Zoologist turned
anthropologist, Desmond Morris was made famous by his book
The Naked Ape, which was one of the first to deal with the idea of the human race observed from a completely
objective viewpoint.
In a second book, Manwatching, he talks about his methods for finding out about his fellow man; observation of all aspects of body language, facial expressions, eye movement and displays of dominance and submission. The ideas are not new, but everything is very thouroughly explored, and in addition related to the ideas proposed in his first book.
And in The Human Zoo, Morris talks about modern society, and how it is in essence a warped and adapted form of more primitive societies. He looks at work, sports, war, politics, gender roles and even religion, comparing each to facets of primitive life. The significance of the title lies in the fact that he compares the stresses of modern society, and their symptoms, to similar stresses of animals who find themselves in the unfamiliar habitat of a zoo.
While definately thought provoking and groundbreaking (at least outside the strictly scientific circle), his theories were sometimes a little farfetched.
I would agree with Pseudo_Intellectual in calling him a `pseudo-scientist'. However, that doesn't make his ideas any less valid, only less researched.