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Ishmael

An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit

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Ishmael

By: Daniel Quinn
Narrated by: Anthony Heald
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Summary

 One of the most beloved and bestselling novels of spiritual adventure ever published, Ishmael has earned a passionate following. This special twenty-fifth anniversary edition features a new foreword and afterword by the author.
 
“A thoughtful, fearlessly low-key novel about the role of our species on the planet . . . laid out for us with an originality and a clarity that few would deny.”—The New York Times Book Review

Teacher Seeks Pupil.
Must have an earnest desire to save the world.
Apply in person.

It was just a three-line ad in the personals section, but it launched the adventure of a lifetime.

So begins an utterly unique and captivating novel. It is the story of a man who embarks on a highly provocative intellectual adventure with a gorilla—a journey of the mind and spirit that changes forever the way he sees the world and humankind’s place in it.
 
In Ishmael, which received the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship for the best work of fiction offering positive solutions to global problems, Daniel Quinn parses humanity’s origins and its relationship with nature, in search of an answer to this challenging question: How can we save the world from ourselves?
 
Explore Daniel Quinn’s spiritual Ishmael trilogy:
ISHMAEL • MY ISHMAEL • THE STORY OF B

Praise for Ishmael

“As suspenseful, inventive, and socially urgent as any fiction or nonfiction you are likely to read this or any other year.”—The Austin Chronicle

“Before we’re halfway through this slim book . . . we’re in [Daniel Quinn’s] grip, we want Ishmael to teach us how to save the planet from ourselves. We want to change our lives.”—The Washington Post

“Arthur Koestler, in an essay in which he wondered whether mankind would go the way of the dinosaur, formulated what he called the Dinosaur’s Prayer: ‘Lord, a little more time!’ Ishmael does its bit to answer that prayer and may just possibly have bought us all a little more time.”—Los Angeles Times©1992 Daniel Quinn; (P)1995 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc. Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Psychological Magic Adventure Nonfiction Solar System
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Critic reviews

“A thoughtful, fearlessly low-key novel about the role of our species on the planet . . . laid out for us with an originality and a clarity that few would deny.”—The New York Times Book Review

“[Quinn entraps] us in the dialogue itself, in the sweet and terrible lucidity of Ishmael’s analysis of the human condition. . . . It was surely for this deep, clear persuasiveness of argument thatIshmael was given its huge prize.”—The Washington Post

“It is as suspenseful, inventive, and socially urgent as any fiction or nonfiction book you are likely to read this or any other year.”—The Austin Chronicle

“Deserves high marks as a serious—and all too rare—effort that is unflinchingly engaged with fundamental life-and-death concerns.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
All stars
Most relevant
It recalibrates your mind and perfectly simplifies complex concepts to where you can fully grasp them. I read this book once a year.

exceptional

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The book ended too soon. I wanted to hear more of Ishmael's wise words. I cannot recommend this book enough as it truly is food for thought.

Lifechanging

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A very interesting book with fascinating concepts that got me thinking. I've listened to it twice now and expect to listen to it again. A good book to brood over.

Mind Opener

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Nicely read. Wonderful story. I'd read My Ishmael in my teenage years and was later shocked to discover it was the 2nd or 3rd in a series. Glad to have been able to listen to this one. Unfortunately My Ishmael is not available on Audible and that makes me pretty sad.

Wonderful

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A revealing look at the most important topic of our generation. I was blown away with the perspective shown here. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in sustainable business, ecology and life after the flood

Truly fantastic

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