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Summary: It Started Here For Me
Review: Since 1994 when I first read "Ishmael" my spiritual life and journey has progressed in beautiful, wonderful ways. I've done much soul searching, much forgiving (of self and others), have done much purifying and have read scores of books by scores of authors whom I consider to be beacons of an emerging paradigm shift on our beautiful earth. For me, it all began by reading this book as much as anything. I can remember the day I read the book as if it were yesterday. I can remember everything about the entire beautiful, amazing experience as if it all appeared moments ago. I believe this book to have been inspired by something much, much larger than Daniel Quinn, but also including Daniel Quinn. But I THANK DANIEL QUINN FOR BRINGING THIS TO US!
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Summary: Dumb noble-savage mythos ruins intriguing premise.
Review: The idea this book is based on is promising: How to save the world for those who once really wanted to, but have since become cynical and depressed about the whole thing. With gorilla as guru: a sort of primate Socrates. Cool!Unfortunately, the teaching very quickly turns out to be nothing more profound than rehashed noble-savage mythology. Humankind is bluntly divided into 2 camps: the ancient, nature-respecting "Leavers" (as in "Leave it alone"), and the very modern, world-wrecking "Takers" (in other words, ANY of us who actually enjoy use of the technology that enables us to post these reviews!). Actually, I found the book at times entertaining, but would like to have seen a much more thoughtful and challenging human student. The gorilla gets away with far too much over-generalizing and historical revisionism; Quinn could have livened up the dialogue immensely with a much more liberal dosage of counter ideas.
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Summary: Another "Earth-religion" book
Review: Rating: Worth reading - Addresses modern hunger for a "new myth." Remember to think critically (What are his assumptions?) Yes, the book "Ishmael" is another "Earth-religion" book. What we need is another story, it says, another myth explaining man's place in the Universe. Perhaps what we need is a better way of evolving a story. This is what science is supposed to be, yet science too leaves man the victim of his own creations. It seems the author of Ishmael already had his myth in mind when he began writing and the whole book was an attempt to frame it in something approaching logical thinking. However, he confuses the "control paradigm" (man RULES!) with the "man is superior" truth. Man IS superior! Control is complete illusion. When we finally go into space it is man who will carry the other species with him, consciously deciding which ones to take and which ones to leave. By definition this makes man superior, more powerful and more responsible than the other animals. At the same time it is important for man to "fit in" to nature's laws. It is also important for man to realize that man defines nature, consciously, by the choices of what he focuses upon, what he does, and how he integrates it with the whole of reality. Natural law is evolving as well as the universe itself. The means by which it evolves may well involve man's thoughts. We may be "thinking evolution" and what we think we discover are actually thoughts we discover. What we think ... we discover! Creation and discovery are two sides of the same coin, two parts of a whole. Thought creates reality. Did it do so before we thought that it did? See what I mean? Complexity breeds new natural laws, which affect all preceding laws. Man's complexification of the Universe is changing the nature of the Universe. This change may be slow or rapid, yet it is the most fascinating change going on, because it challenges our fundamental mythical notion that "the Universe is the way it is and we must adapt to it." How do we know this is a one-way street? Perhaps the Universe is adapting to us as well! Matter matters. Matter comes from thought. Thought comes from matter. Thought matters. Everything matters. Everything turns to matter. Matter is the "stuff" where everything comes together in representational form. Matter is how we know what we have created in mind. Matter is how we recognize our thoughts. Rather than looking at matter as a constant in the Universe, we should look at it as the "dancing partner" of consciousness. As our consciousness changes, so does matter. As matter changes, so does our consciousness. "Which comes first?" may be a bad question since they are both in a constant state of change, interrelating with each other in an infinite number of ways. Who's in control? That's the real problem, the idea or thought that "control matters." As long as we think it, we create it. It bubbles up again and again in matter (witness Kosovo) yet simple observation would tell even a casual oberserver that "control is not what it appears to be." Control is a slippery affair, to say the least, and a complete and total illusion to say the most. Who's responsible for mankind's evolution if NOT mankind? Are we supposed to abandon responsibility in favor of "natural law?" That seems like a bad choice: responsibility OR natural law. It's familiar -- religions love to tell us to "Obey God" and "Deny desire." I want both natural law AND human responsibility. Ishmael has been stimulating! Steve Moyer
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Summary: Life changing. Gave the most cynical a new perspective.
Review: This book changed my life. It's changed many peoples lives, everyone I know who has read it as a matter of fact. From my most intelligent friends to my stupidest aquaintances. It rips apart everything you accept with the inkling of a drowned conscience telling you there's something inherently wrong with the way you live, and shows you plainly and obviously, unsubjegated to any spirituality or system of beleifs, what that drowned concience is trying to tell you. Everyone, no matter how seemingly informed or convicted in their ways should read this book.
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Summary: BAD MONKEY! BAD!
Review: This is just bad. If anyone would take the time to step back and think about what is said, objectively, the ideas in the book can not stand up by themselves. If readers are looking for a book that really makes them think, let me Recommend Italo Calvino's "Ideal Cities". It provides a base for thought without conjuring up weak solutions for out problems.
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Summary: Nihilistic philosophical propaganda
Review: Awful. Just plain awful, and full of mushy-headed thinking. There isn't any real intellectual debate between man and gorilla in this book since the agenda here is Man = evil, Nature = holy. The gorilla makes his pronouncements and the man simply accepts them. "Gee, I never woulda thought of it like that, Mr. Gorilla." Any true philosopher could have poked a kajillion holes in the gorilla's argumments while doing multiplication tables in his head. It starts with the shaky premise that civiliation--beginning with the invention of agriculture--is all about destroying the world, and it takes off from there. If you accept that premise you'll probably join the navel-gazers and self-loathers who heaped praise on it. I wish I could give it zero stars. If you have been taught to hate yourself for being a member of the human race living in the modern world, you'll love it.
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Summary: Necessary reading for everyone
Review: Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn, is a very provocative book that questions the foundation beliefs of our culture. It makes you re-examine your ideas about our society. The story is narrarated by a writer disillusioned by the failure of the 60's to change anything. This book is very well written, and tells the truth. Since I read this book, my eyes have been opened.
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Summary: Outstanding book!
Review: I read this book at the request of a teacher. I was completely closed-minded about it and got about halfway through it when I realized that I thought it was stupid. I put the book down for a few days and talked to the teacher about it. He was so enthusiastic about ISHMAEL that I gave it another try. Once I read it open mindedly, I was shocked. Like the narrator, everything said in the book was something I already knew but had never stopped to think about. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to think. And please, DO THINK.
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Summary: Should be on everyone's reading list!
Review: If you haven't read ISHMAEL yet, get it on your reading list now. It is one of the most enlightening books I ever read. Since childhood I knew there was something wrong with the culture in which I lived but I couldn't place a finger on it. Ishmael did that for me. He showed me what was wrong, what differentiated our culture from every other human culture and every other species that ever existed on this planet. This difference will cause the destruction of our species if not remedied fast. Read Ishmael, learn what it is, and start passing the knowledge on ASAP.
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Summary: Changed my life
Review: Before reading this book, I could not fathom how I was to make the connection of science and religious beliefs. I was in college and struggling with who I was and what I believed. This book put direction to my life and made my beliefs clear. I don't know where I would be today without Ishmael as my guide.
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