Product Description

A sequel to "Ishmael". Ishmael takes on a new, younger pupil, and teaches her alongside his previous pupil. But he can't follow the same strategy with either student, or expect the same outcome. When his life starts to fall apart, he must choose one of his students to entrust with a great secret.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #707741 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 274 pages

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking and mind changing
Having first read Ishmael and now this book, I have just started on my third Daniel Quinn book "the Story of B". I have always thought along similar lines as the philosophy set out in these books, but now find that they are shaking my foundations: I am a teacher and have started to question the whole educational system as a result of reading this book. Where do I go from here? As Ishmael says: You may reach one or a million people with the message. And that's what I'll try.

Incredibly disappointing
I am a great fan of Ishmael and as such was shocked by the lack of content in "My Ishmael". The book is disjointed and suggests an emotionally disturbed writer. The thought provocking portion of the book could have been written in five pages. The main character challenges believability more than a talking gorilla. This 12 year old girl puts James Bond to shame. The purpose seems to be creating excitment rather than communicating thought provocing questions as in "Ishmael". The two books are so different that I question whether Daniel Quinn actually wrote this book.

The one redeeming point is his perspective on our educational system.

To summarize: The book was so lacking in content that I would never have finished it had I not read Ishmael first. To the very end I hoped that there was some purpose in the direction that the story was taking -- but I found none. I felt deceived and cheated.

In depth knowledge of anthropology necessary.
The ideas Daniel Quinn restates in My Ishmael once again color the way all of "civilization" and it's antics can be viewed. We are not the superior race we dream we are. The craving to slow down is an ancient drive to return to living within the "leaver" laws. But it is hard to substaniate Quinn's comments on ancient societies unless you have studied them extensively (there is a lot of speculation but little "fact" available.) Quinn's ideas are unique, profound and well stated in Ishmael's sequel but they could use some fleshing out. His characters are cute but give no real challenge to his philosophies. I liked the book because I like Quinn's philosophy, not because it is a literary masterpiece.