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Ishmael:A Novel Paperback – May 1, 1995
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“A thoughtful, fearlessly low-key novel about the role of our species on the planet . . . laid out for us with an originality and a clarity that few would deny.”—The New York Times Book Review
Teacher Seeks Pupil.
Must have an earnest desire to save the world.
Apply in person.
It was just a three-line ad in the personals section, but it launched the adventure of a lifetime.
So begins an utterly unique and captivating novel. It is the story of a man who embarks on a highly provocative intellectual adventure with a gorilla—a journey of the mind and spirit that changes forever the way he sees the world and humankind’s place in it.
In Ishmael, which received the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship for the best work of fiction offering positive solutions to global problems, Daniel Quinn parses humanity’s origins and its relationship with nature, in search of an answer to this challenging question: How can we save the world from ourselves?
Explore Daniel Quinn’s spiritual Ishmael trilogy:
ISHMAEL • MY ISHMAEL • THE STORY OF B
Praise for Ishmael
“As suspenseful, inventive, and socially urgent as any fiction or nonfiction you are likely to read this or any other year.”—The Austin Chronicle
“Before we’re halfway through this slim book . . . we’re in [Daniel Quinn’s] grip, we want Ishmael to teach us how to save the planet from ourselves. We want to change our lives.”—The Washington Post
“Arthur Koestler, in an essay in which he wondered whether mankind would go the way of the dinosaur, formulated what he called the Dinosaur’s Prayer: ‘Lord, a little more time!’ Ishmael does its bit to answer that prayer and may just possibly have bought us all a little more time.”—Los Angeles Times
- Print length263 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBantam
- Publication dateMay 1, 1995
- Dimensions5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
- ISBN-100553375407
- ISBN-13978-0553375404
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
What's most unusual is that this novel scarcely is one: beneath a thin narrative glaze, it's really a series of Socratic dialogues between man and ape, with the ape as Socrates. The nameless man, who narrates, answers a newspaper ad (``TEACHER seeks pupil...'') that takes him to a shabby office tenanted by a giant gorilla; lo! the ape begins to talk to him telepathically (Quinn's failure to explain this ability is typical of his approach: idea supersedes story). Over several days, the ape, Ishmael, as gruff as his Greek model, drags the man into a new understanding of humanity's place in the world. In a nutshell, Ishmael argues that humanity has evolved two ways of living: There are the ``Leavers,'' or hunter-gatherers (e.g., Bushmen), who live in harmony with the rest of life; and there are the ``Takers'' (our civilization), who arose with the agricultural revolution, aim to conquer the rest of life, and are destroying it in the process. Takers, Ishmael says, have woven a ``story'' to rationalize their conquest; central to this story is the idea that humanity is flawed--e.g., as told in the Bible. But not so, Ishmael proclaims; only the Taker way is flawed: Leavers offer a method for living well in the world ... A washout as a story, with zero emotional punch; but of substantial intellectual appeal as the extensive Q&A passages (despite their wild generalities and smug self-assurance) invariably challenge and provoke: both Socrates and King Kong might be pleased. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
“[Quinn entraps] us in the dialogue itself, in the sweet and terrible lucidity of Ishmael’s analysis of the human condition. . . . It was surely for this deep, clear persuasiveness of argument that Ishmael was given its huge prize.”—The Washington Post
“It is as suspenseful, inventive, and socially urgent as any fiction or nonfiction book you are likely to read this or any other year.”—The Austin Chronicle
“Deserves high marks as a serious—and all too rare—effort that is unflinchingly engaged with fundamental life-and-death concerns.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
From the Inside Flap
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The first time I read the ad, I choked and cursed and spat and threw the paper to the floor. Since even this didn’t seem to be quite enough, I snatched it up, marched into the kitchen, and shoved it into the trash. While I was there, I made myself a little breakfast and gave myself some time to cool down. I ate and thought about something else entirely. That’s right. Then I dug the paper out of the trash and turned back to the Personals section, just to see if the damn thing was still there and just the way I remembered it. It was.
TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.
An earnest desire to save the world! Oh, I liked that. That was rich indeed. An earnest desire to save the world–yes, that was splendid. By noon, two hundred mooncalfs, softheads, boobies, ninnyhammers, noodleheads, gawkies, and assorted oafs and thickwits would doubtless be lined up at the address given, ready to turn over all their worldlies for the rare privilege of sitting at the feet of some guru pregnant with the news that all will be well if everyone will just turn around and give his neighbor a big hug.
