The Ishmael Network Reading List

These resources are suggested by readers. Ishmael Network members can add their suggested readings by logging into their record here... Please note that this list is neither compiled nor reviewed by Daniel Quinn. It should not be assumed, therefore, that he either endorses these books or agrees with the comments made about them. This statement holds true for the Ishmael Webmaster as well.... As of Thursday, September 9, 2010 there are 838 books in the suggested reading list. Here is an easy to print list of everything...)

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• Dead Meat by Sue Coe has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Rebecca Harrington...and Rebecca has this to say about the book: "A persuasive argument for vegetarianism."
  Check out and/or Order Dead Meat from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dear Children of the Earth by Schim Schimmel has been suggested by Ishmael Network member David Farver...and David has this to say about the book: "It is an introduction to children of the idea that people belong to the earth and not the other way around. It is a letter from earth to the children, asking for their help to save her, our mother, and our brothers and sisters that share the planet with us. It teaches the concept of the world as a living entity."
  Check out and/or Order Dear Children of the Earth from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Demian by hermann hesse has been suggested by Ishmael Network member sf.kg. yahweh...and sf.kg. has this to say about the book: "man faces the inebitable truth that there is good and evil"
  Check out and/or Order Demian from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence by Richard Wrangham has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Jenny Small...and Jenny has this to say about the book: "Wrangham and Peterson take a look at the misconsceptions of evolution and human violence. An interesting book to read after having read Quinn's work."
  Check out and/or Order Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Jonathan Cohen...and Jonathan has this to say about the book: "Experience, through Abbey's compelling prose, the sacredness of nature and the sorrow that accompanies its destruction."
  Check out and/or Order Desert Solitaire from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dharma Gaia : A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology by Allan Hunt Badiner has been suggested by Ishmael Network member steven seighman...and steven has this to say about the book: "dharma gaia is a collection of poems and essays that tie together ecology and buddhism. it reminds us, primarily from a buddhist perspective just how beautiful and important nature is. something we all can use a refresher course in from time to time."
  Check out and/or Order Dharma Gaia : A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dialogue and the art of thinking together by William Issacs has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Paul Caswell...and Paul has this to say about the book: "It provides techniques for sharing meaning. Leavers are proficient at Dialogue. This helps us Takers who lost this ability in the Great Forgetting."
  Check out and/or Order Dialogue and the art of thinking together from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Diet for a New America by John Robbins has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Melissa Reyes...and Melissa has this to say about the book: "..." a moving and well-documented book that describes the inhumane and unhealthy conditions under which animals are raised for food and shows how our hedalth and ecological well-being are linked to the adoption of a vegan diet.""
  Check out and/or Order Diet for a New America from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Direct Pointing to Real Wealth by Thomas Elpel has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Jeff Blend...and Jeff has this to say about the book: "Talks about how one can create a dream and vision towards a career that closes the loop on waste (both in resources and in one's spending habits). This is a great start to answering the question of what career or living one should pursue in a society that is so destructive. This book covers history form hunter-gatherers up to the present, and also outlines a plan for one to start forming their unique dreams."
  Check out and/or Order Direct Pointing to Real Wealth from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Randall Case...and Randall has this to say about the book: "Foucalt's analysis of the development of the prison reflects how discipline in Western Civilization shifted from a physical to a mental establishment, invoking gods, social norms, normalizing devices, surveillance, and etcetera. It's another of those eye-opening books. It is a tough read but well worth it once you begin to see how the Panopticon is reflected in everyday culture."
  Check out and/or Order Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Discourse on the Origin of Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Danielle Henry...and Danielle has this to say about the book: "It was the first book I read after Ishmael and My Ishmael where I said, "My god! He's just regurgitating Mother Culture!""
  Check out and/or Order Discourse on the Origin of Inequality from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Discourse on the Origins of Inequality (Second Discourse) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Eric Bielke...and Eric has this to say about the book: "This is a must-read for Ishmael readers with a particular interest in philosophy. In the Second Discourse, Rousseau traces the evolution of humankind to its present state, giving an account of the origins of private property, jealousy, justice, and finally political institutions. Rousseau's 18th century account is amazingly similar to Quinn's. This book authors the idea of the "Noble Savage" which is the foundation for taker culture's view of indigenous peoples. Rousseau also brings a critical argument to the table by demonstrating that though the cultural shift (which Quinn describes as the shift to taker culture) occurs by chance, it is nonetheless inevitable. The format is unusually easy to read (especially for a philosophy text) and extremely worthwhile for skeptics of Ishmael."
