Rating: 
Summary: Self Indulgent
Review: Some interesting ideas are presented, but the author's ego gets in the way of what he's trying to explain. I wasn't interested in reading about how successful his other books were and felt left out because I hadn't read them. His style is very condescending and I didn't get much out of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Novelty of Self-Restraint
Review: Quinn's writings are tremendously powerful in their ability to explain the evolution of human society, the development of Taker culture and ideology, etc. I believe his prescriptive writings, however (e.g. in Beyond Civilization) suffer from a fundamental flaw: his apparent assumption that Taker Culture can or will exercise self-restraint. Throughout his writings Quinn rightly admonishes us to look to the rest of the Community of Life for guidance on how to live as members of that Community, not overlords of it. Yet nowhere can we find any evidence that any other species has ever "Walked Away," as Quinn challenges Takers to now do. "Walking Away" (at least as I understand it) fundamentally means exercising self-restraint, consciously refraining from exercising available power to "convert the biomass of the planet to human biomass" as Quinn discusses in his video "Food Production and Population Growth." Throughout his writings Quinn contrasts this "totalitarian" approach to food (agriculture) and life with that of other species and non-Taker cultures, species and cultures more in "balance" with the Community of Life. Do you seriously believe that this "balance" is achieved and maintained by their choice, rather than being unwillingly imposed upon them by other members of the Community or other controls (e.g. climate, competitors, soil types, etc.)? That is, do you believe for a minute that the Sioux would not have tried to convert all earth biomass to Sioux biomass if they had the tools to do so? Or that the coyote would not try to convert all earth biomass to coyote biomass if they had the tools to do so? Or the dragonfly? Or the Russian Thistle? Or the fire ant? Can you seriously argue that any other member of the Community of Life would (or has) willingly "Walk(ed) Away" as Quinn admonishes Takers to do? Nonsense. Give brother coyote the tools to minimize his enemies, enhance his food supplies, reduce his diseases and minimize the impact of adverse climate on him and he will certainly not "Walk Away." He will overwhelm us, just as we now (largely) overwhelm him. Consider exotic invasive species around the world, species transplanted from their "balanced" Communities of Life of their native lands to new Communities of Life far away. These "new" Communities lack the "balancing tools" necessary to restrain their growth and expansion, and they expand dramatically at the expense of the rest of the Community, creating monocultures. I see absolutely no willingness of Cheatgrass to "Walk Away" in the intermountain West of the United States, or of the Cane Toad to do so in Australia, or of the Zebra Mussel to do so in the Great Lakes, or of the Brown Tree Snake to do so in Guam. Each of these species, lacking the "balancing tools" of its native land that kept it in check, is now rapidly converting its new Community's biomass to its own. There is no self-restraint, no "Walking Away." When I do as Quinn suggests and look to the rest of Community of Life for guidance, I see absolutely no evidence that any other species has, or would, "Walk Away," and Quinn provides no evidence to the contrary. Quinn does suggest that several New World cultures "Walked Away" (e.g. the Hohokam and the Anasazi), but I have found no anthropologists, archeologists, etc. who agree with him. Instead, they point to necessity (changing climate patterns, attack from other cultures, etc.)--not choice--as the factors driving these cultures away from their early Taker paths. Taker Culture enjoys the dubious distinction of being perhaps the first member of the Community of Life who will need to demonstrate something that is unprecedented in life on earth: the exercise of species self-restraint. I have absolutely no confidence that this will ever be done, and certainly the brief glimpses of life "Beyond Civilization" Quinn has offered thus far (e.g. the barely coherent, drug-induced ramblings of Michael Time on Quinn's website, the ridiculous, barely-explored idea of a Utopian Houston in Quinn's video) do little to dissuade me from this view. Using the metaphor of one of Quinn's other readers on his website, I think Quinn has done an amazing job of explaining why the car has driven (or is about to drive) off the cliff. As for veering off that course by "Walking Away," I see no precedent for it in the past, and no reasonable basis to expect it in the future-for us or for any other species.PS The 3 stars is because even bad Quinn is better than 99% of the other drivel out there...
Rating: 
Summary: Slapping Forehead With Palm of Hand
Review: My oh my... Mr. Quinn has not ceased to amaze me since my first reading (practically by accident) of Ishmael nearly 7 years ago. His subsequent books, The Story of B, My Ishmael, and his auto-biographical Providence, have each left me standing blissfully naked in a tropical thunderstorm of inspiration... Inspiration... a tricky word... Most of us these days find inspiration in things that promise transcendence from the woes of the world. But Mr. Quinn offers another type of inspiration, one grounded in accepting and embracing our place in this magnificent biological network called life. Where others have inspired with messages ranging from, "Jesus saves," to "selfishness is a virtue," Mr. Quinn's most inspirational message is quite simple: The problems facing us today are not - as we have come to believe - the result of "human nature," but the nature of our cultural paradigms, our unspoken mythologies that we are innundated with daily from birth, and being that we created these paradigms, we can certainly create NEW ONES. Using concrete examples, comparative studies of other cultures, as well as contemporary examples of alternative paradigms, Mr. Quinn offers a message that unfolds in increasing clarity with each of his works, not the least of which is Beyond Civilization. I would imagine that Mr. Quinn, like his alter-ego, Ishmael, has been sitting back in his glass cage, wondering why his readers haven't come up with the messages of Beyond Civilization on their own. Nonetheless, he has offered this book, and - also as his alter ego would - not without its challenges. The book is easy to digest insofar as its verbage is concerned; however, it is just as challenging as his subsequent works when it comes to provoking the changing of minds necesary to curb our present path of cultural collapse. As always, he will challenge your views of the world, and subsequently, your individual place in it. However, in this work, there lay a clarity as to the diverse possibilities of our individual roles that readers of his previous works have long hungered for. So all I have to say is... Enjoy the ride, and make sure you aren't holding any blunt metal objects when you slap yourself on the forehead!
