Ronald Orenstein's Orangutans is a thorough, lavishly illustrated guide to the three critically endangered "red ape" species. All live on Borneo (Indonesia/Malaysia) and Sumatra (Indonesia), which have lost 80% of their rain forests over the past 50 years. Playful and intelligent, orangutans are the most solitary apes but form strong mother-baby bonds. They make nightly nests and are crucial to ecosystems, creating gaps in the canopy and spreading seeds in their droppings. But deforestation and palm oil plantations pose grave threats to their survival in the wild. "Can we coexist?" asks Orenstein, a zoologist, lawyer and wildlife conservationist. Though honest about orangutans' imperiled situation, he expresses hope. Protection of forest, captive breeding programs, and reintroductions make a difference. In addition to the science, he gives an engaging précis of orangutans' cultural role: Queen Victoria visited one at the London Zoo; naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace spread knowledge; and orangutans have featured in literature and in Hollywood films. Moreover, certain Indigenous people believe they are reincarnated ancestors. The book inspires fondness and wonder--not least with its gorgeous photographs, so detailed they show individual facial hairs. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader and blogger at Bookish Beck