Daniel Quinn Master Historian and Author

Daily writing prompt

What book could you read over and over again?

I could read a lot of books over and over again, but master historian and author Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael comes to mind first. Ishmael is the story of a mysterious employer seeking a pupil to listen to their story. The story, written by a masterful historian, discusses how and why we have gotten to the current state of affairs with the natural world.

Ishmael Opens a College Graduates Eyes

This book opened my eyes to why we feel isolated a lot of the time, in some respects lost, but do not know why. The culprit, according to Quinn, the oft forgotten Agricultural Revolution, which has in his view promoted the idea of private property, capitalism in general, classism, racism, war and all the rest of the current blights of civilization. Essentially, Quinn argues that humanity is out of balance with the natural world and is much like “Wylie Coyote” flapping his arms after jumping off a cliff with no effect in avoiding his ultimate fate. In Quinn’s view humans have essentially devolved over time as indigenous tribes managed to live in harmony with environment for millennia. Even as a newly graduated history major, I found the ideas in this book revolutionary.

Daniel Quinn – Ismael – (Paid Links) – Book 1

Why Stop at one Great Book? Enter The Story of B…

I highly recommend this book, as well as any other Daniel Quinn books. Many schools have this book taught in classes because despite the difficulty of the topic, it is explained in a way that children can understand. The Life of B, the second book in the series book, goes into greater depth on this topics and is somewhat more adult oriented, but not overly so. It also explores the concept of animism as a religion and the link between superstition and religion.

ISHMAEL was a life-changing book. It began by winning the Turner Tomorrow Award, the largest prize ever given to a single literary work. It would come to be read in some 25 languages and used in classrooms from mid-school to graduate school in courses as varied as history philosophy, geography, archaeology, religion, biology, zoology, ecology, anthropology, political science, economics, and sociology.
Daniel Quinn

The Story of B – Daniel Quinn (Book 2)

But there were even more urgently important questions to be answered, particularly this one: “With ISHMAEL you’ve undermined the religious beliefs of a lifetime. What am I supposed to replace them with?” I replied to this with THE STORY OF B (1996).
Daniel Quinn

Mind Blown – Part III

The Third book in the series, My Ishmael, gives us insight into what really happened to Ishmael in the first book. It was thought, he had died, but in fact had moved on to teaching others in a bid to reverse the trend of environmental devastation by the “Takers”.

My Ishmael – Book 3 – Daniel Quinn

The questions (and books) kept coming: Why did Ishmael have to die? This gave rise to MY ISHMAEL: A SEQUEL (1997), in which it’s revealed that Ishmael was not only far from being dead but far from being finished with his work as a teacher. The question “Where do we go from here?” was the inspiration for BEYOND CIVILIZATION: HUMANITY’S NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE (1999), a very different kind of book.
Daniel Quinn

Conclusion

I highly recommend all these books. Thanks for considering using the Amazon links, any proceeds go to supporting this blog. The knowledge contained in the pages of these texts far surpasses their value in money in my view. Have a fantastic day/night wherever you are! Check out some of my latest posts on Bunchiesblog if you have a moment!

Discussion Questions

Have humans devolved in the way they relate to the environment? How can this be changed?
How are we all “victims” of what has come before us in some senses? Why might we be blind to the causes of our societal issues?

**Your comments and questions are most welcome!