Rating: 
Summary: From an Environmental Philosopher
Review: I feel this book is highly overrated. The ideas are old and tiered. My personal opinion: "yeah, yeah, we know." Ironically enough, he writes his animal character with the same kind of arrogance he criticizes. If you want to read a work that I feel is more current environmental philosophy that is showing us the way rather than reiterating history read "The Abstract Wild" by Jack Turner (fantastic) or look into the works of William McDonough. Two stars because if you are the last to know about the rise of controlling mechanisms in society this will give you a decent introduction.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful stuff...
Review: I was rather late in discovering this book. A friend of mine who's a writer suggested I might find it interesting. This is not a conventional novel but a dialogue between a wise teacher and his pupil. The subject? What cultural changes must take place if the world is to be saved from eventual destruction. Sounds dull, huh? While it requires a little effort on the reader's part (not unlike the effort the pupil makes in responding to his teacher's questions)this novel/essay is riveting from start to finish. It's also funny and quite poignant. The ending packs a punch which is nothing short of a giant wakeup call to mankind to get its act together. Quinn apparently spent many years honing his arguments 'til he got it just right. I had a slight problem with his making the white male the heavy in the picture, but he aptly points out that as women and non-white people achieve social equality they are buying into the same cultural trap that the 'white male' is ensnared in. But don't let these last few comments mislead you. This is not a politically correct book. One final note. The individual chapters are quite short, rarely more than two or three pages. This makes it easier to follow the dialogue and to digest Quinn's arguments.
Rating:
Summary: "Ishmael (how white males will destroy Earth)"
Review: The book is written from the slant that white males in modern society are powerful enough to destroy the entire whole of life on the planet. If you agree, and you are "searching" for some way to "solve" modern society you may want to read this. If not, skip it entirely. The only reason it got 2 stars, instead of 1, is that it was fun to get mad about this and rant a little.
Rating:
Summary: Pass it on
Review: I personally believe it is the responsibility of every member of the human community to read this book. Agree with Ishmael's arguments or not, you must give it a chance, and perhaps, just perhaps, it will reach you as well. And if it does, please pass it on.
Rating: 
Summary: Tough to Understand
Review: This is not an easy read and it was not meant to be one either. The story is about a Gorilla named Ishmael who teaches a young unamed man how to save the world and about humanity. Except that this story is not about the Gorilla or the young man. They are included only to move the dialog along for the reader. The book is actually about the taker culture which most western thought is about. Ishmael explains that the world is headed for a catastrophe if it doesn't change the thinking. Ishmael compares the leaver culture, traditionally viewed as the hunter-gatherer, to the taker culture. He praises the leaver as the one that is sustainable to the flaws of the taker culture that will eventually cause the fall of man. So this book is actually about returning to the old ways and the forest? Well no, he actually advises the reader to return to thinking about the environment like the leaver culture while still living in the taker world. Both cultures have great benefits as well as minuses. My problem with the book is that it is very touchy-feely and it loses some of its potency by using the gorilla as a teacher. The book also can leave the reader with the wrong message that the Gorilla actually wants man to return to the jungle. I was assigned this book as a college student and watched most of the students fall into the trap of the new way is wrong. The professor was unable to convince those students that Quinn was actully saying was to think as you act and the world can't be used as everyones personal toilet. If you read this book, take the time to understand the deeper meaning, otherwise it is a rather nice story about a Gorilla and his young protoge.
Rating:
Summary: The One Right Way to Read
Review: This book is not for everyone. However, for those with an open mind and a real desire to understand the world and their place in it, it is a must read. Most of what you've been told is a lie. Ishmael can pull away some, but not all, of the wool from your eyes. Save yourself some time and buy at least two copies of this book. You'll want to keep one for yourself and pass the other around to friends to borrow. I have personally given away at least three copies of this book, and I'll probably give away more as I find other souls who need it. The title of this review is a joke for those who have already read Ishmael.
Rating:
Summary: It is truly unique in scope
Review: This book truly opened my eyes into the importance of the concepts of sustainability and why our cultural mythology opposes it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hunting the Apple
Review: The basic message of this book is good: that we human beings should become more careful of the environment, and have more humility about our place in it. Nobody could argue with that, and if this book makes any of us think, well and good.
There are, however, to me several troubling aspects of Quinn's book. I'll pass over his use of the literary conceit of the talking gorilla and the tiresome Socratic method-- these items are just part of Quinn's style, which separates him from, say, Dostoyevsky. Major issues:
1. The lack of footnotes and scholarly evidence substantiating what could have been a fascinating anthropological-historical study of hunter-gatherer society vs. agriculturalism. One of his rare citations is Sahlin, whose idealized version of hunter-gatherer society is now to a large extent debunked in anthropological circles. Several of his other points are open to speculation. Quinn has made a hasty review of history and drawn facile conclusions which supports his view.
2. As above, his over-simplification of hunter-gatherer society. He states that these peoples never exceeded their food supply because they limited their populations. But, realistically, how did they do that? Even with the use of breastfeeding to limit fertility, women would still have had many children. Since Quinn notes that population would not rise unless the total number of women rose, is he suggesting they practiced female infanticide? And if so, is that the model he supports?
3. His accusation that religion is what has caused humanity to turn against the environment. On the contrary, religion could easily lead to respect for nature, as the work of a Creator, and not as a random aggregation of molecules resulting from evolution. Quinn's respectful approach to nature is found, appropriately enough, also within a religious context. Interestingly, the classic Eastern Orthodox interpretation of the story of the Fall of Adam refers to his taking the apple as a sin against nature, in that Adam took the apple for himself instead of as it was meant to be, as part of communion with God.
4. Quinn states that humanity is not fundamentally flawed, but that this idea is a false one based on religion. He does not prove his point; rather, his description of our destructive behavior confirms the opposite. Perhaps our very flawedness is what leads us to participate in and tell ourselves "the wrong story."
Rating:
Summary: One word: CHANGE.
Review: This book must be read. Whether we wish to believe it or not, as a society we are careening toward an inevitable conclusion...one we can avoid by CHANGING the way we live. That is what this book is about. It's a realization that the way we live our lives MUST change. A change of attitude, a change of goals, a change of expectations. This book is a slap in the face. It defines our Culture: separate from nature, separate from ourselves, and separate from our ideals. We must see that humans are NOT flawed. Instead of needing to be changed and "saved", we must instead be celebrating and living humbly by the rules of nature. This is NOT a "hippie", drugged-up view of the world. This is real. This is US. You will be moved by this book. You will be moved to change the way things are and hopefully the way things will be. It is optomistic, sad, hurtful, and eye-opening. This book must be read.
Rating:
Summary: Those who've given this poor reviews...
Review: Those who've given this book poor reviews, it's pretty obvious to me, can't handle having the very basic assumptions of modern life challenged because it's so threatening to them personally. Yes, using a telepathic gorilla in the story is a strange literary device -- but it's just that, a *LITERARY DEVICE*. But it works.
| 
