Rating: 
Summary: Brain food
Review: Everyone that values mental stimulation reads... but I bet you have never read a book that alters your perspective to the point where you never see things in quite the same way again.Ishmael is such a novel, it is filled with ideals and discussion that truly leaves you feeling enlightened about the true state of our apparently advanced civilisation. Once the silliness of the physic gorilla has been disregarded, you are left with a truly astounding book that takes you on a mental journey, challenging your pre-conceived ideas and comforts that society is the great savoir of mankind when really it is a slowly acting poison, ultimately leading to oblivion. The one overriding idea in the book is that "Why should mankind claim the right to separate itself from nature?" You may find yourself with a different opinion after reading these reasoned arguments. I found myself drawn into this book and finished it with a strong feeling that I had read something important, something different. If you are the intellectual type who reads as much to learn as to enjoy then I would certainly recommend this excellent bit of "brain food".
Rating:
Summary: A yardstick to compare perspectives
Review: Ishmael is a spiritual journey into a world we would never think is a reality. Reading the book has had a profound effect. It is clear now that the way our species is going about everday life is based on premises that make things right... for us, for now. Is it possible that all that mankind has done is wrong? At the least, all that modern man has achieved is based on the belief it is for the good but what if all that we are doing is aiding our own destruction... and what is worst is that we are happy doing it and are glad with the fact that it is our idea, our ingeniuty. The book is difficult to explain in a review, however reading it brings one to this common club, this exacted frequency that allows us a new perspective to view our species, our history and most importantly our future. It makes a very interesting read and I highly suggest people to read it. The best part about the book is that at the end one has the chance to apply the message of the book to ones own life, it does'nt matter what you do or where you do it. Again you have to think of your own equation to apply it to your own circumstances. Though the author does give you guidelines to do that. Ishmael... a discovery of ourselves and our fellow people. What we do, why we do it and where we went wrong!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Another way of looking
Review: An interesting book isn't known by the answers it gives, it's by the questions it raises. And in this book Quinn certainly asks a very interesting one. What is the law of LIFE? All living creatures should live by this law to stay alive. Those who don't are doomed to extinct. Untill there the book is worth 5 stars, but after that question it goes down to 3. Quinn looks for the answer in the field of anthropology, which is a far to narrow field. It's about human life, not LIFE. The answer should be found in a science which investigates something that all living creatures have in commen. All forms of complex life have one small thing in commen. If you find the law by which that smal thing lives, then you have the law for any form of complex life. (This should be a big hint for the science I'm talking about)
When you find that law, read this book and see how nice the answers of anthropology fit in.
Rating: 
Summary: It'll make you think if you have not thought this way before
Review: The title of this review really says it all, but I will elucidate, since in reality it probably does not really say it all. I was unsure if I should give this book 3 or 4 stars. On one hand, it made me think a lot. On the other hand, the "plot" was not there. In fact, the attempts at making a plot are a waste of pages IMO. They should be cut out entirely. The book is not a story but, as someone else mentions, a collection of Socratic dialogues given...well, I'll let you see what animal delivers the words. It's an interesting way to non-humanize the obviously human thoughts. Why do I say "obviously"? Well, I think Quinn is a human, that's all. That doesn't detract from the book, which gives you a good bunch of arguments on why man is man and why man is doing what he is doing "to" the world as opposed to "in" it. The thought process makes you think. And thinking, regardless of if you agree with the book, is a successful thing to have happen in your life. There are 2 things that I don't like, however. The book doesn't really give credence to any opposing viewpoints. Such as what if man really is a culminatin of Mother Nature's processes. There are other trains of thought that need to be discussed to make the thinking process more complete, I believe. But again, the fact that it made me think is a good thing. The second thought I had is that anyone with significant philosophical and/or anthropological experience would read this book and say, "Yeah, been there, done that." In some ways, it seems like a rudimentary level text on self-exploration and the introspection of the human race. But that does not necessarily make it bad. Just basic material. I think this is a book everyone should read. It's a nice way to get yourself out of the NBC-based "need for TV" mold that so many people find themselves in. On the other hand, I'm not running out telling people all that we're doing wrong, as the book suggests I should do.
Rating:
Summary: an impressive compendium of fascinating ideas
Review: I really wouldn't call this a novel, it's more like an impressive compendium of fascinating ideas. It is nonetheless excellent. I did find the facade of the story a bit contrived, but the writing and the ideas themselves more than make up for this shortcoming. It has joined my shelf of favorite books, right up there with "Jitterbug Perfume" and "Just a Couple of Days."
Rating: 
Summary: Pretentious crap
Review: I can't believe all the lavish praise everyone's pouring on this book. Its not that good! Some of the ideas are interesting, but you have to slog through all this poorly written dialog to get there. And the author uses the dialog format to praise his own ideas. One character will say something, and the other will exclaim "Thats the most amazing idea I've ever heard!" Quinn's pretentiousness drove me crazy. Don't bother with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Expanded my thinking about what is possible for our world
Review: I am constantly torn between a real knowledge of economics and ecology ... rarely have I found something that openned up my thinking to the point where I can think more effectively about these concepts at the same time. I find there are rare works which when having read them make a difference in my possibility of thought which holds my own matrix as well as a possibility of more. This book is described as Socratic in method. If the objective of Socratic method was to create for more powerful thinking this book is, I believe, doing that job. I was able to take the disparate thoughts I have had about what is not working and what is working and fit it into a new construct that had more possibility for success. And besides that it is a really good 'read', entertaining and hopeful without being weak. I found myself at the end, not a convert, but rather a thinking participant in a dialogue that was more useful.
Rating:
Summary: A hopeful future
Review: This book and one of its sequels, The Story of B, are the two most important books I've ever read, especially given our recent state of the world. I've been looking for a fresh take on how we can turn our destructive culture around, giving ourselves and our families a hopeful future, and these books lead the way.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully dangerous
Review: ever wondered why? here go the REAL answers, but make sure you really want to know.
Rating:
Summary: Paradigm Shift, good for college-goers and everyone...
Review: I was a third-year college student who was traveling on the typical path to self destruction, and then this book came along. It really puts life--all life--in perspective. It's a really smooth read--I ate it up faster than any book i've read since "Siddhartha". Daniel Quinn is an interesting thinker and has a perspective that the whole civilized world needs to consider. My only worry is that the many stubborn- and closed-minded of our world will not be as receptive as i am.
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