This fascinating book will keep you glued to the pages, forever wondering 'what's next?'.

Told in the format of a conversation between a spiritual teacher and an intrigued student. The teacher is a gorilla named Ishmael, allowing for a view of human society from an outside, non-biased perspective.

Ishmael is hinting at a problem with human society that began back with the hunter-gatherer peoples, continues on to this day, and could possibly mean the impending destruction of our way of life. He leaves it up to the student to figure out the problem for himself, providing clues and hints along the way.

This work is an eye opening window into common pervertions of the truth that we take for fact. The fact that this book exists is proof that an awakening is at hand. It leads you to wonder; will our society ever learn, and if so, will it be too late?

A great follow on to this book is "The Fall" by Steve Taylor.

Enjoy

The story of a teacher seeking a student, but not just any student! You! In page after page, the author, speaking through his "teacher" in the form of an 800 lb gorilla, demonstrates his complete ignorance of even the most basic principles of population and economics. Quinn almost urges a return to the hunting and gathering lifestyle never minding the fact that this prescription would shave the earth's population thinner than the hair on a baboon's bottocks. If I had read this book when I was young, I may have been taken in by Quinn's primitive arguments. But in my old age, I recognize that his logic belongs to an age of ignorance something like 8 million years ago, when we branched off from the gorillas. Interesting given his choice of avatars.

I teach English at an inner-city high school and I wrote a grant to be able to teach this book to my students. It was my greatest success thus far and I attribute it all to the incredible ideas that Quinn develops throughout this novel. He challenges us to reconsider our concepts of humanity (which have led us to chaos) in order to find new ideas with more meaning. Needless to say, my students were engaged. One student said the novel saved him from suicide. Pretty powerful stuff.

This book changed my life.

Like a fish swimming in the ocean who takes water for granted, we can't help but take our own culture for granted. It has become invisible to us, because we live in it. This book will make it so you can see it again. Once you start to see it, you won't be able to make it become invisible again.

If you've ever wondered how things got this bad, you should read this book. Prepare for a paradigm shift.

While I read 2 to 3 hours per day, this is not a book I would have chosen to read on my own (mostly because it is fiction). I read it only because an authoratative figure asked me to. I'm glad he did. I enjoyed the story and the insight. What the author, Daniel Quinn, has done, however, is simply to identify the invention that ultimately allowed man to build civilizations. Inasmuch as civilization is the cause of most of society's ills, the book challenges us to think about the necessity of civilization. Though written in an easy, highly readable style, I was left unfullfilled at the end. Perhaps this is why author Quinn has written other books on the same theme, to solidify his argument. I recommend the book, only because it is a delightful story and it does something man has a natural tendency to resist...educate man...

But Daniel Quinn's talents could perhaps be better used on another area of civilization-politics. Explain those deceptions, as I have done in Don't Weep for Me, America: How Democracy in America Became the Prince (While We Slept), and the duped among us will really feel the shock.

It is hard to explain but Ishamel by Daniel Quinn, takes careful reading and re-reading and is well worth the effort. It is not written with unfamiliar words or complex sentences, but it challenges everything you perceive as "normal" in our society. This novel is designed for people who are sceptical of the answers to big questions.

I encourage you to put the library to good use, or to purchase gently-used. The copy I borrowed is printed on recycled paper, on the back page, under the author bio, look for: "Text printed on recycled paper; A Bantam/Turner Book".

This book changed my worldview, and I think someday, it will have changed my life. I've read it easily five or six times, and I always come back to it every few years or so. Thus far, I have yet to actually implement Quinn's ideas in my own life, but I can never look at the world and our culture (of which I now have a better perspective and understanding) in the same way. It's through the looking glass, it's Neo discovering the Matrix, it's looking up at the puppet show. I can see the strings now, and I can hear the whispers we've all lived with our entire lives, the ones that never quite sounded right, could never entirely make sense, and always seemed unsatisfying, inconsistent and contradictory. Even if I wanted to return to my old way of thinking, I don't think I could, now. And I'm glad of it. When the opportunity comes to embrace these new values and these new ideas, I'll be ready to make the leap, wholeheartedly.

The bulk of Ishmael is dialog, and while I do feel I learned from the book, much of it was boring and I found it difficult to finish. There was no real storyline to grab my attention and I thought a lot of the dialog was pretentious.

Go into this book to expand your knowledge - but don't expect "an adventure of the mind and spirit" as the title suggests. As another reviewer suggested, if you treat it as a work of non-fiction (in that you will be absorbing mostly straight history and philosophy) you will probably enjoy it more.

If you are looking for a good story that will change the way you look at life, I would recommend reading The Alchemist by Paul Coelho.

I'm not going to tell you whats going on in the novel, as many other reviews from the book start.

Ishmael is a great book. I don't read, at all. But I have read this book with ease and found it hard to put it down. And it inspires me to read more books, and I will.

This book, teaches us somethings of life, but not everything, its does not give an exact explanation, of how to save the world. It does explain in ones own philosophy of 'how thing came to be the way the are' and it's marvelous.

Whether you like the book it or not, or even if you have not read it, chew on this.

I think Quinn knows that we can't just up and crawl into the wild. Basically, its to late to do anything like that, well, because there is to many of 'us'. Period. There is no room to put all the garbage that we have created. Those of you who fail to see, without using something other then a human to be the teacher, wouldn't have worked in the slightest bit, and gorillas are cool, you could have used anything other then a human, and who cares about figuring out WHY.