You will wonder: Why is this man so indignant? So bitter? It’s a fair question. In fact, it’s a question I was asking myself.
The answer goes back to a time, a couple decades ago, when I’d had the silly notion that the thing I most wanted to do in the world was . . . to find a teacher. That’s right. I imagined I wanted a teacher–needed a teacher. To show me how one goes about doing something that might be called . . . saving the world.
Stupid, no? Childish. Naïve. Simple. Callow. Or just fundamentally dumb. In one so manifestly normal in other respects, it needs explaining.
It came about in this way.
During the children’s revolt of the sixties and seventies, I was just old enough to understand what these kids had in mind–they meant to turn the world upside down–and just young enough to believe they might actually succeed. It’s true. Every morning when I opened my eyes, I expected to see that the new era had begun, that the sky was a brighter blue and the grass a brighter green. I expected to hear laughter in the air and to see people dancing in the streets, and not just kids–everyone! I won’t apologize for my naïveté; you only have to listen to the songs to know that I wasn’t alone.
Then one day when I was in my mid-teens, I woke up and realized that the new era was never going to begin. The revolt hadn’t been put down, it had just dwindled away into a fashion statement. Can I have been the only person in the world who was disillusioned by this? Bewildered by this? It seemed so. Everyone else seemed to be able to pass it off with a cynical grin that said, “Well, what did you really expect? There’s never been any more than this and never will be any more than this. Nobody’s out to save the world, because nobody gives a damn about the world, that was just a bunch of goofy kids talking. Get a job, make some money, work till you’re sixty, then move to Florida and die.”
I couldn’t shrug it away like this, and in my innocence I thought there had to be someone out there with an unknown wisdom who could dispel my disillusionment and bewilderment: a teacher.
Well, of course there wasn’t.
I didn’t want a guru or a kung fu master or a spiritual director.
I didn’t want to become a sorcerer or learn the zen of archery or meditate or align my chakras or uncover past incarnations. Arts and disciplines of that kind are fundamentally selfish; they’re all designed to benefit the pupil–not the world. I was after something else entirely, but it wasn’t in the Yellow Pages or anywhere else that I could discover.
In Hermann Hesse’s The Journey to the East, we never find out what Leo’s awesome wisdom consists of. This is because Hesse couldn’t tell us what he himself didn’t know. He was like me–he just yearned for there to be someone in the world like Leo, someone with a secret knowledge and a wisdom beyond his own. In fact, of course, there is no secret knowledge; no one knows anything that can’t be found on a shelf in the public library. But I didn’t know that then.
So I looked. Silly as it sounds now, I looked. By comparison, going after the Grail would have made more sense. I won’t talk about it, it’s too embarrassing. I looked until I wised up. I stopped making a fool of myself, but something died inside of me–something that I’d always sort of liked and admired. In its place grew a scar–a tough spot but also a sore spot.
And now, years after I’d given up the search, here was some charlatan advertising in the newspaper for the very same young dreamer that I’d been fifteen years ago.
But this still doesn’t explain my outrage, does it?
Try this: You’ve been in love with someone for a decade–someone who barely knows you’re alive. You’ve done everything, tried everything to make this person see that you’re a valuable, estimable person, and that your love is worth something. Then one day you open up the paper and glance at the Personals column, and there you see that your loved one has placed an ad . . . seeking someone worthwhile to love and be loved by.
Oh, I know it’s not exactly the same. Why should I have expected this unknown teacher to have contacted me instead of advertising for a pupil? Contrariwise, if this teacher was a charlatan, as I assumed, why would I have wanted him to contact me?
Let it go, I was being irrational. It happens, it’s allowed.
2
I had to go down there, of course–had to satisfy myself that it was just another scam. You understand. Thirty seconds would do it, a single look, ten words out of his mouth. Then I’d know. Then I could go home and forget about it.
When I got there, I was surprised to find it was a very ordinary sort of office building, full of second-rate flacks, lawyers, dentists, travel agents, a chiropractor, and a private investigator or two. I’d expected something a little more atmospheric–a brownstone with paneled walls, high ceilings, and shuttered windows, perhaps. I was looking for Room 105, and I found it in the back, where a window would overlook the alley. The door was uninformative. I pushed it open and stepped into a large, empty room. This uncommon space had been created by knocking down interior partitions, the marks of which could still be seen on the bare hardwood floor.
