Ishmael

Rating:
Summary: a book that really does change the reader
Review: as a sixth grade teacher for 28 years i have seen apathy raise its ugly head until it is looking me in the eyeballs. last spring i used ishmael with a group of the more motivated students and the results were astounding. they loved the book and wrestled diligently with the concepts taught by ishmael. the rest of the class tuned into every discussion this group had and were also entranced. quinn is careful to give no single answer to the dilemmas we have brought onto ourselves. giving young people the idea that this is their world too, and that their ideas are important in solving our problems empowers them and gives them a head start in life. i can think of no other book as important for young people to read. even if they do not agree with ishmael's (quinn's) take on how we got to this point culturally, they will learn to question and realize that there is more than one way to live.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe the most important book you'll ever read!
Review: Ishmael is a 1,000lb gorilla who teaches us what it means to be human. A lesson we must learn if we hope to avoid mass extinction from environmental devastation.

Ishmael reminds us that humans have been around for 1 million years, yet our cultural mythology teaches us that only the past 5,000 years matter, while the other 995,000 years are irrelevent.

This is the type of book that can shatter your world view. Although it is fictional, the framework is based on our knowledge of ecology, early humans, biology, history and religion.

Ishmael puts forth revolutionary ideas about sustainablity, ecology and being human. Quinn's subsequent and related books: The Story of B, and My Ishmael are also excellent books for readers interested in how we might get out of the ecological mess that our culture is creating.

I highly recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book For Those Without Religion
Review: In short, this book goes on and on and ON about everything that I have learned immoral in my life. The people who love this book tend to have an open mind about our creation.

Rating:
Summary: nicely written, but might be another dead revolution
Review: Although the book addresses the problems at hand, we are still a conformist, profit driven, and short sighted culture. The cures require the minds of open minded environmentalists. There seems to be no foundation in our world for these ideas, as the gorilla explained in the story of the lion who couldn't find the door and searched in frustration until giving up. I'm not anti-agriculture, but i do think overpopulation is a problem still.

Rating:
Summary: a frightening, much-needed awakening
Review: Never before have I been so moved and grateful. The words of Daniel Quinn are exactly what the spiritual seekers are in need of. At 19, I've already spent several years in search of the deep meaning of things and how society has come to be as it is. Finally, I've found something that makes complete sense. It's a book you'll read again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Important, if not beautifully crafted
Review: This is the story of a gorilla who teaches us how to save the world. It's an extremely important text for understanding how the stories we create in our culture allow us to rationalize our ecologically destructive way of life. Ishmael says that according to our "Taker" way of looking at the world, the world was created for us, and accordingly, we can (and should) do with it as we please. Quinn very convincingly tells us how this logic is flawed, and he offers an optimistic view of how we can reverse this trend. Although the novel, such as it is, offers little in the way of plot, setting, or character development, and although it waxes self-righteous and smug, the message is an essential one, one that must be heard. It is true that our culture is on a self-destructive path, and Ishmael offers us a new path to follow. Follow the baboon, I say!

Rating:
Summary: Many good ideas, but next time skip the lousy dialogue
Review: "Ishmael" is filled with challenging and potentially life-changing ideas. What bothered me was that the characters and plot were not very well fleshed-out. I would have preferred it if this book had been written in an essay form, as the conversations between Ishmael and his nameless pupil hinder the progress of the book. Half of the time, we understand where Ishmael is going with his line of thought pages before the pupil does, causing Ishmael's points to be repeated over and over after we already understand them. Much of the dialogue consists of the pupil simply agreeing with Ishmael. "Yes." "I see." "Yes, I understand." It gets a little distracting. Nonetheless, I recommend that you read this book in order to gain a fresh perspective on the natural order of our world.

Rating:
Summary: No plot, but who cares?!
Review: Although the most climactic moment in the book was when Ishamal, a giant gorilla, was evicted from his apartment, I was entranced by the way the characters in the book spoke and thought. Upon finishing the book, I could not help but think "Well I'll be, it's about time someone made the obvious conclusion that humans are standing in their own muck!" I felt horrible to think that I too was a part of the problem. I now find myself using the terms "taker" and "leaver" quite liberally, and finding myself in quite a spot when I can't really explain their meanings. All I can say is "Read Ishmael. He'll tell you."

Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking but ultimately incorrect
Review: I did not give this book three stars because of its plot, characters, etc., because this is less a novel than a logical argument. I gave this book three stars because, although it is very thought provoking, I think the logic is fatally flawed. Here are a few examples:

1) One of Ishmael's basic assumptions is that humans are just like any other animals in the natural environment. Apparently reasoning ability doesn't really count for anything. In my opinion, some kind of cultural expansion is inevitable for a rational species. When you become rational, you realize that food equals survival and that death means permanent absence from this world; therefore, you work to get as much food as possible and prolong your existence as much as possible. And if hyenas could reason, I'm pretty sure they WOULD eradicate their lion competitors to get more food. They're not acting out any unbreakable law of nature; they just haven't figured out that fewer competitors means more food for them.

2. He says that only our current Taker civilization is assimilative and aggressive. What about Chinese culture? They had an agricultural society which assimilated many other cultures in Asia before they even saw an Indo-European (Taker).

3. Apparently he's insinuating that the widespread Leaver agricultural society in ancient Europe was the "correct society" that was advanced but not assimilative. Why was it widespread, then? A culture begins in a certain location and, as he states, other peoples are usually not happy about adopting a new culture. It seems to me that a culture must be assimilative to be widespread, so his argument about this prehistoric culture does not seem compelling.

4. He says that the agricultural civilizations in North America (Aztec, Inca) abandoned their way of life when they realized it was "against the law." Actually, they were probably wiped out by smallpox and Spanish conquistadors. And they were definitely assimilative; the Aztecs and Incas both subjugated many surrounding tribes.

Of course, an Ishmael devotee would accuse me of being a slave to Mother Culture. This is another problem I see with this book's logic: it is stated in such a way that any logical counter-argument can be dismissed as the product of cultural brainwashing. However, Ishmael apparently didn't realize that many of his ideas are not radically anti-Western, but rather commonplace among environmentalists and postmodernists.

I must admit that this novel is very thought-provoking; for example, Ishmael's interpretation of Cain, Abel, and the Garden of Eden is very interesting. However, it didn't even come close to changing my life as it has apparently changed others, because the logical flaws were just too great.

Rating:
Summary: Reminded me of a book I'd have to read for school.
Review: My book club chose this book as our next read. I was quite reluctant to start - it reminded me of something I had to read in class. You sure can't be tired while reading this - cause you'll doze off. As soon as the gorilla started talking, I was like "Are you kidding??", but I eventually put that feeling aside and enjoyed the book. There were some things I hadn't really thought about or thought I cared about. I really liked the new interpretation on Genesis. I still feel a little powerless, even if I know the world is doomed.