Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

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Thanks to whoever it was on this forum that recommended this book. I got it at the library, and it sure does make me look at things from a different perspective. Makes me think maybe we do deserve Y2K.

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), December 21, 1998

Answers

Pearlie,

Fantastic! Okay, now that you've read Ishmael, there are two other Daniel Quinn books that you should read: The Story of B and My Ishmael, which just appeared last year. As you might suspect, My Ishmael is somewhat of a sequel to the first book. Both the second and third book are terrific, but nowhere near the jolt -- the literal punch in the solar plexus -- that you get from reading < i>Ishmael. I was introduced to it nearly 5 years ago, at a "systems thinking" conference hosted by Professor Peter Senge (author of The Fifth Discipline) of MIT. I had no idea what to expect from it, and was absolutely stunned. I've since sent copies to nearly every family member...

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), December 21, 1998.


Agree about Ismael. Got some folks reading it in our Presbyterian congregation (not the same as North's denomination). A minister started a class this fall based somewhat on "Ismael," using the theme "Rethinking Theology for the New Millennium." Interesting, but didn't come near the radicalness of "Ismael."

Another book somewhat along these lines that also jolted my thoughts is "The Last Day" by Glenn Kleier. If you read this, read it in the next few days (if you have the time). The context of the story is shockingly close to what's happening in the mideast today, and the story begins on Christmas eve. Highly recommend this one.

-- Joseph (jbabinsky@theriver.com), December 21, 1998.


Ishmael has its own forum, found at

Ish mael forum



-- a (a@a.a), December 21, 1998.


Yes, Pearlie, I agree, Quinn's perspective on the peculiar problem of Northern salvationist culture is quite original, if not downright unique. I consider it one of the more important books of the latter portion of this bloody century. History may acknowledge Daniel Quinn as one of the most important eco-philosophers since John Muir.

"Ishmael" and "The Story of B" are particularly fine philosophical counterpoints to the puerile individualism of the likes of Ayn Rand. I get the feeling that many participants in this newsgroup, including its sponsor and namesake, have read Daniel Quinn or at least would identify with his message.

Those two books, along with bio-philosopher Elisabet Sahtouris' "Earthdance" are in my EOTW stash. Maybe I'll read them by candlelight in a couple of years.

Hallyx

"If you can't even manage to to force your own presumably democratic governments to allow you to do good things for yourselves, then you probably deserve to become extinct."---Ishmael (My Ishmael, Daniel Quinn)

-- Hallyx (Hallyx@aol.com), December 22, 1998.


you are welcome,

like some other poster mentioned-his 2 other books are good too, especially The Story of B, which is like a great thriller, My Ishmael is more from a womans point of view,

try to check out his web site too, it trys to talk about the 'what now?' question,

I felt depressed and paralysed for a while, then he talks about the carpet company president who read his work, then the man thought about his company, first he started only leasing the unnatural unhealthy carpet, this was especially good since with all the startup/closings of small companies there were thousands of yards of the stuff going into land fills, now the carpet guy figured how to almost 100 % recycle his product at the same time he had his marketing dept really start to sell the public natural gentle to the enviornment materials, think of how soft wood and wool and tile and such are making it into the chic decorating market the last 10 years, more expensive yes but better than all that acrylic,

DQ uses that old think globaly act locally thing

I have to agree with you about the y2k thing though, it is going to force us all into a different lifestyle,

right now my family is trying to think outside our box-banking we need to really figure out how we are going to make a living post y2k, none of us seems to have any skills- we all went to college,

like they say --hold on it is going to be a bumpy ride!!!

julienne

-- julienne (bootman@value.net), December 22, 1998.



Ahh, Pearlie, you sweetcake, thanks for mentioning "Ishmael." My neice told me about the book a few years ago, and I've been forever grateful. It should be required reading for every person that has the ability to GI. It certainly makes me think that our elected and unelected officials, owned by corporate whores, and a few fanatical theologians deserve y2k. I'm looking forward to reading Quinn's two other books, but I'm sure none could affect me more than "Ishmael." Also, be sure to read "Earthdance" and "A Gift Upon the Shore," and by all means, "Desert Solitaire."

Julienne, college is a plus, just add the "Foxfire" books, (several volumes) and read these boards and you're well on your way to post y2k.

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), December 22, 1998.


Shucks, I forgot to mention the book "Voice of the Planet," by Michael Tobias. It was also a TV dramatic series in 1990, but I missed it. After finishing it, at 1:00 AM, I spent the rest of the night, on the Net, checking out Tobias, Nepal, phytoplankton, DNA and precious water.

As Gaia said, "Can you feel the scope of disaster you've unleashed?" And this, "Your history is riddled with deception."

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), December 22, 1998.


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