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Summary: Give it some thought.
Review: I can't describe this book more eloquently than the book itself does. Read it. Give it some thought. Do what you think is best.
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Summary: Wonderful example of how to beat a dead horse...
Review: Ishmeal, by Daniel Quinn, is a descent book in that it conveys a positive idea. It promotes cooperation and awareness and I think is meant to enlighten the public. However, the author underestimates his audience's intelligence and tends to regergitate his thoughts with each turning page. It is very slow reading and uneventful. If you've ever wondered how many ways one can convey the same (and not a very original) ponderance, please read this book..you may not find it to be a tedious and condescending as I had.
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Summary: Ishmael - the new way to spell "drivel."
Review: If you are looking for a good, action-packed book, this is obviously not it. If you are looking for a book that will open your eyes to the world around you,this book is it - if you've been living in a cave all your life. Ishmael is about an ape, who, with its telepathic powers, teaches a man who wants to save the world. Throughout the book, as Ishmael points out the blatantly obvious, the narrator, as with most of the people who gave this a review, are completely shocked to find these things out. Ishmael practically says the same thing each chapter, usually re-wording it and adding a few different, yet nonsensical points, such as the cannibalistic A, B, and C story which is pointless, or the existence of 'Mother Culture.' Did this book open my eyes? Yep. It showed me that some people will believe everything they are told. And I also learned that they must be giving out Turner Fellowship Awards to anyone these days, because Ishmael certainly did not deserve it.
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Summary: A thought provoking book
Review: Daniel Quinn's message is long overdue. It will make you question some of your most intimate visions of how life should be on planet earth, and what is mankind's role. In some parts of the book, the author may seem to provide a rather strong pessimistic view of the current global conditions. Overall the ideas are amazingly original, and allows us to think and maybe even change the way we treat the world and all its inhabitants.
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Summary: How Ishmael is like Lubriderm
Review: I find that Lubriderm is a fantastic lotion for my body, especially after I emerge from my weekly shower. In this way, so does Ishmael cleanse my heart and soul and saturate me with ideas that cleanse my impure thoughts and emotions. Michael Jackson is my hero. Much like Daniel Quinn, he moves and grooves to the music of a different culture, namely the culture of our ancestors, the Leavers.
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Summary: Absolutely Incredible
Review: The book is full of incredible ideas that are merely a springboard for the sequels, "The Story of B" and "My Ishmael." It puts into words my thoughts and doubts about the world and our place in it with a clarity that is lacking in many other similar books. It opens up our eyes to the possibility of learning from the past-- not the few thousand years ago that most of us remember, but instead the history of all of our ancestors.
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Summary: A book that tries to shake people's worlds, and often does
Review: I am very interested in the reviews that say either 1) that what Daniel Quinn says is not true, and his facts/logic/interpretations/generalizations are wrong, or 2) that what he says is nothing new, just a bunch of ideas that anthropologists and biologists have been debating for some time. What I want to hear from the reviewers of the first group is an alternative story. Most of the people who criticize parts of Quinn's ideas do not have a story to tell, as he does. Though they find his story faulty, they don't offer to put anything in its place, which leaves us with the distinctly inadequate story of Mother Culture. What I want to hear from second group is an explanation of why these ideas-if any of them may be true-are not earth-shaking. Surely the fate of our civilization and the world we live in is not something to be casually debated or shrugged off. I have provided my email address in the hopes that someone will help me learn about either subject. Please email me, and if possible give me specific examples from this book (or the other books). If you don't have a complete answer, we can dicuss these ideas anyway. By the way, I have resorted to the by-now old trick of rating the book one star when I would actually give it four. This is because I really want you to tell me what you think. As for my actual opinions on the book....I found this book easy to read and not at all boring or needlessly repetitive. The author is clearly a bit smug and very confident about his ideas. The "storyline" is obviously tacked on. The ideas in this book made me think a lot about humanity's place in the world, human social structure, the ecosystem, prehistory, and other things, and it changed what I had thought before.
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Summary: A Different Look At The Same World
Review: Daniel Quinn's Ishmael presents a new perspective by looking at modern culture through the eyes of an outsider. In this story a man learns more about his own culture from Ishmael, a very educated gorilla with the power to talk telepathically. Ishmael explores our culture's 'truths' as myths. This book is thought provoking and well worth reading.
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Summary: i am trying to be a number
Review: i like to see night time sugar specials like happy happy. a fun tease is jump to ninety nine on a hop board. GUNG! Simon Awesome! i wish for smile to take a nice plane to water bed warehouse. i jump!
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Summary: This book will change your mind!
Review: This book is capable of changing people's minds about how we live and how we fit into this world. Minds need to be changed to make things better, not laws.
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