My Ishmael

My Ishmael is another thought-provoking look at our destructive lives. The difference between "My Ishmael" and the other books in the series, though, is that Quinn offers insightful solutions. The use of a 12 year old girl offers a completely different take on the situation than Quinn has ever gone down. It was a good path to take, though. It is more important for the youth of the world to read Quinn's books than it is for adults. In my experience, adults who have read Quinn's books do not like them; they either don't see a problem, or they take his criticism personally. All of the young people I have spoken to have liked the book, though, because it is a real and present danger for us. Quinn's use of the curious young girl as the main character brings the book down to a younger level. It is still excellent to read as an adult, but compared to the other books in the series, it really reaches out and makes sense to young people. Instead of the stuffy lecturing of "The Story of B" or the contemplative learning style of "Ishmael" this book is fresh and upbeat. I recommend it to everyone I speak to, and I think it should be required reading for high schoolers everywhere.

Daniel Quinn has finally found the proper target with his "concurrent sequel" to his rightfully popular "Ishmael." Ishmael, a mountain gorilla, enters into telepathic dialogues with his students. In this book, Ishmael's student is a twelve year old girl. The adult mindsets and idealism Ishmael dealt with in the previous book are replaced by a cynical, street-wise young adult. Julie, who is as close to an orphan as you can get and still have a resident parent, is inspired by the newspaper advert: "Teacher seeking pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world." Although she hasn't a clue how to accomplish that desire, she feels compelled to give it a go.If you've read "Ishmael," don't assume this book is redundant. Ishmael himself is reluctant to teach one so young. After all, what could a 12-year-old accomplish? Any reader of this volume might entertain the same doubts, but Quinn's adept talent has Ishmael query Julie on what she believes and why. He's patient [unlike most adults with children] and his "teaching" is, in reality a means to make Julie examine her beliefs. Ishmael is able couch his questions in terms Julie can understand. Step by step, Ishmael prods Julie into greater awareness of that world she desires to save. In the beginning, of course, she doesn't even know what's wrong with the world. Her vague disquiet is given focus as Ishmael's questions prod her thinking.Julie becomes aware that the basic tactic of civilization is to "lock up the food." From this situation everything else that circumscribes our lives follows. Working for wages, a hierarchical society, religion and other trappings of "culture" that bind our existence. Ishmael shows what an innovation in human experience this tactic is, and how recently imposed. Locking up the food and creating a structured society, according to Ishmael, has led to an immensely powerful Mother Culture. Mother Culture lays down and enforces the rules of society. She's created a prison, which will require re-thinking about culture in order for us, the prisoners, to escape. Not all societies, however, subscribe to these rules. Mother Culture has created the Taker society, while those remaining outside her domain, Ishmael dubs the Leavers. The division is nearly absolute, with the Takers striving to take all, while the Leavers have survived by leaving what they don't need. Quinn assures us that the separation is neither inevitable nor absolute. But changes in outlook are necessary if the Takers are not to destroy the planet. Quinn's excellent style keeps a "message" book from becoming a "preaching" book. That's no small accomplishment, given the immensity of the task. He reassures us that he understands the Taker society will not revert to a pure Leaver culture. In order to survive, however, it will be necessary for the Takers to "talk to their neighbours." Not just the folks next door, but all the rest of life. This is not a reversion to a simpler life, but a

This is the "official" sequel to Ishmael. Basically, it is Ishmael revisited by a twelve-year-old girl. Although the first fifty pages of the book will bore you to tears if you have read the first novel, it deals with different issues and is definitely worth reading. Two main problems are covered in this volume. First, Quinn asks a very pertinent question: Why do we have to work hard eight hours a day, five days a week? Has it always been that way? The answer is a sounding "NO!" Many people are not satisfied with their life because of a job they don't really like. Just ask people you know if they would stop working if they won one million dollars. I'm sure most of them will say "yes, of course, my job is not fulfilling, I'd rather do something else!" But, still,they go to work every day just because they don't have the choice: no job means no money, which means no food. However, Quinn points out that it was not like that before food was put "under lock and key." That is, in ancestral cultures, you just had to go grab the food you needed where you knew you could find it. At one point in our culture, however, we produced so much food with agriculture that we needed to store it, thus leading to a new class of people: those who did not work in the field anymore as they had to manage the way food was stored. These people found that life was easier that way, and they soon realized that as long as they were in control of the food distribution, they could take it easy by letting the others work hard. And to protect this new "gold mine" they hired guards, who thus also had the priviledge not to work hard as long as they kept the food away from those who worked for it. And this is what led us to the way things are now: a large class of working people who spend many hours a day in an environment they despise, and a small class of priviledge people who have a much eaiser and enjoyable life. The second point of the book is the one of education. Have you ever wondered why you spent so many years of you life in school? Do you ever use just a tenth of what you've learned? Did not it bore you to death to go over the same things, over and over again? What our cultural myths tell us is that this is necessary in a competitive society like ours to learn about many things, and that repeating the materials is necessary for students to master everything, as they don't seem to get it the first go around. Quinn first explains why our education really takes that long, and then claims that if students cannot learn the materials properly it is because it is not meaningful to them. In ancestral cultures there is no formal education, but it is fair to say that tribal children know much more about life than "civilized" ones. Indeed, the education of the former kids is made in context, just by observing what adults do. However, in our cultures we are totally separated from the real world and thus we do not make the necessary con

I wasn't going to type a review of this book, but something needs to be said. This is a sequel to Ishmael, not only because it was written after, but because it builds from ideas in the previous novel. My Ishmael begins with a basic review of principles the book is based on. It then proceeds into new territory with a new character who is more responsive to Ismael and reacts in a different way than previous characters. This is the book that assured me that Quinn wasn't suggesting a return to a 'primitive' lifestyle. But again, the focus of any Daniel Quinn book is to provoke you do develop new ideas of your own. It is not a 'how to' book, nor is it plot centered. Read this book with an open mind, and you might be suprised what it leaves you with.

A terrific companion book to "Ishmael." My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough, but I think that's probably the point: Daniel Quinn doesn't claim to have all the answers, and he expects each of us to do our part in furthering these ideas. Ishamel was the first Quinn book I read, and it rocked my world. I don't go a single day without thinking of Ishmael in some way, large or small. I believe that every educator in the "civilized" world should be required to read My Ishamel; if they don't get it the first time, then they should read it a second or third until they do understand. For a related but different slant on the ideas of Quinn's books, check out Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan. She takes us on a walkabout with the "real people," an aboriginal tribe in Australia. Five stars for that one too.