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The Teachings That Came Before and After Ishmael
My novel Ishmael was a slow starter. In its early years it had only a few thousand readers. But those thousands told tens of thousands, the tens of thousands told hundreds of thousands, and the hundreds of thousands told millions.
Ishmael was just the first course, however. The rest of the meal was still to come -- in Providence, The Story of B, My Ishmael, and Beyond Civilization. But, though I didn't stop with Ishmael, most of my readers did. Very few of them went on to sample any of the later courses.
That's why I decided to put this book together. It's a collection of appetizers, generous samples of all the books that followed Ishmael -- and of the books that came BEFORE Ishmael. Reading here, you'll see that in earlier writings -- Tales of Adam and The Book of the Damned -- I accomplished some things that I never managed to surpass in any of the later books (including Ishmael).
Ishmael was just the first course, however. The rest of the meal was still to come -- in Providence, The Story of B, My Ishmael, and Beyond Civilization. But, though I didn't stop with Ishmael, most of my readers did. Very few of them went on to sample any of the later courses.
That's why I decided to put this book together. It's a collection of appetizers, generous samples of all the books that followed Ishmael -- and of the books that came BEFORE Ishmael. Reading here, you'll see that in earlier writings -- Tales of Adam and The Book of the Damned -- I accomplished some things that I never managed to surpass in any of the later books (including Ishmael).
- GenresPhilosophyBook Club
360 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2014
44 people are currently reading
635 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Quinn
52 books1,873 followersI had and did the usual things -- childhood, schools, universities (St. Louis, Vienna, Loyola of Chicago), then embarked on a career in publishing in Chicago. Within a few years I was the head of the Biography & Fine Arts Department of the American Peoples Encyclopedia; when that was subsumed by a larger outfit and moved to New York, I stayed behind and moved into educational publishing, beginning at Science Research Associates (a division of IBM) and ending as Editorial Director of The Society for Vision Education (a division of the Singer Corporation).
In 1977 I walked away from SVE and this very successful career when it became clear that I was not going to able to do there what I really wanted to do...which was not entirely clear. A few months later I set my feet on a path that would change my life completely. It was a path made up of books -- or rather versions of a book that, after twelve years, would turn out to be ISHMAEL.
The first version, written in 1977-78, called MAN AND ALIEN, didn't turn out to be quite what I wanted, so wrote a second, called THE GENESIS TRANSCRIPT. Like the first version, this didn't satisfy me, so I wrote a third with the same title. THE BOOK OF NAHASH, abandoned unfinished, was the fourth version.
When I started writing version five, THE BOOK OF THE DAMNED in 1981, I was sure I'd found the book I was born to write. The versions that came before had been like rainy days with moments of sunshine. THIS was a thunderstorm, and the lines crossed my pages like flashes of lightning. When, after a few thousand words I came to a clear climax, I said, "This MUST be seen," so I put Part One into print. Parts Two and Three followed, and I began searching for the switch that would turn on Part Four... but it just wasn't there. What I'd done was terrific -- and complete in its own way -- but at last I faced the fact that the whole thing just couldn't be done in lightning strikes.
And so, on to versions six and seven (both called ANOTHER STORY TO BE IN). I knew I was close, and version eight was it -- the first and only version to be a novel and the first and only version inhabited by a telepathic gorilla named Ishmael.
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.
But in 1992, when ISHMAEL was published, I had no idea what I might do next. My readers decided this for me. In letters that arrived by the bushel they demanded to know where this strange book came from, what "made" me write it. To answer these questions I wrote PROVIDENCE: THE STORY OF A FIFTY-YEAR VISION QUEST (1995).
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).
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.
With these questions answered (and 500 more on my website), I felt I was fundamentally finished with what might be called my teachings and ready to move on.
I had always taken as my guiding principle these words from André Gide: "What another would have done as well as you, do not do it. What another would have said as well as you, do not say it, written as well as you, do not write it.
In 1977 I walked away from SVE and this very successful career when it became clear that I was not going to able to do there what I really wanted to do...which was not entirely clear. A few months later I set my feet on a path that would change my life completely. It was a path made up of books -- or rather versions of a book that, after twelve years, would turn out to be ISHMAEL.
The first version, written in 1977-78, called MAN AND ALIEN, didn't turn out to be quite what I wanted, so wrote a second, called THE GENESIS TRANSCRIPT. Like the first version, this didn't satisfy me, so I wrote a third with the same title. THE BOOK OF NAHASH, abandoned unfinished, was the fourth version.
When I started writing version five, THE BOOK OF THE DAMNED in 1981, I was sure I'd found the book I was born to write. The versions that came before had been like rainy days with moments of sunshine. THIS was a thunderstorm, and the lines crossed my pages like flashes of lightning. When, after a few thousand words I came to a clear climax, I said, "This MUST be seen," so I put Part One into print. Parts Two and Three followed, and I began searching for the switch that would turn on Part Four... but it just wasn't there. What I'd done was terrific -- and complete in its own way -- but at last I faced the fact that the whole thing just couldn't be done in lightning strikes.
And so, on to versions six and seven (both called ANOTHER STORY TO BE IN). I knew I was close, and version eight was it -- the first and only version to be a novel and the first and only version inhabited by a telepathic gorilla named Ishmael.
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.
But in 1992, when ISHMAEL was published, I had no idea what I might do next. My readers decided this for me. In letters that arrived by the bushel they demanded to know where this strange book came from, what "made" me write it. To answer these questions I wrote PROVIDENCE: THE STORY OF A FIFTY-YEAR VISION QUEST (1995).
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).
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.
With these questions answered (and 500 more on my website), I felt I was fundamentally finished with what might be called my teachings and ready to move on.