But instead of going back to a primitive life(crawling back into the wild), we need to advance for the better. We, all of us, black, white, indian, oriental... ALL of us have one thing in common, were all human, we all came from the same place. The religions of the world basically cancel each other out. Think about it, There is only ONE way we all got here correct. Ok good, then tell me how is it possible that there are so many different religions and theorys. Look at the big picture, only one can be right, if one is right at all. We are all blinded from ourselves, from our ancestors, from Human beings. What I am getting at is we have NOTHING to look back upon, because frankly no one is right. Until our culture, not America not China or Russia, or Europe, but Humans can understand where our origins came from, we follow a blind path.

I'm not against the 'characters' or philosophy's of the books that religions have written down, I just simply won't accept it. Because how do I know that it's right and the others or wrong. The same thing can be said from another point of view.

When you read Ishmael, instead of plunging your head into it and dissecting everything about it and its statements, sit back and look at the big picture, what has been discussed is our root problem. If something has gone bad at any point, what do you do? You go back to where things were working and find out where things went wrong then fix it. Were not able to go back and fix things because to be frank, its to late to do anything like that, well, because there is to many of 'us'. Period. There is no room to put all the garbage that we have created.

All we have, is to move forward. What we can do is put a wall up. From the time man starting destroying the world we can put a wall up, and in this day and age we can put a wall up. And everything after the wall now would be action's that we've learned from our mistakes. And everything in the middle of those walls, would be the mistake. Harsh, but true anyway you look at it. Get real. I by no means have the resources or brains to do such a thing, nor does anyone else on this earth. But we can all do it together, for we have conquered the earth and we have control over it, just due to our sheer size in numbers.


As far as reviewing Ishmael this is my review, this is a little something that I have chalked up in my head after reading it. Who cares about the grammar or the literature of Ishmael, the points that are not valid, if they aren't at all. If you feel you care about those things, then you are just falling in the hands of 'Mother Culture' or whatever you want to call it, and that is the problem, LIFE IS SIMPLE. We have just made it extremely hard on ourselves. These generations living now might not have, but, all were doing is passing on the tradition of what we know, because all we know is what we have been taught, I don't care who you are; that's a fact.

So if you have not read Ishmael, I recommend it. If you can agree with what I have laid on the table here then you know what to do, read it. If you don't agree, maybe you will after you read it. If if you don't agree then you're entitled to that opinion. I'm nobody, I'm just another 'Alan Lomax', that cares. These are some my thoughts and feelings, and they were before I read Ishmael, there just more clear to me now after I have read Ishmael.

After I read this book, I bought it for all my friends for Christmas. Definately a book you want to pass along. Powerful message.

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn *****

Ishmael is a stunning narrative on the way things came to be. A story of awareness and philosophy; the way things are and the way things could be. A wonderfully heart-warming, and heart-wrenching tale of acceptance and tolerance.

Ishmael is a Gorilla, who can communicate with humans. Those who want to communicate with him anyway. Sounds a but Peter Pan I know but it really isn't. After Ismael places an add in the paper looking for "A willing student who wants to save the world" he meets his sixth subject. As Ishmael tells his theory of how things came to be the way things are in the world he divides the world into to groups, the takers and the leavers. Telling who each is would ruin the book. The ending is both uplifting and tyrannical making it among the strongest endings in literature.

The story is easy to follow along with despite it's complicated subject matter. Ishmael is never dull and always an interesting read, and one I will soon make mandatory reading for my class.

Being told to read Ishmael, I was very excited in understanding the "life changing" aspects of it. However, as I read further, I realized that this was simply an insult to my intelligence. Before I get into the fundamental flaws, I shall note that the writing of this book is horrendous. The imagery is beyond dreadful and the main character is one of the least entertaining characters there is. Quinn many times references books that he is read simply to drop name. Furthermore, there are so many flaws with Daniel Quinn's book that it is almost a joke:

1. The most common problem is the "Noble Savage" myth. The idea that tribal life is better off than regular civilization is a wrong. The emergence of most of the technological and philosophical understandings of the world are a direct result of the increase in population. The time allowed when not hunting allowed for the innovation needed to develop many of the tools that Daniel Quinn(who is a hypocrite) to spread his message.

2. The timeline for the Neolithic Revolution is put at 10,000 years ago when the more correct definition is 12,000-13000 years ago. Although, I will admit this is a small flaw.

3. Quinn claims there is a a Law of Limited Competition stated as this:"You may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors or destroy their food or deny them access to food." However, he fails to recognize chimpanzees that many times deny competition to their own as well as others. He also fails to realize the symbiotic/agricultural of ants.

4. Quinn biggest flaw is his idea that starvation of one species is better than others. He claims that humans should die off in order to allow for the other species that humans rely on to flourish. The idea that the deaths of humans is somehow better than the deaths of other animals is fundamentally wrong with his premise that all species are the same and needed for diversification.

5. Quinn seems to forget the evolutionary aspects of competition in nature. He believes that the extinction of other animals by humans is wrong and that "Mother Culture" prevents this by not denying other animals foods. However, "Mother Culture" is responsible for a GREAT number of more extinctions than humans.

6. Quinn believes that no animals stores more than it needs. He brings the example of bees. However, he is wrong. Bees frequently store more than they need for the same reason that humans do in that they will have an increase in population supply.

Quite possible one of the best books you will evere read. You'll never look at anything the same way again.

