Reviews (782)

Definitively Polarizing
For those of us who have been in the rat race of modern culture long enough that we have stopped thinking, this book is a reawakening.
if a gorilla can see it then why cant we?
i read this book last year during my archaeology class and never go to write a review of the book. this book is a series of conversation and lessons that take place between a gorilla and a man who has an "earnest desire to save the world". the concept of the book is intriguing because all of the lessons that this man must learn are coming from the mind and the mouth of a gorilla. it's interesting to think that we as human do not see the destruction that we are causing in our environment and what we need to be shown needs to be seen through the eyes of those who are actually affected by the destruction of their natural habitat and environment. while humans for the most part are like cockroaches and can survive through just about everything anyone or anything can throw at us, it is nature and all life in nature that can not survive. it takes an outsider to show us the path that we as human have taken, which will ultimately lead to the demise of the entire earth. the leavers and the takers are the basis for much of the gorillas references when discussing how we human came to be. this book is a magnificent and easy prose about the life we have all lived and the inevitable suffering that will come from the continued actions that we take against our earth. yes, interpretation is in the eye of the beholder and what you take from the book, or what you do not take, is totally up to you. what daniel quinn expresses through his characters is truth and if we cant understand from the spoken words of others like you and me, we need to look at the unspoken words of nature and all that reside there before it is too late.. this book has the potential to change your life and to open your eyes to a new kind of understanding and hopefully with this understanding you all can see the truth and do something about it and change the path that we all have chosen before it is too late.

Keep the book in contest: food for thought
I won't argue with detractors. Literarily, Ishmael is laughable. The narrator is an undoubtable caricature, and Quinn is some impressed with his anthro-philosophical platform that he's failed to present a well-formed narrative. In a way, the book reads likea draft. It is too impressed with its premise, and is too eagerly shouting its message to really be taken seriously as a work of fiction.
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Subjects:  1. Fantasy    2. Fantasy - General    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Literary    6. Psychological    7. Fiction / General    8. Modern fiction   

Reviews (83)

Daniel Quinn has embarked on something extraordinary for all of us.
Brilliant!I read this book while on vacation, and only had a few days, but that is all I needed.I was riveted, feeling like I was learning things about our culture that no one ever tells you when you're growing up - even though it's all staring you in the face.This book is a mind expander, and gives you some basics for understanding our roots, from 2000 years ago.Daniel Quinn has embarked on something extraordinary for all of us.Going back to work has a whole different meaning now.

AP Environmental Science
THis book was a quick read and as interesting because it gave different viewpoints on how we as a society of "takers" live and are ruining the world. it is the sequel to the book Ishmael where we find out the conclusion of that book is false. tihs book was educational in that we learned different aspects and strategies of tribal culture and we were able to learn how we as a society would be more successful in living together instead of destroying the world. good, easy read!

My Ishmael
This book is good although some parts were repetitive. We recommend this book because it is a good story and easy to read and provides valuable information about the environment. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Literary    5. Fiction / General    6. Modern fiction   

Reviews (134)

The Story of B is not "an adventure of the mind and spirit."
This is book was a waste of time for me. While reading it, I stuck with it because I was hoping that it would have an ending that would make it worth it, but that doesn't ever happen. The ultimate flaw with the book is that it pretends as if its offering some kind of revolutionary ideology and it doesn't. It also suffers in that it makes allegations and criticisms, without backing them up, or offering solutions. The book comes off as some sort of weird propaganda, which makes it really hokey. Do yourself a favor and read something else.

Offers important new perspective, but doesn't trust the readers
As with his first novel Ishmael, Daniel Quinn's "Story of B" presents an intriguing (and powerfully important) "gestalt shift" that aims to challenge the received patterns of reasonable thinking.More, he develops a fairly plausible case for thinking that the new perspective he offers can make sense of the fact human history appears to have begun about 10,000 years ago when biologically human beings appear to have been around for more than 100,000 years.The basic argument is intended to complement the one presented in Ishmael: the dominant cultures out of which "civilization" developed achieved their worldwide preeminence by adopting a way of life built on "totalitarian agriculture."This means, basically, that they did not accommodate their lives to the land but adapted the land to their lifestyles; the distinction between "Leavers" and "Takers" is the difference between cultures whose lifestyle is adapted to the sustainable use of their local regions and cultures who constantly outgrow the capacity of their regions and need to become omnivorous and expansive.In "The Story of B" Quinn develops the philosophical and religious implications of this distinction.Leavers are animists, who see the gods all around them, in the places they inhabit, and are satisfied with adapting themselves to what the gods provide.Takers are "salvationists" (e.g. Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews) who see the world as a site of struggle (against noxious weeds, poverty, war for domination of land and resources) and need a God or something else to save them from the problems they in fact create for themselves by their lifestyles.
The Tao of Quinn
I'm glad there are books like this around, and it was very well pieced together, but the content is nothing new. I just hope that everyone who thinks that Mr. Quinn's ideas are so revolutionary, realizes that it's merely rehashed Taoism. Not that there's anything wrong with that; as long as it gets people to think from a different perspective. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Religious - General    5. Fiction / General    6. Modern fiction   

Subjects:  1. Children's All Ages - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Fiction    5. Gophers    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Social Issues - General    8. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / General   

Reviews (11)

Disappointing
It's a very short read. As much as I liked Ishmael and The Story of B, this didn't impress me as much. I got the feeling that Quinn is now publishing books just to make money. That's kind of disappointing to me and if you are familiar with Quinn's work perhaps you would understand. I think it's the kind of book that you could read over and over and sometime get a "Ah-Ha" thought.

