You don't have to be an animal lover like the East Chatham author Elizabeth Hess to find her new book, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human absorbing. You don't even have to care much about the merits of the scientific experiment that brought Nim to live in the townhouse of a wealthy and eccentric Upper West Side family when he was just a few days old. To find this page-turner riveting, all you need is a moral compass. Hess's real subject is the power of language, and its impact on the fate of men and beasts. Her book raises questions about our obligation to a creature who is able to communicate his desires through American sign language, who shows every evidence of having a sense of humor and being able to feel remorse--our obligation to him and, by extension, all of his kind. On Saturday, March 8, Hess and the novelist, playwright, and Rutgers University professor emeritus Wesley Brown will engage in a question & answer session that will explore these and other topics touched on in her book. An Evening with Elizabeth Hess, Spencertown Academy, 790 Route 203, Spencertown; 5:30 pm Saturday, March 8; for reservations, 518-392-3692Nim Chimpsky, The Chimp Who Would Be Human, Bantam Books Hardcover. Available now at the Chatham Bookstore and other independent booksellers.
