Ishmael

Rating:
Summary: Excellent - a must read - and then live
Review: Not only is this book thought provoking - it is life changing. However slight the change is at first with every day's news broadcasts, and declining earth species, it stares us in the face and demands us to take heed. For those who love the earth Ishmael is on-line at http://www.inpursuit.com/ishmael/ Take a peek.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, superb execution, brilliantly argued
Review: If you loved this book, I bet you will also love "Surfing the Himalayas"!

Rating:
Summary: One of the top 5 books I've ever read -- and I've read a lot
Review: As sappy as it sounds, it's true. Ishmael will change the way you think about the world and man's relationship to it. If it doesn't you're either Newt Gingrich or Ariana Huffington. I've bought copies and given them to friends. Even some of those I thought would be only mildly affected, loved it

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Summary: Ishmael assaults the anthropocentric fallacy head-on!
Review: Ishmael describes eloquently the fundamental importance of changing the way we think about the world and the place of humanity within it. The solution proposed by Ishmael is not necessarily an easy one, but it is at least an inspring one. We must "break out" of the prison of western culture, stop fighting over the re-distribution of power and wealth within the prison itself, to re-formulate the end of man itself. Man's place is "to be the first, without being the last."

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Summary: Book offers positive solution to global problem
Review: A man seeking knowledge finds himself face-to-face with a talking gorilla as his teacher. A truly impressive, thought-provoking piece of fiction. Easy to read, yet filled with tremendous insight worthy of much contemplation. The author explains the "taker" mentality so persuasive in today's society and its deadly ramifications for the future of the planet; a postive solution is offered. Should be required reading for everyone on the planet

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Summary: Read Moby Dick after this....
Review: I read this book in one day. It is good. See for yourself. So now everyone can stop fussin. I cleared it all up. Next stop, Melville....

Rating:
Summary: Juvenile Ego-Stroking
Review: While I agree with much of the philosophy presented in Ishmael, the book is damned by its presentation. The author seems more concerned with stroking his ego and making his philosophy seem unique and mind-blowing than writing a good book. Instead of intelligent discourse, we've got a condescending monkey who repeats things ad-nauseum, has a penchant for hyperbole, and spends the rest of his time trying to make the author seem like a genius. Well guess what, Quinn? Any reasonably intelligent high schooler has thought of these things. Trust me, you are not the first. Keep the philosophy, just don't present yourself as brilliant for having it.

Rating:
Summary: Mind Altering
Review: One of few books which has managed to completely alter my state of mind between the time I began the book and the time I finally put it down.

The ways in which Quinn challenges our perceptions of the world, our lives, our purpose on earth, the way in which we operate and the systems that constrain us is remarkable.

In the tradition of Zen and lifelong meditation Ishmael presents a set of existential questions that may never be fully answered and certainly have no right/wrong approach. The value lies in the questions themselves and our ability to allow them to have personal application. Whether or not we can apply Quinn's logic and understanding conveyed through Ishmael to our own lives and sense of purpose even our core values is the ultimate test.

Rating:
Summary: Ishmael was a well written book
Review: The book "Ishmael" is a fictional story about a man who befriends a Gorilla and starts learning his life's lessons. The man reads an article in the newspaper that says "Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world." The article draws him in and when he goes to answer it, he finds a gorilla in a cage. It's in an older almost rundown apartment complex and he starts going there every day and talking philosophy with the animal. This ends up changing his whole view on the world and the people in it. He realizes what is happening to the world and what the outcome will be if no one does anything about it. He also finds that there isn't a lot that he can do about any of it. In the end, the Gorilla ends up dying in a carnival wagon and the man finds himself looking for his own pupil.

"Ishmael" is a very well written book. Quinn ties everyday human acts to philosophical thought about the future of the world. He shows the effects of what we do now changing the world for better or worse. He also shows how we could change the outcome of our actions as a human race. He explains the hunter and gatherer effect as takers and leavers, and how the two live off of each other. And that if given a long enough period of time, everyone would end up being a taker, and the result of this would be the extinction of the human race. Not by murder perse, but they would kill all of the natural resources the earth supplies us with, and there would be nothing left for anyone to live off of.


Rating:
Summary: Environmental Science class
Review: i read ishmael a month ago and thourghly enjoyed it. Now the principles in the book were not all that earthshattering, everyone knows that what we do is against nature, people just look the other way or are not bothered by it. Although there is some validity to the literary criticisms of this book, the telepathic gorilla and the dogmatic approach certaintly are less than ideal. But if you think about our it culture forces idea that humans are supreme down our throut. Quinn is offering another perspective, and a damned good one at that. as stated by others there are several groups of people who review this book, the life changed, the open to ideas but not this one kind of person, and the liberal propaganda people. the first group i have no problems with, the second group needs to smell the coffee, hm it doesn't agree with the bible, well the bible is in human writing, even if it is god inspired it was human written and therefore subject the ethnographic influences. the liberal haters are the worst group, don't tell me that just because it is in favor of nature it is universally bad. it is small minded to lambaste quinn purely on your perception of his political stance.
read this book and think, the world would be better off if everybody was more aware of what pigs we humans can be