Unexpected and enlightening! At times a little difficult to follow in the back and forth exchange, but easily remedied. It kept my attention to the end.

While many have asserted that this is a work of genius, I don't know that I would go so far as to agree with that assessment. I do agree with many on the point that this is more a work of non-fiction, told in the eyes of a fictitious narrator and gorilla. This book is provocative and challenges many assumptions and facts that are taught to us when we are young. While I don't agree with everything that Daniel Quinn proposes, I do think he does a good job of looking at the state of mankind's influence on the physical world around him and addressing what can be done to stem the tide of destruction that we have wrought upon our world.

Human beings are the sole source of many of the world's ailments. Argue if you may, but that is one fact that can't be denied. In all the thousands of years that the world has been in existence, it has never changed as it has in the most recent of times, due to the progress of men. While not all progress is bad, it should be recognized that there are consequences to certain actions we take.

This book is a good wake up call to the importance of preservation, and if all it does is get people thinking, then perhaps we can make a difference. I would recommend this work to students of philosophy and anthropology. As work of fiction, it does not even come close to anything resembling a good story. But it's message is what matters. As a method of thinking about man and his place in the world, it offers some interesting arguments from those who do not have the capacity to fight for their own natural rights.

When my friend first told me about "Ishmael" he just said, "telepathic gorilla." I laughed at this notion and how stupid this book must be. But, from the first page I got hooked. The first day I received this book I read it in an entire day. I could not put it down. Reading each sentence, line after line, was like finding out that I didn't exist or that everything I knew was a lie. Ishmael has that enlightening power. I really had to re-learn and re-examine everything that I knew. Everything that I perceived as normal was cast away.

Ishmael is a book about anthropology, biology, and Man's role in society. The overall themes are excellent, and the lessons learned are invaluable. Ishmael is the greatest book I have ever read, and for a good reason. Rather than waste your time reading another biased review, read it for yourself. I guarantee you will not regret it.

I'm puzzled by the critical acclaim and flood of positive reviews this book has received. It isn't terrible, I guess. Certainly, I was drawn in by the first chapter, which has quite possibly the best narrative hook I've read in years. But after that it quickly descends into a long, boring, preachy monologue from an insufferably smug ape.

You could say that Ishmael is not a traditional novel, that the point is the philosophy, not the plot. But none of the philosophy particularly knocked my socks off. I don't think there was a single idea in this book I haven't heard somewhere before (with a few exceptions, like the reinterpretation of Genesis, which I found interesting). Yes, the human species has become overpopulated due to lack of competition and abundant food supply. Any biology student knows this. And I think most people of my generation are accustomed to being lectured that the Earth is not a toy and does not belong to us. Yet the author seems to think these ideas are mind-shattering and wildly new. I quickly became irritated by the way the narrator constantly reacts to this recycled philosophy with shock and awe...and it struck me as narcissistic on the author's part. It's quite clear that Ishmael is basically the author in a gorilla suit, using the character to broadcast his own views. And our narrator conveniently thinks everything he says is brilliant.

The ideas aren't even convincingly argued. The book is philosophically sloppy. The author uses a great deal of analogy, which can be useful as an illustration, but is not a substitute for logical proofs and evidence. And the main point of the book, the message that's supposed to change our lives, is simply underwhelming. Basically, it boils down to, "the world doesn't belong to us, we belong to the world." Is this really a new concept to anyone? In my experience, most people nowadays--educated, left-leaning people, anyway, the sort of people likely to buy this book--are perfectly willing to agree with this sentiment. So what's the point of reiterating it?

Another issue is the black-and-white view of the world portrayed. Ishamel describes the Takers (his synonym for "civilized" people) as motivated purely by greed and the desire to control everything around them, and portrays the Leavers ("primitive" people) as living an ideal, carefree lifestyle. While living in a hunter-gatherer society is probably preferrable to some things--being an underpaid sweatshop worker, for instance--it's got its own share of problems, all of which are glossed over or whitewashed. Contrary to what Ishmael implies, hunter-gatherers don't always have a bounty of food available to them. If you don't believe me, go out into the wilderness yourself and see how many edible plants you can find or how many animals you can catch. "Takers" are motivated less by greed and power-hunger than by the desire for longer, safer lives and simple physical comforts...but of course, the author has to portray them as being driven solely by a warped philosophy, or his message won't have any impact.

If you still want to read this book, I'd recommend getting it from the library or borrowing it from someone. It's not awful, simply redundant and mediocre, and undeserving of the acclaim it's received.

I began reading this book because it was given to me by a friend, and I'd found myself only interested in the local paper at the time. At first I was not very interested and did not like the beginning, which read like poor motivational/inspirational narration, much like the first sentence of this review.

The first 60 pages greatly upset me. "What did you give me?" I asked my friend. "The first 60 pages is just a guy and a damn gorilla talking!" And it didn't look like much else was going to happen from there. Yet, I pressed on, much like the champion that I am.

I am almost finished with it and felt compelled to write a review early, because I would recommend this book most definitely. My appreciation of it is from a stand point of economy among the Earth's species, and I feel that many other people with more deeply philosophical minds than mine will find this book not only interesting and enjoyable, but enriching.

You will be richer for having read it, even if it is through the vehicle of a man talking to a damn gorilla.

