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Markmisfit5000's Reviews > Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit
Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit (Ishmael, #1)
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I'm not impressed with this book at all. As a novel, it fails to entertain. As a manifesto, it is too vague and shallow to enact any meaning. What frustrated me most was Quinn's lack of proof to substantiate his scientific rhetoric and his cut & paste techniques when addressing religion.
What Quinn fails to recognize is that humans need more than just food. "Man cannot live by bread alone." If we returned to "Leaver" status and were fulfilled with natural-growing sustenance, man would still be restless. If, as Ishmael purports, that feeding ourselves would only take 2-3 hours a day, and we'd have the rest of the day to do whatever, we would not be content to laze around all day. They would do something with their time. They would need something to give their lives meaning. That's a key component of humanity that Quinn's novel fails to address. Humans are different from other animals because in that they are existential and meta-cognitive beings. Humans need something to give their lives purpose. Quinn shows an obvious lack of knowledge in many of the fields of study he pulls from to fill this book, including creative writing. It seems to me that the author had a hard time getting his academic work published, and decided to write a "novel" with a talking ape. He sensationalized what was otherwise shoddy academic writing and was able to sell it.
While this book made me think, I cringe when I see others take his arguments about religion, food production, and population control seriously.
What Quinn fails to recognize is that humans need more than just food. "Man cannot live by bread alone." If we returned to "Leaver" status and were fulfilled with natural-growing sustenance, man would still be restless. If, as Ishmael purports, that feeding ourselves would only take 2-3 hours a day, and we'd have the rest of the day to do whatever, we would not be content to laze around all day. They would do something with their time. They would need something to give their lives meaning. That's a key component of humanity that Quinn's novel fails to address. Humans are different from other animals because in that they are existential and meta-cognitive beings. Humans need something to give their lives purpose. Quinn shows an obvious lack of knowledge in many of the fields of study he pulls from to fill this book, including creative writing. It seems to me that the author had a hard time getting his academic work published, and decided to write a "novel" with a talking ape. He sensationalized what was otherwise shoddy academic writing and was able to sell it.
While this book made me think, I cringe when I see others take his arguments about religion, food production, and population control seriously.
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Ishmael.
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Reading Progress
August 6, 2010
–
Started Reading
August 6, 2010
– Shelved
August 6, 2010
–
54.89%
"I don't know what to think of this book. I'm annoyed with Quinn's choice of telepathic ape. It reminds me of Gorilla Grod (The Flash's nemesis) but the use of gorilla begs one to ask, why is the narrator not asking more questions about how telepathy works? I'm also skeptical about Ishmael's opinion on starving 3rd world countries, and that tribal living is superior to "modern" western culture."
page
146
August 8, 2010
–
Finished Reading
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Baylee
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rated it 1 star
Sep 01, 2011 08:17AM
I fully agree with your review. This book was given to me by a friend who told me it "changed his life" and was possibly the most brilliant book ever written. I couldn't even finish it. This book bored me to tears.
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He answered that in the book. You say people would not laze around all day but I see plenty of people sitting at home watching tv, playing video games, and using their computers hours at a time. You say people need their lives to have purpose but is that not one of the biggest questions we as humans have asked ourselves. So what is really going to change?
Not doing anything all day isn't the same as TV or video games. Those things make people less bored, and if you did them all day you still would want to do other things like interact with others, and there was also a time where technology didn't exist.
