2008 Woodie Awards
A new way of looking at life, as told by Ishmael
David Hampton
Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Throughout history, people have lived to fulfill the stories they were taught by their culture, and we, as a culture, are no exception. This is one of the many points expounded on in the novel "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn.
Quinn offers an in-depth analysis of "how things came to be this way" via discussions portrayed in lucid and concise prose. These discussions, between the unnamed narrator and Ishmael, the teacher, trace the history of our planet, our civilization and our culture from prehistory to the present, leading the reader to a subtle understanding of our current place in history, and of the urgent need for change.
"There's nothing fundamentally wrong with people," Ishmael tells us. "Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world... And given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered, they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now."
Ishmael, in his teachings, divides human cultures into two basic categories: Takers and Leavers. We (and almost everyone else on the planet) are Takers, meaning that we unconsciously adhere to the belief that the planet was made solely for humans. The Leavers, on the other hand, are those few small societies, now geographically isolated in far-flung corners of the world, which do not act in accordance to the Taker worldview.
Through the teachings of Ishmael, Quinn succinctly lays bare such examinations of human history and culture, leading the reader on a personal journey to discover their own place in the world and the ways in which their own culture has secretly shaped their view of the world and the role of the human species in it.
"Ishmael" is a novel that has the ability to change how the reader sees the world. I strongly recommend it, and the majority of those I've shared it with have found it very interesting and couldn't wait to talk about it after they finished reading.
In 1991, "Ishmael" won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, an award created by Ted Turner, for "offering creative solutions to global problems." It is also credited as inspiring the film "Instinct" (1999), starring Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. Renowned rock band Pearl Jam said that "Ishmael" could serve as the liner notes for their 1998 album, "Yield."
Find out more about "Ishmael" and Daniel Quinn at www.readishmael.com.
Quinn offers an in-depth analysis of "how things came to be this way" via discussions portrayed in lucid and concise prose. These discussions, between the unnamed narrator and Ishmael, the teacher, trace the history of our planet, our civilization and our culture from prehistory to the present, leading the reader to a subtle understanding of our current place in history, and of the urgent need for change.
"There's nothing fundamentally wrong with people," Ishmael tells us. "Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world... And given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered, they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now."
Ishmael, in his teachings, divides human cultures into two basic categories: Takers and Leavers. We (and almost everyone else on the planet) are Takers, meaning that we unconsciously adhere to the belief that the planet was made solely for humans. The Leavers, on the other hand, are those few small societies, now geographically isolated in far-flung corners of the world, which do not act in accordance to the Taker worldview.
Through the teachings of Ishmael, Quinn succinctly lays bare such examinations of human history and culture, leading the reader on a personal journey to discover their own place in the world and the ways in which their own culture has secretly shaped their view of the world and the role of the human species in it.
"Ishmael" is a novel that has the ability to change how the reader sees the world. I strongly recommend it, and the majority of those I've shared it with have found it very interesting and couldn't wait to talk about it after they finished reading.
In 1991, "Ishmael" won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, an award created by Ted Turner, for "offering creative solutions to global problems." It is also credited as inspiring the film "Instinct" (1999), starring Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. Renowned rock band Pearl Jam said that "Ishmael" could serve as the liner notes for their 1998 album, "Yield."
Find out more about "Ishmael" and Daniel Quinn at www.readishmael.com.
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