I enjoyed reading this book, which is full of urgent arguments about the human race's past and future, making it clear that there is something deeply wrong with the world as it presently is, and that dramatic change is required if we are to survive and prosper as a species. However, since it's a work of fiction, the author is free to speculate and theorise without providing any real back up for his assertions. Much the same ground is covered in a much more satisfying and powerful way by Steve Taylor in The Fall, which works as an excellent non-fiction companion to this book, and in many ways improves on it. The Fall: The Evidence for a Golden Age, 6,000 years of Insanity and the Dawning of a New Era

This book has a totally different approach to any other kind of cultural history book.
It has a very important, some might say the most important, message to get across and does it in a gripping background story that involves two interesting main characters. I would give it a 9 out of 10 b/c it did feel shortness cut off some potential, however there are two sequels so I guess I should read those before passing judgement. I say that anyone who is interested in some provocative topics and is open minded, would enjoy this quick but intense read.

Finally, somebody said it, and said it all. The smart concept that was clearly the catalyst for this work is magnificently presented and written for the "common man" - readers are able to grasp the history, concepts, and lessons regardless of their own backgrounds. An easy, enjoyable read, this book teaches while it entertains, thanks to the style of one very educated gorilla, Ishmael, and one talented writer, Daniel Quinn.

My hairstylist - of all people - told me about this book, shaming me, an English Professor and published writer, for not having heard of it. A friend had told him about it, and he subsequently read it in a weekend.

That same day, I walked to the bookstore near campus to seek out a copy, and upon placing it on the counter with my debit card, I heard the bookstore clerk remark, "This is a great book." - I walked back to campus and into my classroom, prepared to teach a group of freshman comp students about comparison-contrast essays, only to have a very alive-on-the-planet student in the front row see my newly purchased copy of Ishmael and say, "That book will change your life - if you let it." It seems the gods meant for me to read this book now, ironically at the same time I am listening to Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth on audio book/CD as I drive to and from campus - feels like a parallel.

I loved Ishmael - a great read so enjoyable and informative that I took time away from reading student papers this week, and finished it in a matter of days.

If I had but one minor -criticism?- I would say that the "instructional," middle section of the book gets a bit "thick" with information. I was just beginning to feel a twinge of anguish at this, when the book took a great turn - Ishmael disappears . . . and then the story picked right back up.

READ THIS BOOK!

Excellent book on the world as it is now. And how it got that way. Recommended reading-yes.

This novel was recommended to me by a friend and I thought it would be a good read. Unfortunately it is not. The story is silly and one sided and really cheesy, a telepathic gorilla? The author uses the bible as a historical document to prove points. The bible is fiction from a very small area in world 3000 to 2000 years ago, not a historical document to back up presented points about the state of the world. The main character also seemed very dense and could not learn from the gorilla!!?? Typical people are stupid animals are smart type fare. The author also presents the idea that all tribal people were nature friendly and eco smart not in those words but you get the picture. Yes let's just jump in a time machine and take everybody back to the Stone Age, just like the Gunghu gu tribe in the jungles of the Congo. Poor examples, poor arguments, poor reasoning, and faulty history make this a book to avoid.

Very thought provoking, especially in today's world. This book is going to either going to make you jump and down and be glad that somebody was getting it or it is going to flip your paradigm of the human race and it really shouldn't come as such a big shock to you. The logic used in this book is almost inescapable as far as what we as humans do with our environment and how we treat our fellow species. But we do have choices and it is up to us to make the correct ones. This is a very good read for any age.

I started this book with much intrigue, then got bored, and then grew to really dislike it. I'm all for the core message of this book, that we have to save ourselve and the planet, and that our culture and our unquestioned assumptions are quickening our demise. But I found the dialogue composing most of the book to be little more than a preachy, naive lecture. The book drones on about how messed up modern western culture is, and how beautiful and idealic and peaceful animals and primitive cultures are. I can even go along with that to a degree, but the fundamental premises are never challenged. It reminded me of a liberal version of Rush Limpball and one of his dittohead listeners (well, ok, it's not THAT stupid). Then there's the telepathic gorilla gimmick. Remarkably, almost nothing it done with this clever idea. The Ishmael character could have just as well been an old man. Every time I thought something interesting was about to happen with the gorilla, the book would simply resume its dialogue of liberal cliche. It might make good adolescent reading, but there's not much there for thinking adults.

1. Let's not pretend that this book is a great intellectual work of fiction as it's not. It's not even written that well, and I think that if Quinn were to re-write it, he would make changes for the better. However; read it anyway and look beyond those things, and try not to get trapped up in the intellectual elitism that so many people, who dislike the book, seem to be trapped in. Next; after you finish the book, if it resonates with you (for me it was the book I'd been looking for my whole life), then put it down and spend a year looking at the world we live in. After a year, pick it back up and read it again. I guarantee you'll pick up something in the book that you didn't pick up on before. His ideas don't all sink in at once. I've read it 3 times and I've always discovered something I'd missed the previous times.

2. The one thing I've noticed, the most, about the negative reviews on Amazon.com is how the authors, who write them, tend to put words in Quinn's mouth. They say things that he's never said or written. It's easy to do as I've done it myself. Pay close attention when you read the book as it's easy to over look things or scoff. What Quinn has to say is important. In the next century when the world population peaks around 10 - 12 Billion people and the oil runs out, Quinn's ideas and insights may end up being the things that get people to make the necessary world changes that will keep human beings from becoming extinct.

