PETA sued Slater and his San Francisco-based self-publishing company Blurb, which published a book called “Wildlife Personalities” that includes the “monkey selfie” photos.

It was just another day on the Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It was 2011 — a world away, the planet was roiled by the Arab Spring and the death of Osama ...