making strides in their conservation. He also describes their rich symbolism, and looks at the leopard print in fashion, both haute couture and downmarket, as well as the leopard in art, literature, film and popular culture.