3. Don't stop reading and don't stop questioning everything you read and hear including Quinn himself. It's what he would want you to do most. Read his other books like "My Ishmael", especially "The Story of B", "Beyond Civilization" and Providence (Quinn's Autobiography and how he came to write Ishmael). Spend some time at his website www.ishmael.com and go through the questions and answers. If you do that, you'll see how often people put words in his mouth that he never said. It will also help you really understand what he's getting at. Also read his essays and speeches on the web site. They as well have something to offer. Above all don't stop at Ishmael.

Tales of Adam
Providence: The Story of a Fifty Year Vision Quest
Beyond Civilization: Humanity's Next Great Adventure
The Story of B
My Ishmael

4. Most people in the world are trying to convert everyone into something. I personally think of Quinn's writings as an un-conversion. If there's one thing the world needs right now are people who can think critically. Quinn is currently one of the best critical thinkers out there right now.

A thought-provoking read. Actually, I'm not sure that's accurate. I think it's more of a perspective-shifting read.

The writing isn't the best, but the message is far too important to quibble over talent, in my opinion. Everyone should read this book, even if you end up disagreeing with it.

Also, I do recommend My Ishmael as well, but The Story Of B was just overkill for me.

Ishmael is a book that attempts to bring into focus thoughts that all of us have had at some point. Thoughts about man's purpose on earth, how we live life, how we ought to live life, and the consequences of our consumption heavy lifestyles etc. The points made are not so intelligent that you couldn't have thought of them yourself. However the simple points are placed together so that a fluid argument about civilization and the fate of mankind can be examined as a whole. This isn't to say that Quinn incorporated a sophisticated review of all aspects of civilization or how the world works but simply brings closure to the simple facts about the fate of mankind. Where are we headed? Why are we headed there? What else could we have done etc. This book is not an amazing piece of literary work or philosophy. Instead its rather simple, easy to read, and obvious. But its this obviousness to the points we rarely put together and think about in context to each other that make this book worthwhile. It makes you think about things you've always known were true and place them in context. If you are looking for a great literary piece this may not be the book for you. However if you are looking for a fresh perspective on old thoughts this is the book for you. Highly recommended.

I bought this book because a friend told me that it would change my outlook on the world. Although it was an interesting book with some interesting ideas, I'm still waiting for the big revelation. Definitely worth the read (it reads quickly), but I'm not ready to anoint it as a classic. It will give you something to think about, which is really all you can reasonably ask for in a book like this.

Ishmael is the story of a telepathic gorilla that takes an entire novel to tell his pupil that humankind has abused the Earth almost beyond repair.

The book is written for the sole purpose of proving the author's point...whether the evidence points to that proof or not. Quinn does a good job of drawing the reader in and the book is well written...I didn't put it away until I had read all of it. However, his concepts are based less on actual proof and more on personal conviction (which I don't have a problem with...just don't write a book). He ignores some obvious and unmentioned studies and examples that would largely contradict his ideas.

The book is very preachy. From page 10 until the end the gorilla/author seem intent on driving home their belief with no room for the reader to expand upon the basic principles that Quinn lays down in the first few chapters.

The book, left open to more personal exploration, could have been a lot better.

Don't think for people, let them think for themselves! That's why there is such a problem with society... (my opinion only...but I won't write a book about it). :-)

One of the very best books I've read. I give out copies of it to freinds and family. I haven't given it to anyone that didn't like it. Well, one family member didn't like it but he's very slow!!! Not that you need to be a genius to read it. Maybe a genius to completly 'understand' it. Anyway, read it. You won't be sorry. I see our world with new eyes.

On the cover of the book is a quote by Jim Britell -- "From now on I will divide the books I have read into two categories - the ones I read before Ishmael and those read after." I couldn't agree more.

When I read this book for the first time ten years ago, I had nothing more than my evangelical christian upbringing to supply me with a viewpoint on life and our planet, which is about as scarce of a perspective as I can imagine... For me this book represents a beginning in a new perspective based on anthropological history that is holistic and applicable to our planet and the 'community of life' that exists in it. Ten years later, my previous beliefs have been long since shrugged in their entirety, and I am working on a project that will allow my wife and I to live sustainably, teach others about sustainable living, and work to replant forests on depleted farmland.

Don't read the book unless you are prepared to have your world tipped upside down and realigned to the tune of realism and belief based on observation and evidence.

This is not the best book I have ever read, but it is without doubt the most important. I give this book my highest possible recommendation.

Enjoy!

It's one of the few books I think everyone should have to read. We are so utterly absorbed in "culture" that it is impossible to look at it objectively. It's hard to see the ocean when you're drowning in it. Quinn manages to construct a framework (similar to ancient philosophic "dialogues") that allows us to briefly step outside and look at who we are and why we think the way we do. Brilliant.

John Turtletaub released a version of this book in movie form in 1999, entitled `Instinct'. It didn't work, because this tale inspires imagination, and needs no visual props. There are two stories of Ishmael. The first is how it came about. Ted Turner, the outrageous but relentlessly original `mouth of the south' expressed disgust with the pap he was reading on book stands, and offered a substantial (half million dollar) prize for a story that took on serious social issues, but was also a good read. Daniel Quinn worked for one of the big publishing houses, and was disgusted with the pap he was seeing across his desk, so dropped out, and decided that he would write something meaningful. His book (one of 2500 entries) won the Turner Prize. I have read books in english for more than fifty years, and have seldom been so affected. Daniel Quinn will give a new meaning to your relationships with this planet, and with animals, especially large ones. For example - this is going to sound weird - I wandered by a circus tent in Stamford, Ct. soon after my first reading of Ishmael, and saw an elephant, chained to a concrete post, swaying gently in that monotonous, sad, autistic endless figure-eight minidance that is common to all captive wild animals. I thought of the Oklahoma song... the corn is as high as an elephant's eye... and my gaze wandered up, and met with the elephant's. What I believed I saw was the other, and the main, unforgettable story of Ishmael.