That was my first impression: emptiness. The second was olfactory; the place reeked of the circus–no, not the circus, the menagerie: unmistakable but not unpleasant. I looked around. The room was not entirely empty. Against the wall at the left stood a small bookcase containing thirty or forty volumes, mainly on history, prehistory, and anthropology. A lone overstuffed chair stood in the middle, facing away, toward the wall at the right, and looking like something the movers had left behind. Doubtless this was reserved for the master; his pupils would kneel or crouch on mats arranged in a semicircle at his knee.
And where were these pupils, who I had predicted would be present by the hundreds? Had they perhaps come and been led away like the children of Hamelin? A film of dust lay undisturbed on the floor to disprove this fancy.
There was something odd about the room, but it took me another look round to figure out what it was. In the wall opposite the door stood two tall casement windows admitting a feeble light from the alley; the wall to the left, common with the office next door, was blank. The wall to the right was pierced by a very large plate-glass window, but this was plainly not a window to the outside world, for it admitted no light at all; it was a window into an adjacent room, even dimmer than the one I occupied. I wondered what object of piety was displayed there, safely beyond the touch of inquisitive hands. Was it some embalmed Yeti or Bigfoot, made of cat fur and papier-mâché? Was it the body of a UFOnaut cut down by a National Guardsman before he could deliver his sublime message from the stars (“We are brothers. Be nice.”)?
Because it was backed by darkness, the glass in this window was black–opaque, reflective. I made no attempt to see beyond it as I approached; I was the spectacle under observation. On arrival, I continued to gaze into my own eyes for a moment, then rolled the focus forward beyond the glass–and found myself looking into another pair of eyes.
I fell back, startled. Then, recognizing what I’d seen, I fell back again, now a little frightened.
The creature on the other side of the glass was a full-grown gorilla.
Full-grown says nothing, of course. He was terrifyingly enormous, a boulder, a sarsen of Stonehenge. His sheer mass was alarming in itself, even though he wasn’t using it in any menacing way. On the contrary, he was half-sitting, half-reclining most placidly, nibbling delicately on a slender branch he carried in his left hand like a wand.
I did not know what to say. You will be able to judge how unnerved I was by this fact: that it seemed to me I should speak–excuse myself, explain my presence, justify my intrusion, beg the creature’s pardon. I felt it was an affront to gaze into his eyes, but I was paralyzed, helpless. I could look at nothing else in the world but his face, more hideous than any other in the animal kingdom because of its similarity to our own, yet in its way more noble than any Greek ideal of perfection.
There was in fact no obstacle between us. The pane of glass would have parted like a tissue had he touched it. But he seemed to have no idea of touching it. He sat and gazed into my eyes and nibbled the end of his branch and waited. No, he wasn’t waiting; he was merely there, had been there before I arrived and would be there when I’d left. I had the feeling I was of no more significance to him when a passing cloud is to a shepherd resting on a hillside.
As my fear began to ebb, consciousness of my situation returned. I said to myself that the teacher was plainly not on hand, that there was nothing to keep me there, that I should go home. But I didn’t like to leave with the feeling that I’d accomplished nothing at all. I looked around, thinking I’d leave a note, if I could find something to write on (and with), but there was nothing. Nevertheless, this search, with the thought of written communication in mind, brought to my attention something I’d overlooked in the room that lay beyond the glass; it was a sign or poster hanging on the wall behind the gorilla. It read:
WITH MAN GONE,
WILL THERE
BE HOPE
FOR GORILLA?
This sign stopped me–or rather, this text stopped me. Words are my profession; I seized these and demanded that they explain themselves, that they cease to be ambiguous. Did they imply that hope for gorillas lay in the extinction of the human race or in its survival? It could be read either way.
It was, of course, a koan–meant to be inexplicable. It disgusted me for that reason, and for another reason: because it appeared that this magnificent creature beyond the glass was being held in captivity for no other reason than to serve as a sort of animate illustration for this koan.
You really ought to do something about this, I told myself angrily. Then I added: It would be best if you sat down and were still.
I listened to the echo of this strange admonishment as if it were a fragment of music I couldn’t quite identify. I looked at the chair and wondered: Would it be best to sit down and be still? And if so, why? The answer came readily enough: Because, if you are still, then you will be better able to hear. Yes, I thought, that is undeniably so.