Rating:
Summary: Change the World
Review: This book explains how to enact the philosophy in Ishmael. If all the world could embrace this vision, we could save ourselves. This book is more important to have in your library than any other, except possibly Ishmael.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Civilization... trying to save the world.
Review: Daniel Quinn's "BEYOND CIVILIZATION" is his latest work that deals with his theme of saving the world. Changing minds and walking away are the goals he emphasizes in this book of short essays. Each essay delivers a unique message which is designed to allow the reader to discover his/her own way of walking away from dragging the stones for civilization. For anyone who sees the problems modern civilization is causing the people of the world, everywhere, and wants to put an end to it, this book is definitely worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a solution....
Review: In his earlier works Daniel Quinn attacked our culture and the ideas at the base of it. In Beyond Civilization he finally offers a solution: Abandon civilization entirely. Some have said that Quinn is not clear about how living tribally this will save the world. Obviously, it won't. Actually, Quinn says EXACTLY THAT in Beyond Civilization: This book is not about saving the world, its about getting more enjoyment out of the world (and at the same time postponing the coming catastrophe.)
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Civilization Blows My Mind
Review: After having read Ishmael, My Ishmael, The Story of B, and Providence, I am blown away by Daniel Quinn's most recent book. Beyond Civilization took my own thoughts beyond where I have been for a long time. In thinking about solutions to the collapse of the world, I had gotten myself stuck in a way of thinking about things that this book shook me out of. Now I have a much better grasp of what walking away means and what it might look like. This book helped me to realize that changing the story of our culture really is about having fun and enjoying life, not about giving things up. I used to say this to people but did not have a concrete grasp on what i meant. Now i feel more able to field questions about where to go from here, and to do so without actually telling someone "my vision". This book really helped me understand that there is no one right way for people to live, or anything for that matter. Thank you Daniel!
Rating:
Summary: Extremely digestible, extremely thought provoking.
Review: Like all of his books, Daniel Quinn has forced me to consider the course of my life and of those around me. If you ever wondered if there was something better than wage slavery and an isolated, insecure existance, this books is for you. I have since persued ways of living outside wage slavery and have never been happier or more full of hope. Also recommended: Limited Wants, Unlimited Means, ed. John Gowdy.
Rating:
Summary: As always wonderful and inspiring
Review: I don't know if you have to read 'Ishmael' or another one first, but I have to say, that everyone's of Quinn's books is a mind-changing experience. He says the right things in the right way and changes mostly the life of his reader forever. He did this with me and I will be thankful forever for this. So, this the last one I've read from him and although it's quite thin and very fast read, it's wonderful. Especially the things he says about revolution and the homeless are very striking. I can only repeat: Read every book from him and the ones he suggests. Don't be afraid. A better life awaits you.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Thought-provoking
Review: BEYOND CIVILIZATION: HUMANITY'S NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE offers the people of our culture alternative ideas on how to make a living. It doesn't claim to be the only way, nor is it one way in itself. This book can get you thinking about how you might go about doing what you really love in life and gain security and what you really need at the same time. Every page is like a jewel of idea and thought. Quinn discusses why we can't take the "Mayan Solution" which was to walk away into the jungle since there is no longer a jungle for us and there are too many of us for that to be a viable solution, but he does show us that we can still "walk away". He likens the rat race that is our current way of life to dragging stones up a pyramid. And he insists that we do not have to continue to do this. He doesn't provide a way for us to sit around and get what we need, but helps us to rediscover the easiest and most workable way that humans have to make a living-- tribally. He notes that when left to choose-- humans gravitate towards the tribal life... not because it's "natural" or "right" but because it is the easiest way for human beings to make a living. He points out that wolves evolved as pack animals, birds evolved as flock animals, bees evolved as hiving animals, etc. and humans evolved as tribal animals. He refutes the critics claim that he is saying that we should go live in a cave with a spear and offers more realistic solutions. But we have to be inventive and do it ourselves. It's not magic-- which is what I think many people who have given this book poor reviews actually want. I recommend this book to anyone looking for, another way to live, another story to be in, or an extraordinary thought provoking experience!
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