I read this book in two days. Admittedly, it was kind of short. I kept waiting for -The Revelation- and when it finally came, I have to say, I was not disappointed in my disappointment.

Very early on in reading this book I started smelling the fumes coming from the hippie/New Age compost pile. The same pile wherein you'll find rotting copies of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Chariots of the Gods. And where you'll also find -The Revelation-.

Compost.

ISHMAEL consists mainly of a series of dialogs between the author and a very smart gorilla named Ishmael who speaks with him telepathically. Using a mixture of conjecture, fuzzy logic and distorted history, the gorilla makes his case for -The Revelation-.

I won't tell you what The Revelation is. You'll have to read the book. I will tell you that it has to do with sustainable ecology, which is not a bad cause. It's just -how Daniel Quinn got there- that I found annoying.

Quinn (and his gorilla) assume that what humans are doing to the planet is somehow unnatural. He's wrong.

In the words of that immortal band, 'Love and Rockets',

"You cannot go against nature, 'cause when you do,
go against nature, that's part of nature too."

At first when I read the summarized version of this book I was both confused an intruigued that the entire book is a conversation between a human and a gorilla. I took the bait and it turns out this was one of the most mind opening books I have ever read. The conversation between man and gorilla quickly turns deep as they start to delve into such topics as philosophy and anthropology. I found it deeply ironic and comical that a gorilla is this wise teacher and the human is dazed and confused. This is one of the most important aspects of this book, I believe. By recognizing wholeheartedly that we humans are animals as well as all other species on this planet, we would act completely different than we do. According to the gorilla it is man's arrogance, uncontrollable need for dominance and disrespect for nature that has caused most of our problems today. The conversations were sometimes so incredibly brilliant and deep that it stopped me from reading the book as fast as I would have liked. The neat part of this type of book is that it presents information that is backed up by science, so it cannot easily be dismissed as nonsense. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys debates and philosophical questions because you will be presented with vast knowledge and wisdom beyond your wildest dreams. Happy reading!

Daniel Quinn's Ishmael is more an essay than a work of narrative fiction. For that reason, this report (also itself an essay) deals first and summarily with the work of fiction and then at greater length with the topic of Quinn's essay.

The author succeeds in engaging the reader early. The advertisement for a student who wants to change the world raises curiosity immediately, both about the book and, within the book, about the advertiser. There's a Kafkaesque ambiguity about the anonymous office, the interview room's sparse furniture, the (mutual) observation window, and the first glimpse of dark eyes. But once we meet the intelligent, telepathic gorilla Ishmael, both the reader and the author have no need of the trite, murky, and unconvincing story of how Ishmael got his abilities. Indeed, it runs counter to the book's ecological perspective to go to the trouble of making an individual out of the gorilla. The book deals in issues of ecosystems, whole species, and societies, even when the book - that is, the essay -- is at its most granular level.

Mechanically, Quinn writes cleanly but without inspiration. He is too engaged in his polemic to bother to include sufficient numbers of markers to show who is speaking in the course of the conversation. And who can blame him? It hardly matters. His interest lies in getting his points expressed. The conversation format permits clarifying, arguing, and rebutting along the way. The conversation fails in the mission it would have in a story, that is, to expose and clarify the unique personalities of the characters and the unique relationship between them. (In an action-driven, rather than idea-driven, work, a conversation might also have the purpose of introducing factual and motivational plot elements, but that would be a much different book.)

The topic of ecosystem survival deserves attention. For the record, this reviewer is in favor of ecosystem survival. He also agrees that the human species has put itself in peril of self-inflicted extinction. It's less certain, but worrisome, that humankind may have put planetary life at risk. The reviewer agrees that human beings should do what they can to reduce both risks. Preserving and promoting biodiversity, as well as living within the system's means (arguably not a voluntary choice), are steps in that direction.

"Bwana, is it shameful to die?" says Ishmael, on behalf of the Leaver human who accepts death when "normal" resources run out. Quinn wants the reader to agree that death is not shameful, and then to move on. Here Quinn begins to run into trouble.

It's normal, and also not shameful, for an individual to make his or her best effort to avoid death. A society or a species certainly benefits from such a built-in urge, in an environment where resource limitations are not apparent. Societies and species work as multi-individual units to defend and expand themselves. This commentary will return later to the notion of "expand." Locally, mere defense looks a lot like extermination. Prickly pear cactus will develop a monoculture over as much land as it can control. One suspects dandelions, thistles, and raspberries of the same habit. Nothing grows in the dense shade and acidic(?) soil under many evergreens. Ferns and skunk cabbage may be in the forest, but not right under a hemlock. Among animals, local extermination is less obvious, mainly because retreat and relocation are options for mobile animals. But you won't find two ant species in one ant-hill.

Expansion is a necessary potential of successful life-forms. Without it, population would ratchet down to nothing as the inevitable external catastrophes took their toll. After a famine, an earthquake, a fire, a tsunami, or a plague, a species has to have the capacity to grow if it is to survive at all. The species doesn't "want" the next catastrophe to be its last. There must be a non-intelligent or pre-intelligent imperative to multiply, with population limits imposed by competition or by (passive but) limited or exhausted resources like food.

