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I candidly offer that I have spent a ridiculous amount of time journeying in the realm of ideas (see Recommended Readings). My purpose being the egocentric task of understanding my place (our species place!) in the universe. As I look back, I notice that my journey has been one of triangulation...an attempt to triangulate a position from which I can engage creation and the world around me on various different levels: spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, metaphysical.... In this search, I have three fixed reference points from which I draw: 1) Scientific Reference, 2) Reference from a Religious Perspective and 3) Cultural/Social Reference. More than any other single volume I have read, Ishmael frames humanity in systematic terms that does not defer Science, Culture or Religion. This thin volume via a fictional account weaves the tale of why it is that the world is the way it is today. Ishmael objectively examines OUR living cultural mythology. Using the sciences including: anthropology, biology, ecology, technology alongside religion...Ishmael provides a panoramic cultural view of where our species has been, where we are, and where we are possibly heading!
In 1991, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn was awarded the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship. The Turner Tomorrow Fellowship is a prize for fiction that presents creative and positive solutions to global problems. This award is offered by Ted Turner, the founder of: Cable News Network (CNN), Turner Network Television (TNT). Ted Turner was also Time Magazine's 1991 Man of the Year. Ishmael won out of 2500 entries, and was judged by a
panel that included famous sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury.
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