I was still living in Paraguay as a Peace Corps volunteer, when I came across this book in the lending library. It was actually a book I had always wanted to read. The book was Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. I had an inkling of what it was about, saving the world. I remember it was one of the few books that I ever saw a commercial on TV for.

              It’s fiction, but not a novel in the traditional sense. It begins with a man reading an ad in the paper, “Teacher seeks student. Must have an ernest desire to save the world. Apply in person.” The man answers the ad and when he arrives he finds a huge gorilla. The Gorilla can speak to him telepathically. So begins the second most influential book I ever read. The gorilla’s name is Ishmael and he has an important lesson to teach. There is something wrong with the world, something very wrong. We can feel it. He divides the world into two groups of people, the Takers and the Leavers. The Takers represent civilizations, every civilized society in the world, Eastern or Western. The Leavers are the indigenous peoples of the world. The Takers settle an area and use up all the resources and then move on to another area. The Leavers limit their own populations, just as animal populations in nature. The thing that struck me most was the line about Taker attitude about populations, “…not just growth, unlimited growth!” This tendency of the Takers goes all the way back to the Tigris-Euphrates valley, the beginning of civilization. It is this unlimited growth that is killing the world. He also speaks of Mother Culture which constantly whispers to us how we should behave. Ishmael suggests not a revolution, but just walk away from civilization. He gives examples of peoples who eventually turned their backs on civilization, notably, the Mayans of Mesoamerica. Ishmael gives a lot of historical evidence to support his opinions. What the books doesn’t tell us is what we are supposed to do about it. Ishmael tells us “Your smart, you think of something.” This ending makes it a little disappointing for the reader, but the revelations in this book are earth-shattering. It’s a must read.

              In subsequent books, like My Ishmael and Beyond Civilization, Daniel Quinn tells us more about the story of Ishmael and he tries to address the question of what do we can do to save the world. He offers an interesting idea of what he calls new tribalism. This is a new kind of economic model for communal businesses and business networks. It’s an interesting idea. It seemed poised for a new revolution, but nothing seems to have come from it so far. I felt the author didn’t take responsibility for his own ideas. He came up with this great book and gave a lecture series on it, but just left it there for others to develop. There was a new tribalism website started, but it mostly turned into a blog for WTO protesters, which I thought really missed the point. More recently there is a new website called the Freak Revolution. They might be taking up the mantle.

              There was a movie made which was loosely based on the book called Instinct with Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr,. When I heard the movie was based on Ishmael, I ran right out and rented it. I was very disappointed. It had almost nothing to do with the book. Anthony Hopkins is a man who lived with gorillas and turned his back on society. The story focuses more on the reconciliation of Hopkin’s character and his daughter. There is only one scene, which is extremely short and rushed, where Hopkins shares some of Ishmael’s teachings. It didn’t do the book justice.

              The book is powerful and can change the way you think bout the world. I don’t know if it will bring about real change, but it’s like a nagging question in the back of my mind that won’t let me go. Please give it a chance. It’s a good read.

If you want to know the greatest book I ever read, check here:

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Greatest-Book-I-Ever-Read-not-the-bible