The imposing of limits is fatal where it happens. That's how it works. It may be more or less clean, ranging from seeds failing to sprout in rocky ground, to crowded rabbits failing to mate, to zebras dropping dead by the drought-dried water hole, to poor people starving before rich people, to war deaths both reducing populations and determining which side gets the desirable spoils. There are trickier, intelligent, still fatal versions, too. Condoms and abortions are among these. Sexual abstinence in the face of low incomes or troubled times also consigns potential lives to the ashbin. Altruistic suicide by the aged and infirm can extend resources and increase, say, a nomadic group's ability to move farther and faster in search of food. One might well ask in this context how powerful culture can be, and how voluntary self-sacrifice can be, and whether self-sacrifice is to be interpreted more as a means to population reduction or population expansion.

Quinn and Ishmael stay away from the messiness of imposed limits. The Plains Indians ride off to a different part of the plains and live happily ever after. They settle down to farm for a while, see it's not working, and again ride off to a different part of the plains and live happily ever after. One interpretation of the book Ishmael is that humankind should (unashamedly) accept mass famine and mass death by disease, since to grow more food and to develop and deliver medicines to prevent such deaths is unsustainable Taking. But the reader conspicuously does not hear Ishmael say it explicitly. The focus is on that one death-accepting Leaver quoted above. Or maybe on that Leaver's sick old uncle? In either case, the horror of scale is reduced. To the extent that humanity is in deep trouble and heading for a crash, rather than an erosion, there will be mass deaths.

The problem for survivors, or for us as benign guarantors of some future survival, is how to balance the tension between the irresistible force (potential population growth) and the immovable object (a resource-limited ecosystem, no matter how big it is). Intelligent limitations, intelligent technologies, and compassion all have a place in the equation.

I would like to say that this book will change your outlook on the culture we live in, or as Quinn would say, the Taker culture. Understanding that our lifestyle has come to the point where we face detrimental problems on a global scale if we do nothing is his cornerstone. My view might be more involved because of reading other literature from this author, but he wants present day civilization to move beyond and evolve a relationship with the natural world that is balanced and harmonious. As in some of the reviews I have read, he is not arguing for reverting back to hunter/gatherer tribal society...this would impossible! He is taking that as an example and using it to point out that the human species lived in a general equilibrium before the advent of agriculture. His objective is to provide the foundation for thinking and deconstruct the walls in your mind that "Mother Culture" has erected. Moreover, he wants his readers to help on this journey beyond civilization. No one person can do everything, but everyone can do something!

I was recommended this book by an artist, who was about to move onto a patch of land in Colorado and attempt to be part of a collective farming thing. I, on the other hand, am a Network and Systems Computer Engineer working in Manhattan.

The most striking thing about this book is that I kept getting the feeling that if the reader hadn't thought these thoughts before, they'd either pay no mind to them, or not be able to understand their true application. As of right now, I've been solidly bored since Quinn presented his reasoning for famine, one of two excellent points made so far in this book (the latter being, what I'll call The Solution to Homelessness).

I've got about 40 pages left, and can't wait to finish the book. I wonder if the extreme bias presented throughout, will be realized in a single sentence.

Required reading for any member of any civilization, especially capitalism? Absolutely.
Is this a good book for people who have already thought about the points brought up (basically that any non-hunter/gathering civilization is bad to the world)? No, you'll be bored; however you should read it anyway as you can take the meaning of the stories and apply them to many different facts and ideals.

Culture, out.

An easy read about a difficult subject, likely the central issue of the next century. How did humans come to think they were somehow apart from nature? Can we find a sustainable path? The narrator is a little too stupid to be believable, but the guru Ishmael is amusing and wise.

Hi! I'm a 17 y/o chinese male, homeschooled and christian.

The book is about a telepathic gorilla-of course I would want to read it. I was happy to discover that someone had transcribed the whole book, with relatively few typos, onto his webpage, http://svonz.lenin.ru/books/Daniel_Quinn-Ishmael.html
where I read it and saved money. I just finished chapter 10 out of 13, but I'm too excited about this book to contain myself.

My background is christian. I've learned about theistic evolution from people in my church and just evolution from books and people outside, but I have always believed and still do believe the creation story of Genesis. I began reading this book with clenched butt muscles at every reference to "the gods" or "millions of years ago."

Around chapter 9, Ishmael explained the Genesis story in a totally different light, and I forget whether I said "whoa!" or "wow!" Regardless, I am overjoyed that my first taste of anthropology was this book.

The interactions between the guy and the gorilla feel stilted sometimes. Who talks or thinks like that? But read this book for its ideas, not its poor narrative quality, and you will be richly rewarded as I was.

There are a few good points in this book, but Quinn's back to nature argument is childish at best. The world isn't just going to drop everything and go back to hunting and gathering.

Ishmael, Daniel Quinn's landmark "novel" of ideology, is a powerful piece of philosophical writing, drawing from ancient ideas and evaluating them from a modern perspective.

Once began, it can be surprisingly difficult to put down, especially since it really has no plot! The central character is a nameless author who answers a newspaper ad reading "Teacher seeks pupil. Apply in person." The teacher he discovers is Ishmael, a gorilla who is able to communicate, assumingly through telepathy. Nearly the entire book consists of a dialogue between the writer and Ishmael, who uses a Socratic style of instruction to draw answers out of his student.