For no conscious reason, I lifted my eyes to those of my beastly companion in the next room. As everyone knows, eyes speak. A pair of strangers can effortlessly reveal their mutual interest and attraction in a single glance. His eyes spoke, and I understood. My legs turned to jelly, and I barely managed to reach the chair without collapsing.
“But how?” I said, not daring to speak the words aloud.
“What does it matter?” he replied as silently. “It’s so, and nothing more needs to be said.”
“But you–” I sputtered. “You are . . .”
I found that, having come to the word, and with no other word to put in its place, I could not speak it.
After a moment he nodded, as if in acknowledgment of my difficulty. “I am the teacher.”
For a time, we gazed into each other’s eyes, and my head felt as empty as a derelict barn.
Then he said: “Do you need time to collect yourself?”
“Yes!” I cried, speaking aloud for the first time.
He turned his massive head to one side to peer at me curiously. “Will it help you to listen to my story?”
“Indeed it will,” I said. “But first–if you will–please tell me your name.”
He stared at me for a while without replying and (as far as I could tell at that time) without expression. Then he proceeded as if I hadn’t spoken at all.
“I was born somewhere in the forests of equatorial West Africa,” he said. “I’ve never made any effort to find out exactly where, and see no reason to do so now. Do you happen to know anything about animal collecting for zoos and circurses?”
I looked up, startled. “I know nothing at all about animal collecting.”
“At one time, or at least during the thirties, the method commonly used with gorillas was this: On finding a band, collectors would shoot the females and pick up all the infants in sight.”
“How terrible,” I said, without thinking.
The creature replied with a shrug. “I have no actual memory of the event–though I have memories of still earlier times. In any case, the Johnsons sold me to a zoo in some small northeastern city–I can’t say which, for I had no awareness of such things as yet. There I lived and grew for several years.”
He paused and nibbled absentmindedly on his branch for a while, as if gathering his thoughts.
Product details
- Publisher : Bantam; Reissue edition (May 1, 1995)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 263 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0553375407
- ISBN-13 : 978-0553375404
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #7,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #69 in Magical Realism
- #257 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- #855 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and studied at St. Louis University, the University of Vienna, and Loyola University of Chicago. I worked in Chicago-area publishing for twenty years before beginning work on the book for which I'm best known, Ishmael. This book was chosen from among some 2500 international entrants to win the half-million dollar 1991 Turner Tomorrow competition for a novel offering "creative and positive solutions to global problems." The novel has subsequently sold more than a million copies in English, is available in some thirty languages, and has been used in high schools and colleges worldwide in courses as varied as philosophy, geography, ecology, archaeology, history, biology, zoology, anthropology, political science, economics, and sociology. Subsequent works include Providence, The Story of B, My Ishmael: A Sequel, Beyond Civilization, After Dachau, The Holy, and most recently At Woomeroo, a collection of short stories. I can be found on Facebook, and my Web site, ishmael.org, is enormous, offering news and announcements from readers, suggested readings, speeches and essays available nowhere else, detailed answers to more than 500 questions asked by readers over the years, and a Guestbook with thousands of entries. I and my wife, Rennie, have lived in Chicago, Santa Fe and Madrid, New Mexico, and Austin, Texas. We currently live in Houston.
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Customers find the book well-written and thought-provoking. They describe the story as fascinating and relatable. Readers appreciate the relatable characters and entertaining setting. Many consider the book a great value for money and powerful enough to change their perspective. However, opinions differ on how easy it is to use.
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Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking. They describe it as well-written and worth reading. Some readers mention that the book takes some leaps of logic. However, most praise the author's writing style and consider it one of the best books they have ever read.
"...have nothing to lose, and nothing better to do with our lives, it's worth a try. Nothing is more embarrassing than self-extinction...." Read more
"...Overall, I found Ishmael to be an excellent book and would recommend it to anyone frustrated with the current state of the world, an interest in..." Read more
"...Truly inspiring, thought provoking text. I've had a few friends read it. This book had ideas and knowledge I've never even heard suggested before...." Read more
"...Pros: + Easy to get into, hard to forget. That's the epitome of good writing. + Intended for casual and deep readers...." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking and inspiring. They find the concepts fascinating and life-changing. The book starts with a fascinating point of view and has wisdom and truth in each sentence. It offers an alternative view on life and is considered an important book.