Small Packages
I consider Daniel Quinn one of the most important writers of our time, and I was abundantly pleased with Tales of Adam.
maybe this deserves 5 stars
I'm having qualms about giving this book only four stars. It is wonderful. And of course it is--it's Daniel Quinn!
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Subjects:  1. American Historical Fiction    2. Effect of human beings on    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - Historical    5. Historical - General    6. Hunting and gathering societies    7. Nature    8. Prehistoric peoples    9. Religious - General    10. Fiction / Literary   

Editorial Review

Futurist Daniel Quinn (Read more

Reviews (140)

Confusion Abounds
I thought I finally had Daniel Quinn all figured out after reading the Ishmael trilogy, but after reading this, I have way more questions than answers. For starters, he has talked through his books about our culture being one of totalitarian agricuture and this being the downfall of our culture, that we force everyone to live this way and now there is no diversity left and our "civilization" will self destruct soon without a change. His change is an escape from civilization (going beyond civilization) by taking up tribal living again, albeit tribal living in a new way (basically by starting businesses that work on a tribal level with everyone contributing and playing just as equal part so that everyone feels valuable). The big problem is that he never says how this is going beyond our culture. Sure, he started a tribal business in New Mexico with his wife and two other people, but they still had to live in this culture, be supported by this culture, and rely on this culture to survive. He cannot think of any examples as a way of living outside of this culture, for all the times he advocates us doing it. I see what he means by the circus example and his small newspaper, but these are still dependent upon the larger culture to exist, couldnt exist without the support of the one culture that they are trying to escape. How do we escape this culture? He wants us to jump over the prison walls and forage out on our own, but doesn't address what seemed to be the big issue of our totalitarian agriculturalist society. I thought this was the problem, so it is hard for me to see how the two can connect: how to live in a new tribal way that also exists outside the culture of totalitarian agriculture? Is there an answer that I am missing? Or does Daniel Quinn simply not know (which I think he tries to make a point of in this book, that he probably doesn't know and that's ok to not know). Mostly this book rehashes everything from the trilogy but throws in some new stuff about tribes, very little, however, and it is clear I guess that he really doesn't have any answers here.

Beyond Civilization
Daniel Quinn has laid out the only reasonable solution to the seemingly impossible problem of an industrial/military domination of the planet. Using our inability to serve ourselves as the trap in which we seem to find ourselves, our servants are herding increasing portions of dependant mankind into the corral of mother culture. Becoming independent of the debilitating conveniences too readily provided, as individuals and as tribes, we can finally abandon a bad idea at its roots as exemplified by other civilizations whose machinery sits idle beneath jungle root and desert sand while their populations persist in more local organizations.

Quinn's best yet
In my opinion, this book represents Quinn's best book. At the same time, it wouldn't work unless I had read his other books. Here Quinn more clearly states his ideas for a better world, one where hierarchy no longer exists. It offers suggestions for how this can come about. The alternative is to remain "pyriamid builders". I would recommend this book to anyone, but I would suggest reading Ishmael first so one understands some of the concepts Quinn is using here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. Future Studies    3. Politics/International Relations    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. Sociology - General    7. Social Science / Sociology / General    8. Sociology, Social Studies    9. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (23)

Answers a few more questions, gives a few more insights
Quinn details his spiritual journey towards his current beliefs and takes us along with him. An interesting tale about the personal journey of the author of the revolutionary book Ishmael.

Take It or Leave It?
X-cellent read if your tired of what life has to offer Daniel Quinn helps you think about what's wrong with what you're trying to take

A BRIEF MEMOIR
What are the forces that shaped and molded the man Daniel Quinn to write such works as Ishmael and other moving texts of how life is to be lived? Quinn partially addresses that question in this brief tome of reflection. Quinn takes us on a backward look at the man that he was and the man that he became through two major incidents of his life; a dream as a six year old and a flirtation with the monastic life in a Trappist monastery.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Literary    3. New Age    4. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    5. Modern fiction   

Reviews (25)

What a mental release
This is a book that really takes your mind and reprograms it in a more pleasant way.Just when you feel your starting to "get things" and the answers are of grim feelings a book like this comes along and raises your sprints and gives hope.It makes me wonder were we always this dissatisfied with life or do we loose happiness the further we get from our real life source "nature".A very interesting ride in the mind of a true imaginative genius.
Write your phone number in the front and pass it around.
Daniel Quinn has done it again. This time his ideas and philosophies are conveyed in an illustrated format. My only complaint, and this is an extremely tiny complaint, is that I am not a huge fan of the illustrations. Do not get me wrong, they illustrations are nice and do a wonderful job of telling the story, I just think they could be more serious. No matter, please do not let that comment sway you in any way.
The Man Who _Never_ Grew Young...
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. Graphic Novels    6. Graphic Novels - General   

Reviews (20)

Great Book
I LOVED this book.The introduction is the best part.It makes the rest of the book so much more fascinating.