To be honest, some of Quinn's ideas are rather complex, and you'd think a story with nothing but a man and a gorilla having a conversation would be rather boring. But the dialogue is so enthralling because of the numerous stories and metaphors that Quinn has created to serve not only as interesting "stories within stories," but also as tools by which the reader can more easily understand and empathize with Quinn's ideas.

As for the ideas themselves, they are revolutionary and not revolutionary at the same time. They are not revolutionary because they draw from ancient ideas from ancient cultures that have existed for hundreds of thousands of years. They are revolutionary because they stand utterly antithetical to everything our culture has taught us to think, feel, and believe about the world around us, and our relation to that world. Once Quinn introduces you to the idea of "Mother Culture," you will come to notice how the ideas and values we all have traditionally accepted are so potentially dangerous that they must be reevaluated on a world-wide scale.

If you are one of those who observe the world today and perceive that something just doesn't seem right with the status quo, then this book is for you.

The arguments presented in "Ishmael" are not the best presented or the most overly convincing - other than "our way of life is wrong" I quite honestly am not quite sure what Ishmael is suggesting we do as a society. However, what makes me love this book is the fact that its ways of looking at the world are entirely unusual - truly thinking "outside the box". It presents so many alternative ways of looking at the world, the ways of which we take for granted as being set, that it always makes me wonder what else I might have missed in life.

A gorilla named Ishmael becomes the teacher for a naive, non-Christian man who is gullible enough to believe anything but unable to see through politically-correct, tree-hugging, anti-Christian lines. The story of Creation is called "mythology" by the characters in the book. Instead of discussing God, both characters refer to "the gods" even stating that they had to "eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil" so they would learn"the truth", which is really falsehoods. Jesus is listed as a prophet like Moses and even put on the same level as Confusious and Mohammed. The gorilla claims that the caucasians were the ones who fell in the Garden and that the "mythical" story of Cain and Abel was referring to the Semites' difficulties in becoming the survivors of conflict in the area. He even calls the Bible "Semite war propaganda." The entire lesson the gorilla teaches is whether or not we should be "at the mercy of the gods" instead of "trying to decide who lives and dies" through raising cattle etc. and storing up more food than we need or being agriculturalists. The lesson that Ishmael is trying to teach is that our truths are falsehoods, and if we do not revert to hunters and gatherers, then the evolution process will stop and everyone will die. He claims that human beings are not the highest creatures and more creatures are yet to come into existence from us. This is certainly not a book for Christians or those who may waffle and fall prey to these unChristian and illogical falsehoods.

This book was life changing. Highly recommended. It will change the way you view the world.

This book makes you look at everything in a very different way, it provokes thoughts like, "How does everyone else not see this?!" and even though it's beautiful knowledge to share, others might not take it the same way as you do, you just have to read it and judge it yourself.

I just spent the entire wwekend with Britney Spears and we read the book and just did nothing but talked about how much this book made us think, you know... about real stuff. We are both now changing our lives.

Reading this book was an eye opening experience. While some may dismiss it as highly biased, I would disagree. It is a one sided argument, but it defends its position very well. It may be politically incorrect to claim to be "truth", but I would love to hear someone try to rebut it. I am not someone who follows emotional appeals and if this were simply a call for peace and love I would dismiss it as well. But I believe that it may be the most air-tight analysis of our culture that I have read. Quinn supports his conclusions well and many of his ideas are illuminating in that they offer a real explanation for our history, beliefs, and cultural motivations. I can't say that he is right or wrong, but I can say that his ideas ring true for me and support the observations I've been making since I started seriously looking at our culture and our ideas. Like I said, if anyone has a rebuttal, I'm listening. But you owe it to yourself to at least look at Quinn's analysis before forming a conclusion in your own mind about our relationship with the earth and with each other. Regardless of what you believe after reading this book, I can say that you will be faced with a highly plausable and well supported position that will offer a cohesive conception of our history. Don't let Quinn's certainty put you off. After all, being "one sided" is just another way of saying "accurate". Not a popular term in our intellectual culture right now, but you can ask yourself after giving this book a thorough once over whether or not calling it accurate is such a leap.

Quinn, while well-meaning perhaps, ultimately promotes a worldview of selective social contempt. So be forewarned, the book might not only make you feel bad it may also leave you thinking you are better than everyone else. It may also leave you scratching your head like an ape as it is chock full of contradictions.

Quinn wants everyone to know the story of the Leavers. He asserts that we can repristinate our world by adopting their ways which have been eclipsed by the self-deifying Takers. This clear argument (that I'm sure he thinks is correct) is constructed side-by-side with the assertion that you should not arrogantly think you are correct. He develops self-defeating arguments such as this throughout the book ultimately leaving the reader with creative and passionate nonsense. He recounts the fall of communism as a sliver of hope for us then goes on to say on the very next page that "of course we should find ways to redistribute wealth." He also makes selective use of evolution as if this process were personal and purposeful (it is not). The Leavers are evolving and the Takers are not. How can one by-pass evolution? Also, if the Takers have obtained the upper-hand in the world by exterminating the opposition, how is this not merely successful evolution?

Perhaps the grossest contradiction is found in his ethical stance, which ultimately is "let the people die" (if they can't move and don't have enough food where they are) while making sure we "let the community live." This point surfaces as something of a solution, which if you were the wrong person in the wrong place wouldn't seem so great. And while I actually enjoyed reading the book, this view was disturbing enough for me to give the lowly one-star rating.