"...It's jam-packed with descriptions of many serious problems, yet it succeeds at remaining an inspiring piece of work...." Read more
"...decide which species live and die, and that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with people—rather it is the story told for the last ten thousand..." Read more
"...Truly inspiring, thought provoking text. I've had a few friends read it. This book had ideas and knowledge I've never even heard suggested before...." Read more
"...They have strengths and weaknesses, and they'll be the first to tell you about them...." Read more
Customers find the story engaging and instructive. They describe it as a modern-day fable that explores human nature and evil. The plot is simple yet profound, with an undeniable conclusion. While some readers find the book odd and strange, they appreciate its message and style.
"...There is quite a bit to absorb from this novel, and it definitely warrants a re-read at some point...." Read more
"...to know about the Ishmael trilogy is that at it's heart: The stories are conversations...." Read more
"Ishmael is a book I got for one of my college classes. It was an amazing story that teaches you about life...." Read more
"This book was a thought experiment with a weak frame story. As far as thought experiments go, it was a pretty good one...." Read more
Customers find the characters relatable and interesting. They appreciate the protagonist's challenge to think differently. The setting of the character Ishmael is entertaining. Readers praise the author's talent and skill in writing.
"...+ Relatable characters. Pretty much every character in the whole series feels as human as it gets...." Read more
"...From the moment you start reading, you're drawn in by this mysterious character and the lessons he has to teach us...." Read more
"...that condition with insight, a superbly original idea, an intriguing 'hero' and a genuine push for a wakeup call that fairly charges out of the..." Read more
"...This copy I just bought is a graduation gift to an already remarkable young man and I believe he will find it insightful...." Read more
Customers find the book offers good value for money. They say it's worth the price, the cheapest online, and a great spiritual read.
"My son needed it. GREAT PRICE!" Read more
"...I feel this story to be more than worth the useless currency we value so highly and any hungry philosopher looking to see the beauty of the..." Read more
"...This is a really nice copy for the price too. Love" Read more
"...The ideology in the book is definitely worth the reading and the price." Read more
Customers find the book powerful and able to spark a cult following. They say it offers hope and has an impact on their perspective.
"...literature it ain't - a critical choice is what's revealed, and it's powerful." Read more
"...and every single one of them has remarked on the impact of this remarkable work...." Read more
"...Powerful enough to spark a cult following, and powerful enough to change your whole perspective about being human and what that means...." Read more
"...But, it picked up and had a message that I wasn't quite expecting. Very powerful. I'd read it again." Read more
Customers have different views on the book's ease of use. Some find it simple yet profound, with basic instructions on how to save the world. Others find it laborious to get through and difficult to put down.
"...Pros: + Easy to get into, hard to forget. That's the epitome of good writing. + Intended for casual and deep readers...." Read more
"...The examples are so simple minded and easy to understand and makes you think why doesn't everyone think this way?..." Read more
"...However no one read it. Certainly not an easy read. Very difficult to get into to so we all gave up on it." Read more
"...It's not all sing-songly love preaching sappy crap. It's very technical, and it is very thorough...." Read more
Customers have different views on the book's preachiness. Some find it light and accessible, not offending in any way. Others describe it as repetitive, simplistic, and irritating.
"...human history with his work of fiction Ishmael, is bigoted and hateful. The clever manner that Daniel Quinn disguises himself as both..." Read more
"What a beautiful ode to life. Preachy at times, but it really gives you a place to start living in a way that could make sense." Read more
"...a dirt floor these people displayed such a pure happiness and carefree demeanor that I have not found anywhere else in my travels...." Read more
"...concept of learning from an ape was unique at first but the viewpoint was a bit myopic...." Read more
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The Start of an Important Conversation
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2011I just finished reading Daniel Quinn's Ishmael this morning, for the third or fourth time. Prior to my first reading, in 1994, I had already learned a good deal about the problems of agriculture and civilization, so Ishmael didn't make my head explode. But when you're wandering far out on the wild frontier, and thinking far outside the box, it's reassuring to discover others on the same path. "Hey! I'm not crazy!" That's always a thrill.
