Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit (Paperback)

Would you answer the newspaper advert seeking a pupil who desires to save the world? Note the singular - not "pupils" or "students." Just one. Are you the one? As you read this stunning fantasy it's impossible not to place yourself in the teller's mind as he confronts a massive lowland gorilla. Ishmael is the teacher seeking a student because he has a question: "With man gone, will there be hope for the gorilla?" Keep this question in mind. As you follow Ishmael's "course" you will gain fresh insight into what he considers the fundamental question: "how did things come to be this way?" Ishmael is no pedantic scholar or medieval disputant. He coaxes, teases, almost seduces response, but your answers must be carefully thought through before offering them. He's asking that you search the roots of your own cultural heritage to form your reply. Before long the perceptive reader will pause before simply accepting the author’s responses. Quinn’s aim, after all, is elicit reaction from you – his fictional “student” is only a mechanism to that end.

In his dialogue with his pupil [you!], Ishmael repeats the question of "how things came to be this way." As you ponder his question, think about the figures dominating our heritage. Ishmael names Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad and others as "Prophets" - the key figures in Taker history. What have they taught us about the world we inhabit? Who are the Leavers' prophets and what are their teachings? Ishmael's response will surprise many.

Quinn's building dialogue throughout this book is skillfully presented. His innovative style is straightforward, unpretentious and nearly flawless. It would be easy to criticise his prose as "too simple," but the urgency of his message and the novel form of its presentation is purposely designed to attract the widest possible audience. The story may not be complex or convoluted, but Quinn has given us a gem. Remember, diamonds are composed of but one element - anything added is impurity.

Ishmael's "course" pre-requisite is "an earnest desire to save the world." No-one can question the enormity of that task, least of all Ishmael himself. He doesn't expect an environmental messiah to answer the question of whether there's "hope for the gorilla"? There's a need for more "pupils" to answer that question. So if your local newspaper doesn't have an advert stating "Teacher seeks pupil," please inquire at the email address listed at the top of this review. The first one hundred responses will be answered. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

It would be too hard to outline Quinn's theory about why our society (and only our society) works so badly, but if you have ever thought that there must be something better than living a life working hard to gain things which are free, such as food, then this book is for you. If you have ever felt hollow or unfufilled by your life and the way you live it, then this book has one important message for you - it is not your fault. I hope my enthusiasm for this book will encourage you to read it, because I can honestly say it has changed my life. Everywhere I look I see elements of Taker culture and I want to scream at the top of my lungs and show everybody what is wrong. I want to open their eyes. I'm sure you don't understand what I'm talking about unless you've read the book, but if you buy it then you will.

The revelations I had whilst I was reading this book, "The Story of B" and "My Ishmael" were so amazing I felt sick, elated, depressed but mostly a sense of enormous relief. It is not every single human in our culture that is wrong, there is nothing wrong with us. It is our society...our society that imposes laws that it knows will be broken and then is suprised when they are, our society that thinks humans are God's over other animals, out society that has abandoned the way Tribal societies lived and survived with for hundreds and hundreds of years, our society...Please, I urge you to buy this book, there is nothing more I can say. Buy this book.