This must be a spoof
If any of this book is true, you will do everything to prolong your life. What this book describes can only be one person's version of Hell.

Read book description above.It's the best of the book
Reading the back cover of the book, text that is given in the editorial reviews section above, you are reading the most clever, the funniest part of the book.The next best is the Introduction - coincidences, human interaction, human fraility.No need to read beyond that.The book is clever, making marvelous connections to real historical people.Unfortunately, the cleverness is useless when the clever premise and/or connection degrades into drivel ... often close but never successful, funny or perceptive.There's too much good and excellent literature to waste your time on this.Even if you wish to mindlessly kill time, you can easily find better mindless reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Future life    4. General    5. Humor    6. Near-death experiences    7. Occult    8. Religious aspects    9. Fiction / Occult    10. Mind, body, spirit: reincarnation & past lives   

Reviews (5)

A 'must' for any who plan on seeing the country and who want to know more of its wildlife and habitats
Most books on Costa Rica focus on travel tips, but MONKEYS ARE MADE OF CHOCOLATE: EXOTIC AND UNSEEN COSTA RICA takes a different turn, examine how animals, plants and people interact in that country and providing over thirty essays which come from a conversion of a cattle ranch into a popular eco-tourism destination. Stories and essays provide literally decades of observation of the Costa Rican natural environment and its management. A 'must' for any who plan on seeing the country and who want to know more of its wildlife and habitats.
Costa Rica Wildlife
This book gives an excellent overall review of the Pacific rainforest and it's inhabitants in Pacific Costa Rica while encouraging the reader to contemplate preservation of the fragile ecosystems.Very readable. I recommend it to interested travellers to the region.

Read This, You'll Never Know How Much It Would Have Changed You If You Don't
All I can say is: read it, you'll love it! (as well as learn more than you probably learn in a year of science class, change the way you think about the world, have a better understanding of what nature really is, be highly entertained, want to gather everyone you know and read them entire chapters [or the whole book!] be recomending this book like crazy...you get the idea) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Central America    2. Ecology    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel / Central America    5. Costa Rica    6. Description and travel    7. Natural history    8. Nature conservation    9. Rain forest ecology    10. Travel   

Reviews (44)

A Daring Novel
This is perhaps Quinn's most daring book to date.Ishmael, The Story of B, and My Ishmael highlighted problems with the way we treat the Earth, how salvationist religions encourage us to use up the planet, and how poor our educational system really is.The Holy goes back to the subject of religion, introducting old gods who are still as important to the Earth and our society as they ever were to the ancients.
My First Daniel Quinn Disappointment
I am sad to say that I was disappointed with this novel. I have been an avid fan of Quinn's since I read Ishmael. That is truly a book that deserves its reputation as a mind-blowing, perspective-changing experience. Likewise, the Story of B, and My Ishmael were worthy sequels, taking the line of thought he'd begun in Ishmael even further. After Dachau was a fantastic, powerful novel, and that was what I was expecting from The Holy.
Cut out the middle
The first 70 and last 20 pages are worth reading. Skip the rest. The book is less about "old gods" and more about a private investigator and a boy trying to find his dad. When the final 20 pages DO arrive, it's unsurprisingly alike the themes in Ishmael. Quinn is apparently a one-trick pony. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Science Fiction And Fantasy    2. Fate and fatalism    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Horror - General    6. Literary    7. Middle aged men    8. Middle-aged men    9. Midlife crisis    10. Psychological    11. Temptation    12. Thrillers    13. Visionary & Metaphysical   

Subjects:  1. Social Science    2. Sociology    3. Sociology (General)    4. Sociology - General    5. Social Science / Sociology / General   

Reviews (1)

Great Fiction!
I picked up this hard to find book after reading Daniel Quinn's cultural critiques ISHMAEL, THE STORY OF B, MY ISHMAEL, and BEYOND CIVILIZATION.He wrote DREAMER in 1984 before any of the aforementioned books.DREAMER was a book he wrote not to do anything like he did in his future books, but simply as a fiction-thriller.It's truly an excellent read.You follow a free-lance writer through the streets of Chicago and wonder whether he's dreaming or awake.This book really plays with the idea that you can sleep in a dream and even have dreams in a dream.What is reality and what is dream (or nightmare?!)?This book is a thriller because you simply don't know.It's a real page turner and shows that Daniel Quinn could have been a horror writer on the level of Stephen King and Peter Straub.I of course, am glad he didn't-- because his 1992 novel ISHMAEL changed my life forever. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction - Horror    2. Horror - General   

Subjects:  1. Animals, Mythical    2. Juvenile literature    3. Monsters   

Subjects:  1. Greece    2. Orthodox Eastern Church