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Summary: Wanted, one hundred emailers!
Review: Critics, commentators, writers [and theologians?] assert that fiction reflects life. If so, you will look long and hard to find a grander image of life than Daniel Quinn offers in Ishmael. He isn't interested in building synthetic characters or weaving intricate plots. He has a message to convey to every human on this planet. If fiction reaches more people than plain instructive writing, then that's the path he's chosen. And he's chosen well, providing a vivid scenario of human thinking on how we view life. How we view life depends on our role - Ishmael divides humanity into two populations, the Leavers and the Takers.Would you answer the newspaper advert seeking a pupil who desires to save the world? Note the singular - not "pupils" or students." Just one. Are you the one? As you read this stunning fantasy it's impossible not to place yourself in the teller's mind as he confronts a massive lowland gorilla. Ishmael is the teacher seeking a student because he has a question: "With man gone, will there be hope for the gorilla?" Keep this question in mind. As you follow Ishmael's "course" you will gain fresh insight into what he considers the fundamental question: "how did things come to be this way?" Ishmael is no pedantic scholar or medieval disputant. He coaxes, teases, almost seduces response, but your answers must be carefully thought through before offering them. He's asking that you search the roots of your own cultural heritage to form your reply. Before long the perceptive reader will pause before simply accepting the author's responses. Quinn's aim, after all, is elicit reaction from you - his fictional "student" is only a mechanism to that end. In his dialogue with his pupil [you!], Ishmael repeats the question of "how things came to be this way." As you ponder his question, think about the figures dominating our heritage. Ishmael names Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad and others as "Prophets" - the key figures in Taker history. What have they taught us about the world we inhabit? Who are the Leavers' prophets and what are their teachings? Ishmael's response will surprise many. Quinn's building dialogue throughout this book is skillfully presented. His innovative style is straightforward, unpretentious and nearly flawless. It would be easy to criticise his prose as "too simple," but the urgency of his message and the novel form of its presentation is purposely designed to attract the widest possible audience. The story may not be complex or convoluted, but Quinn has given us a gem. Remember, diamonds are composed of but one element - anything added is impurity. Ishmael's "course" pre-requisite is "an earnest desire to save the world." No-one can question the enormity of that task, least of all Ishmael himself. He doesn't expect an environmental messiah to answer the question of whether there's "hope for the gorilla"? There's a need for more "pupils" to answer that question. So if your local newspaper doesn't have an advert stating "Teacher seeks pupil," please inquire at the email address listed at the top of this review. The first one hundred responses will be answered.
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Summary: Review of Ishmael
Review: Ishmael was a new, interesting, yet somewhat uneventful book that I recently read. It is about a man who seeks a tutor, and then finds one in a talking ape named Ishmael. While this all may seem juvenile, the man actually has thought-provoking discussions with the ape about how man has doomed himself by creating agriculture and civilization. The point Ishmael is trying to make is that man needs to go back to his hunter gatherer ways to save humanity and the rest of the world... I thought Quinn's book was interesting, but don't let the book get to your head.
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Summary: An insult to intelligence!
Review: This book is not all bad. There are brief passages that are even remotely original. However, the majority of this novel is uncomfortably shallow and lacking any real Truth or Beauty. And contrary to some other reviews, I never felt challenged by Quinn to reexamine my thoughts or actions. For something better, try Tom Robbins, Wim Coleman, Mark Leyner, or Derrick Jensen (listed with first being best). DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK until you have read a passage from it or at least skimmed the first few dialogue shifts. And remember, no matter how eloquent somebody may sound -- this all really just comes down to personal opinion.
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Summary: Experience It.
Review: Simply amazing. You must read it to experience it. A life-changing book that you will read over and over again, and pass along to a number of friends.
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Summary: My world has changed
Review: I read the first of Daniel Quinn's books, Ishmael, over five years ago. Ever since, I have not been the same person. The ideas found within these pages are the stepping stones to reversing the damage done by thousands of years of exploitation. If there is a voice in your head saying, "Why am I doing what I am doing?" read this book. You may find great things within.
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Summary: Wake up
Review: The point of a book like Ishmael is to show peoplet that life can be carried out in so many ways. That life can be fun without work. It does not state what is, it tries to tell the truth in the hope that you will find what the truth for you is. If you can wake up to the modern world, trust me i have done it, it is one of the most beautiful experiences in the world. It has to be, for when you see the world with truth you have gone to heaven, you have become perfect. I am not exagerating, you see that your culture has flaws, and you reacted to them as perfectly well. It is not your fault you have been lied to. Read this book if you have a feeling that something inside you is dead. it will show you what is wrong
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Summary: Environmental Student's Review
Review: I chose to read this book for an Environmental class unaware of it's contents and suprisingly enjoyed it. It reverses everything we have been taught from day one.
"It's about the meaning of the world, about divine intensions in the world, and about human destiny."
This quote from the book sums up the overall meaning and you will look at life and everyday situations in a new light forever.
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Summary: A Change for the Human Race
Review: We the students at Green Hope, of sixth period, thoroughly enjoyed the book Ishmael. It made some really good points which has had a greater significance on our thinking about how we live. The ideas mentioned in the novel were things that were obvious when someone sits down to think about them but when the facts are stated in a different way(as in the book), they struck us as, "that's so true". As the book went on, we didn't realize how dependent the narrator had become on Ishmael. What we also didn't realize was how much we also depend on Ishmael to teach us, too!
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Summary: No New Age blather here!
Review: A reader from Dallas recently commented that he thought ISHMAEL was worthless new age garbage. ISHMAEL is not New Age spirituality. If it were, it wouldn't be used in History, Science, Anthropology, Philosophy, etc. courses all over the country. ISHMAEL is a synthesis of science and history and is down-to-earth. In fact, Daniel Quinn did not even offer the subtitle: "An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit." It was the publisher who wanted that. I question whether anyone who reads this book and calls it new age, bothered to really look at what it says. It's not new age at all.
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Summary: READ THIS BOOK ASAP!
Review: This book is inspiring. It motivates thought about religion, creation, and the destruction of the world. The reader is compelled to share the ideas portrayed in the novel to anyone who is willing to listen in order to try to help save the world. After reading this book it is hard to do everyday things without thinking about Ishmael's ideas. Amazingly, Quinn weaves a strong friendship and a sense of self-confidence into this story about the eventual destruction of the Earth. Overall, if everybody reads this book and practices its ideas there WILL be hope for the future.
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