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Summary: Ishmael
Review: I found the book eye opening to the problems of the world that have been going on since to dawn of man kind. I enjoyed the book immensely and would recommend it to anyone. I couldn't put it down!
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Summary: The hard look in the mirror
Review: This book shows the human animal for what we are, the most successful victims of a specie's success. When he talks about the effects of technology and agriculture on our ability to live on this planet, it is like being told for the first time you have a drinking or drug habit. It is a shock and you find yourself wondering how you never saw it. The question is, can we become social drinkers?
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Summary: Ideas in Ishmael pose answers and questions to help humanity
Review: Ishmael poses answers to familiar questions in order to allow people to see how "saving the world" from Quinn's eyes can be possible. But it is not that we are saving the world, it is that we are saving the world by protecting it against what humanity does to it. We cannot continue to destroy this world by overpopulation and over-producing, otherwise, the environment can only worsen. The fact that Quinn uses a telepathic gorilla to be the "teacher" illustrates the fact that maybe animals(with the exception of humans) know how to survive better than humans can because they follow instincts and ideas that already have been proven to work for them. They do not need technology to aid them into a world of laziness and greed. Ishmael is original and special and should be a required book in every middle school and high school across the world. It carries a very important message with it that could alleviate the detrimental affects that humans impose on animals, plants, and land and the earth in general. I have read it three times already and I plan on reading it as often as it takes until these ideas are so instilled in my brain that I totally have the book memorized for more efficient access.
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Summary: Manditory reading
Review: I'm suspecting that there's an underground secret society spreading word of this novel by word of mouth in the back rooms of smokey bars, because until that happened to me I had never heard of it. This is one of those few pieces of work that will undoubtably change the way you view mankind, and how we came to be. Your thoughts on the starving of the world will be challenged and if you accept these views you will question your humanity. The entire premise of Ishmael is what it is to be human, how humanity came into being, and why we are rapidly self-destructing. It opens with a newspaper ad: "Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person". The teacher will surprise you. A word of warning: Don't even think about discussing this novel with people who haven't read it. The views are not popular and these people simply won't get it.
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Summary: Not a novel -- a sermon, a screed, a rant
Review: Picture yourself led into a small room. A man presents you with 10 points he wants to make about humanity and the planet. You agree with some, disagree with others. He then proceeds to record them on a tape loop and play them AT SCREECHING VOLUME for several hours. This is "the genius" of Ishmael, as bad a book as I've ever read. It is not a novel, it is a sermon. It fails to offer even the slightest self-reflection or criticism of its principles, and reinforces its own drivel with endless repetition, self-righteousness, and some of the worst dialogue you'll ever encounter. Quinn is no writer. He is a preacher, and since there are no ideas in the book which haven't been heard regularly since the dawn of the environmental movement, he's preaching to the converted. His metaphors are weak, his history is inaccurate (humanity didn't split into "Takers" and "Leavers" during the Agricultural Revolution -- the split, if we must be so simplistic, didn't take place until close to the Industrial Revolution) and his presumptions about the ignorance of "Takers" and the sanctity of "Leavers" are ludicrous. Even the few accurate points he makes about the need to live more simply are undercut by his ponderous, pontifical style.
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Summary: Open Discussion of Humanity
Review: This book was an amazing triumph of philosophical discussion. It is put in a uniquely ironic setting; a gorilla, acting the part of a professor, is teaching a human about the destiny of his race. The book is deeply analytical and must be read with an open mind. One may miss the connections between discussions, but keep on trying. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: The Only Book I've Ever Returned Based on Content
Review: A particularly irritating trait of humans is our proclivity to impose our ideas of how to live life on others. To embody this trait in a telepathic gorilla makes it borederline unbearable. I read 58 excrutiating pages of this book before returing it to the bookstore, binding still intact. If you want advice, don't look to this author's thinly veiled attempt to impose his surface, barely freshman level understanding of philosophy and social/environmental justice through a gorilla for the answer. I enjoy reading and books that have a message and are written creatively with an appreciation for the intellegence of their audience. I don't enjoy receiving the equivalent of a laundry list of things to do to be a better person - it makes me hostile. The only true principle I took from "Ishmael" is this: if you happen to meet a gorilla who tells you to meet him to discuss the failings of the human race- run!
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Summary: Odd Ideas, Well Written
Review: Daniel Quinn does a brillant job creating a narrative backgground in which to place some very interesting ideas. I found the ideas to be odd, and the did not strike me as overly insightful. One high note is Quinn's textual analysis of the book of Genesis. A recommended read for those who are looking to examine their lifesyles macroscopically.
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Summary: Most profound book I've read in years.
Review: For several years now I have maintained a bibliography on sustainable community development for the Community Development Society. If I had to recommend only one book which best addresses the profound concepts associated with this subject, it would be Ishmael. Despite years of research, writing and application related to sustainable development, I had not yet been able to satisfactorily resolve the most difficult questions until I read Ishmael. Quinn has made a contribution to the ages. Now it remains to be seen if enough of us will listen and can make a difference even if we do.
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Summary: This is, by far, the best book I have ever read!
Review: Quinn's novel articulates beautifully a lesson that we all needto learn. This book speaks to the heart as well as the imagination.It is inspiring! Ishmael teaches that it is not to late... Don't miss this one!
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