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Desmond Morris

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer and broadcaster Desmond Morris.

Sue's Lawley's castaway this week is the zoologist turned author and broadcaster Desmond Morris. He made his name with The Naked Ape first published in 1967 in which he persuasively argued the case for viewing man as a 'risen ape' rather than a 'fallen angel'. To him, humans should be observed like any other beast in the animal kingdom. The book has sold more than 12 million copies and has been translated into 23 languages. Dozens more books have followed including The Human Zoo, which compared the social problems of humans living in cities to the behaviour of stressed animals in a zoo.

He's also a successful artist - once holding the directorship of the Institute of Contemporary Arts - and he's exhibited his work at galleries around the world.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Imagine by Alex Parks
Book: Tales from Arabia: One Thousand and One Nights by Richard Burton
Luxury: Snorkel

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45 minutes

Last on

Fri 8 Oct 2004 09:00
BBC Radio 4

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Music Played

  • Cirque du Soleil

    Alegria

    • Alegria.
    • RCA Victor.

  • Muggsy Spanier

    Relaxin' at the Touro

    • Muggsy Spanier 1931 & 1939.
    • CDS.

  • Gene Krupa & Buddy Rich

    Drum Battle

    • Drum Battle.
    • Verve.

  • Marlene Dietrich

    Go Away From my Window

    • Dietrich in London.
    • PYE.

  • Sergey Prokofiev

    Adoration of Veless and Ala (from Scythian Suite)

    Orchestra: Le Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

    • Ansermet Conducts Prokofiev.
    • Decca.

  • Zap Mama

    Sabsylma

    • Sabsylma.
    • Columbia.

  • Radiohead

    Paranoid Android

    • Paranoid Android.
    • Parlophone.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Alex Parks

      Imagine

      • Introduction.
      • Polydor.

  • Book Choice

    • The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights - Richard Burton

  • Luxury Choice

    • Snorkel

Credits

Presenter Sue Lawley
Interviewed Guest Desmond Morris

Broadcasts

  • Sun 3 Oct 2004 11:15
    BBC Radio 4
  • Fri 8 Oct 2004 09:00
    BBC Radio 4

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