Every time I read the book, I'm impressed by the depth of Quinn's knowledge and thinking. It's jam-packed with descriptions of many serious problems, yet it succeeds at remaining an inspiring piece of work. He doesn't serve us a complete collection of solutions, but he points us in the right direction, and describes the powerful monsters that we must confront and overcome. It's sort of like the course outline for Save the World 101.
Ishmael is over 20 years old now. Quinn finished it in 1990. In 1991, it won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship. It was published in 1992. Amazon.com ranks the sales of every book it carries -- over three million titles now. I've been tracking the rankings for Ishmael over the years. It was #616 in 2002, #663 in 2007, and #1,507 in 2011 (rankings are updated daily, and these numbers are U.S. only). It is a tremendously successful book. I suspect that it might be the world's best-selling book on environmental issues, if Silent Spring doesn't hold that honor.
In 1994, I was on a quest to find the elusive silver bullet solution to the Earth Crisis. The problems were obvious, and so were the solutions, but humankind seemed not to care at all, and things were continuously getting worse. This was insane! I imagined that a brilliant remedy lie buried beneath a rock somewhere, and if I searched hard enough, I'd find it -- the Holy Grail.
Ishmael did not give me what I wanted, because what I wanted did not exist. In fact, the solution was far more complicated than simply buying "green" products, demanding government action, or rounding up and punishing eco-villains. The solution involved inspiring almost all of humankind to make radical changes in the way they think, breed, eat, work, travel, communicate, dress, and so on. It's not a trivial undertaking, by any means.
Quinn wrestled with this predicament for 13 years, as the process of creating Ishmael meandered through its various versions, in search of strength and coherence. Thankfully, he does not serve us magical thinking or false hope. He never suggests that the Technology Fairy will rescue us via astonishing miraculous inventions. Our only hope is to change minds. But, is this enough? "Of course it's not enough. But if you begin anywhere else, there's no hope at all." Before you can address behaviors, you must first address beliefs and values. Is it possible that changing minds can succeed in bringing humankind back into balance with the living planet? Well, it's as "improbable as hell but not unimaginable" -- the BS-free bottom line. Since we have nothing to lose, and nothing better to do with our lives, it's worth a try. Nothing is more embarrassing than self-extinction.
During Ishmael's 20 years on the planet, environmental awareness has grown exponentially. The class of 2011 is far better informed than my class of 1970, which was tragically swept away by the consumer stampede, devoting their entire lives to mindless hoarding. Ishmael first appeared when there were five billion in the world. Now, we're seven billion. Storm clouds are growing. The road ahead is flashing and rumbling with danger. Many believe that we're gradually moving closer to the mythical "tipping point," when ever-expanding human consciousness will make a sharp shift toward enlightenment and compassion, humankind will move into a bold new era, a beautiful paradise for all living things!
But it now seems likely that the tipping point lies on the other side of turbulent times, and that's OK. Seven billion people simply can't fit into paradise, even if we switch to LED lights, ride bicycles, and feast on tofu and bean sprouts three times a day. The path to a genuinely sustainable future must pass through the collapse of industrial civilization. There are no clever ways to sneak around this troublesome obstacle. Collapse is a necessary component of the healing process, and it will be a powerful force for changing minds. When the lights go out, we'll remember what really matters. We'll quickly develop a profound hunger to become intimately aware of the place where we live, and the edible opportunities that it offers.
On the other side of collapse we'll come to a crucial fork in the path. In the 10,000 year history of civilization, there have been many collapses. In almost every case, when a failed society arrived at this fork, they chose the path of repeated mistakes. It was easier. They already knew how to mine minerals, forests, soils, wildlife, and fisheries. So they regrouped, did it all over again, and suffered the same inevitable results. Their primary objective was to die of old age. The generations yet-to-be-born were on their own, to thrive or perish by the power of their wits. Good luck to ye!
In the coming years, we too will arrive at this important fork of destiny. Will we chose, once again, the well-worn path of repeated mistakes? We don't have to. Many of us now understand why that would be really dumb. Heck, it might actually be fun to try the other path for a change. Our descendants would be so grateful if we took bold steps and freed them from the dreaded curse.
Quinn exhibits great admiration for the few surviving tribes who continue to walk on the path of sustainability: "They're not seething with discontent and rebellion, not incessantly wrangling over what should be allowed and what forbidden, not forever accusing each other of not living the right way, not living in terror of each other, not going crazy because their lives seem empty and pointless, not having to stupefy themselves with drugs to get through the days, not inventing a new religion every week to give them something to hold on to, not forever searching for something to do or something to believe in that will make their lives worth living." Imagine that.