I had always taken as my guiding principle these words from André Gide: "What another would have done as well as you, do not do it. What another would have said as well as you, do not say it, written as well as you, do not write it.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 1, 2014
It’s an excellent compendium and summary of Quinn’s thought. The book will tempt you to look at all the originals.
January 19, 2015
I am not really the target audience of this book as I am one of Daniel's "10%" those who went on to read most or all of his others works besides Ishmael. I own and have read almost everything he has written, and all of the works from "Teachings". However, this collection is not only a superb introduction for new readers but a great reference for longtime readers as well. If you have only read Ishmael I would highly recommend this book to get a great sample of his other writings.
As a very young man two decades ago I read Ishmael and had a revelation not unlike those Daniel experienced in his "beatle dream" as a child and his experience years later at Gethsemani, both described in Providence . After I read Ishmael, my worldview was changed forever and I felt a great relief to find out I was not alone in thinking that there was something deeply wrong with the dominant culture. Years later upon rereading Ishmael I then discovered The Story of B, My Ishmael and Beyond Civilization. For those who love Ishmael I would highly recommend you read those three at a minimum and you will get a great sample of them in this work. I will also mention that although it was not included in "The Teachings" , "After Dachau" is an amazing novel with a truly powerful ending.
Thank you Daniel for another important work and to Goodreads and the publisher for your First Reads contest.
As a very young man two decades ago I read Ishmael and had a revelation not unlike those Daniel experienced in his "beatle dream" as a child and his experience years later at Gethsemani, both described in Providence . After I read Ishmael, my worldview was changed forever and I felt a great relief to find out I was not alone in thinking that there was something deeply wrong with the dominant culture. Years later upon rereading Ishmael I then discovered The Story of B, My Ishmael and Beyond Civilization. For those who love Ishmael I would highly recommend you read those three at a minimum and you will get a great sample of them in this work. I will also mention that although it was not included in "The Teachings" , "After Dachau" is an amazing novel with a truly powerful ending.
Thank you Daniel for another important work and to Goodreads and the publisher for your First Reads contest.
December 3, 2014
This wonderful compendium of 8 books, that introduce and explain the teachings of Ishmael, has wet my appetite to read the full versions of the 5 books that are new for me. I will begin with "Beyond Civilization", Humanity's Next Great Adventure" followed by "The Invisibility of Success" and my most favorite, "When They Give You Lined Write Sideways". These are the 3 that intrigue me the most.
I highly recommend this book to you if you are experiencing anxiety and distress as you try to make sense of this culture we live in today. Ishmael's teachings and insights may initially confuse and confound you but keep reading. In the end you might have had your blinders removed and you may experience a clarity of your near, far and most importantly your peripheral vision that can bring peace to your soul.
You will either love Ishmael or hate him; and you will be glad you read and took to heart all that he has to share with humanity.
I highly recommend this book to you if you are experiencing anxiety and distress as you try to make sense of this culture we live in today. Ishmael's teachings and insights may initially confuse and confound you but keep reading. In the end you might have had your blinders removed and you may experience a clarity of your near, far and most importantly your peripheral vision that can bring peace to your soul.
You will either love Ishmael or hate him; and you will be glad you read and took to heart all that he has to share with humanity.
February 22, 2018
I can never get enough of Daniel Quinn's ideas and insights and this book will excite his fans. I would not recommend this book to people unfamiliar with Daniel Quinn's work and ideas, and at a minimum, the reader should have read his novel "Ishmael."
I think this book will be especially loved by readers looking to take a deeper dive into DQs ideas as expressed in other books and writings without necessarily having to read those entire texts. DQ himself selected passages that he believed were important to the overall teachings.
Daniel Quinn passed away on February 17, 2018. #RIPDQ
I think this book will be especially loved by readers looking to take a deeper dive into DQs ideas as expressed in other books and writings without necessarily having to read those entire texts. DQ himself selected passages that he believed were important to the overall teachings.
Daniel Quinn passed away on February 17, 2018. #RIPDQ
April 8, 2015
The book was a reminder for me of the way I felt when I read Ishmael for the first time as a senior in high school. I was amazed at the time, and was amazed again to find how taken emotionally and ideologically I was by the messages of all the various stories. It shouldn't be entirely surprising as parables, fables, and allegorical tales in general are among my favorites to read and occasionally write. By the second selection in The Teachings I remember having a feeling of anger. The anger wasn't so much directed at anything at first, and was more of a general frustration. This turned into a frustration with Quinn, for not following through, for not truly showing what he meant. I wanted a direct demonstration, a reaction, a cause to represent. Eventually that feeling turn into respect and admiration. That feeling of frustration and struggle is part and parcel to both of my readings of Quinn, 10 years ago and now. My end take away after having read the selections was a sense that the idea was to provide the readers, learners, or teachers with a tool to unmask Mother Culture and see the world for what it really is. Daniel Quinn widened my view and provides me with a different perspective than I find anywhere else, and think this book exemplifies that perfectly. It would seem to me to serve as great book for an introductory course on Quinn or allegory.
July 2, 2015
I loved the original Ishmael books because they presented alternative history in such an accessible way. I still find the upending of the Garden of Eden myth to be paradigm shifting. It had been years since I'd read them when I saw that Goodreads was offering this book in the giveaways. I was thrilled to win! This is very different than the Ishmael books, more dense, longer, and more the kind of book that you want to read a bit at a time and then meditate on rather than race through like the earlier ones. I recommend this to anyone and everyone who desires a mind-opening experience, but I do suggest reading the Ishamel books first.
August 2, 2016
Excellent overview of several of Quinn's classics and a good unification of the themes of his message. Put me in the mind to reread 'the trilogy'again!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews