Ishmael

An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit

By: Daniel Quinn

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most beloved and best-selling novels of spiritual adventure ever published, Ishmael has earned a passionate following. This special 25th 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.

Critic reviews

“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)

“[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 that Ishmael was given its huge prize.” (The Washington Post)

Thought provoking. Entertaining.

I've read this book a few times - I just love it. (I haven't listened to this version.) I identified with the main character's desire to find his purpose and place in things. I enjoyed the lessons his teacher presented and the way they were presented - with questions rather than a lecture. It made me reconsider several old stories that I'd believed without question because this book introduced me to a completely different way of looking at things.

life changing

I can't stop hearing this book, I learn something new every time I play it. it will change the way you see the world and built that ernest desire to save the world

great, just great!

I could picture the conversation between two people the whole time. It was truly an amazing story and such a great narration. Thank you so much!

Best of the Best

Fascinating content read beautifully by Anthony Heald. His nuanced reading greatly enhanced my enjoyment and understanding of this superb book.

My all time FAVORITE book!

Anthony did an EXCELLENT job of narrating this wonderful book! Very cleaovoice and pleasing. His inflections were PERFECT! Love his soft, kind voice. Thank you very much, Anthony!

Loved it

Love this book is short but it's worth every Ward it explains in a plein way how our system our societie is walking and how our societie is God destroy us how you recommend.

challenges your perspective

unsettling argument for the role of humans in this world, it blurs your vision and calls for action

One of my Favorite Books!

This is one of my all time favorite novels. Such a unique storyline but very interesting perspective.

Refreshing!!!

This should be part of school curriculum. Such a unique way of describing the current global climate with regards to our connection with nature and how we treat the planet, other living things, and ourselves. Very powerful!

Adam and Eve Story, Explained

A conversation with nature reveals an interpretation of the Adam and Eve story that genuinely makes sense even to atheists.

I wish every human on earth understood what this book's message is. Our civilization's origin stories and destiny are outlined in a beautifully thought-provoking way. It even talks about the very purpose of life and mankind's place in the world.

Having introduced it to friends, relatives, and even my teenage son, I've now listened to this this book all the way through for the fifth time, and it probably won't be the last. it's a short read, and really packs a punch.