Richard Adrian Reese
Author of What Is Sustainable
- Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2015Ishmael is a philosophical novel written by Daniel Quinn that was published in 1992. The story begins with a newspaper ad: "Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person." The unnamed narrator decides to check it out and finds himself in a room with a telepathically-communicating gorilla named Ishmael. The basic plot of the book involves a Socratic dialogue between Ishmael and the narrator focusing on "how things came to be this way" for humankind.
The concepts covered during their conversation include an exploration of the mythological thinking that forms the underpinning of our modern civilization's consciousness and consequential actions, that humans are not the pinnacle of evolution (nor exempt from the laws of nature or the rule of the Gods), and how the story we have chosen to enact has contributed to our ethical understanding of the world and a potential societal and environmental collapse that lurks just beyond today's horizon. There is also a story woven throughout the main Socratic dialogue that features Ishmael's history as a member of a menagerie and adoption by a wealthy benefactor.
Some of the major themes in the book include the idea that the Book of Genesis from the Bible truly refers to the decimation of nomadic hunter-gatherer societies by agricultural societies, that eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil convinced modern humans that they have the right to decide which species live and die, and that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with people—rather it is the story told for the last ten thousand years by Mother Culture that has been enacted that is harmful.
Following Ishmael are two books penned by Quinn that form a loose trilogy: The Story of B, a 1996 spiritual sequel, and My Ishmael, a 1997 followup. So far I have only read the first book in this trilogy, but hope to make my way through the rest of it in due time.
I greatly enjoyed this novel. Early on, it reminded me of Sophie's World, a novel by Jostein Gaarder that was the center of discussion during an International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge course in high school. I suppose I drew that comparison due to the format of the book—a wise teacher with an understanding of philosophy uses the Socratic dialogue method to teach philosophical concepts to a pupil. The method involves the pupil working through the concepts "out loud" throughout the book's pages, which allows the reader to absorb them in a different manner than if they had been presented directly from the teacher. Another book I have read that uses the same style is Plato's The Republic. Although it isn't my favorite format, I think it may be growing on me because I really enjoyed Ishmael, and a major reason for that was the way the book allowed me to work through the concepts alongside the pupil. There is quite a bit to absorb from this novel, and it definitely warrants a re-read at some point.
Overall, I found Ishmael to be an excellent book and would recommend it to anyone frustrated with the current state of the world, an interest in human and evolutionary history and/or philosophy, and environmental activists that would like to see positive global changes come to fruition. With knowledge like this in our toolbox, I firmly believe humanity could rethink its position in nature's hierarchy, construct a new story for modern culture to enact, and reverse its course for the betterment of all life on Earth and beyond.
Top reviews from other countries
- HollyReviewed in Canada on February 5, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read
This book highlights the agony of human existence and brings about many questions and answers. It is truly an underrated book that should be a classic on book shelves internstionslly, alongside "The Alchemist" and "The Old Man and The Sea". I have read this book several times over, each time learning something new. Enjoy this unique, timeless masterpiece by Daniel Quinn.
- MariaReviewed in Sweden on January 19, 2025
1.0 out of 5 stars Counterfeit book
This book is a counterfeit book copy. You can tell from the information on the last page (see picture)
MariaCounterfeit book
Reviewed in Sweden on January 19, 2025
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Paola FloraReviewed in Italy on November 18, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Andrebbe usato come materia di studio nelle scuole.
Romanzo semplice che, però fa molto riflettere! Da leggere!
- TaniaReviewed in Spain on October 11, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book, inmediately.
I have only just finished reading Ishmael and I wasn't expecting -at all-to feel the way I do now. I've been reading non-stop for a whole day and its night and how could I ever go back to being the person I was nearly two days ago? That person that, since I've closed the book, feels thousands of years away.
When one does not see what one does not see, one does not even see that one is blind.
I had my suspicions and yet for 30 years I could not quite put my finger where it all started to go wrong. However, at last, now I too can see.
My eternal gratitude, Mr. Quinn.
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Ana carolina Alves BittencourtReviewed in Brazil on June 17, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Inigualável
O mlehor livro que já li! Engloba todas as inquietudes que temos mas são difíceis de expressar. A reflexão é constante quando entra nesse mundo de Ishmael.