  Check out and/or Order Discourse on the Origins of Inequality (Second Discourse) from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• DoingIt!-- a journal of positive living by David Bartholomew has been suggested by Ishmael Network member David Bartholomew...and David has this to say about the book: "[excerpts can also be found at www.oneworldflag.org/blog] Thoughts, essays, exercises, success stories-- all testament to the highest that we may all achieve"
  Check out and/or Order DoingIt!-- a journal of positive living from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dominion by Niles Eldredge has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Mark Meritt...and Mark has this to say about the book: "This science-based book comes closer than any other I've read to Quinn's ideas. It is all about how the idea of dominion (which is, essentially, the Taker meme) seemed justified for a long time but no longer is, how our culture developed it, where we need to head. He even ends the book with the proposal of "a new story." Well worth the read for a scientific/evolution-based overview."
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• Don't Be Afraid Gringo by Medea Benjamin has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Harry Lotus...and Harry has this to say about the book: "This book shows what America and even the Honduran government do to it's own people for the sake of making money or creating more wealth, food, etc. for us. The natives, who have been promised their land back so they may cultivate it are trod upon, shot and killed and starved to death for big companies' best interest."
  Check out and/or Order Don't Be Afraid Gringo from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Keyf Tsubouchi...and Keyf has this to say about the book: "This book presents ideas and experiences, travelled by Huxley himself, that allow you to understand in an easy and interesting way that there are other ways to see the world."
  Check out and/or Order Doors of Perception from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Kafka by william hubben has been suggested by Ishmael Network member andrew tibbetts...and andrew has this to say about the book: "An interesting look at the lives and work of each of these four existentialists."
  Check out and/or Order Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Kafka from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dropping Ashes on the Buddha by Seung Sahn has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Richard Burkett...and Richard has this to say about the book: "Awakening"
  Check out and/or Order Dropping Ashes on the Buddha from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Gatto has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Paul Brewer-Jensen...and Paul has this to say about the book: "Compulsory public schooling would be helping to generate the ambient background hum of mother culture in Gatto's opinion. Gatto would also agree with Quinn that humans have an inbred need for community. Our culture, with the tools of compulsory public schooling and other institutions, is busily destroying families which are the foundations for communities. Public schools pretend to be communities that can tend to all of the needs of its inmates, but they cannot. Read "Dumbing Us Down" to find out why. Gatto also writes "there is no one right way" twice I think."
  Check out and/or Order Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dune by Frank Herbert has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Mike Rzerusiewicz...and Mike has this to say about the book: "This is the book about changing minds for a wide scale. It describes changes of ways of human thinking throughout the centuries. You can find there lot of wise thougths about human nature. This the book about life : how it is and how it could be changed for better."
  Check out and/or Order Dune from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert has been suggested by Ishmael Network member James Gamble...and James has this to say about the book: "The sequel to Dune, it's here that Frank Herbert's message really begins. Covering cultural collapse, the downfalls of aristocratic rule and prophets, and the draw backs of changing the ecology inflexibly, it's a story that reaffirms many of Quinn's points."
  Check out and/or Order Dune Messiah from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Dwellings : A Spiritual History of the Living World by Linda Hogan has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Jody Mosher...and Jody has this to say about the book: "This beautiful books speak of the various dwelling of animals, the use of those dwellings, how humans impact the dwelling of other living things, and more..."
  Check out and/or Order Dwellings : A Spiritual History of the Living World from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Earth by David Brin has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Gus Steeves...and Gus has this to say about the book: " While not particularly Leaver in scope, Brin presents a very plausible sci-fi look at what our planet might be like in 50 years and how man, the Internet and the Earth might become one again. It's NOT a wasteland, but it's not utopia either, with tribalism growing, Paganism flourishing, and technology as big as ever, for good and ill. *For a great sci-fi look at how man and other Earthlings can cooperate -- and how Mother Culture may be willing to do ANYTHING to suppress threatening truth -- also look into Brin's "Uplift War" series."
  Check out and/or Order Earth from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Earth by David Brin has been suggested by Ishmael Network member John Frusciante...and John has this to say about the book: "It is a startling work of science fiction that seems to make a pretty accurate prediction about the messes our technological revolution may be getting us into."
  Check out and/or Order Earth from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Earth Abides by George Stewart has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Dana Winkler...and Dana has this to say about the book: "Amazing book. Actually contains many of the same or similar ideas as "Ishmael", in a book written back in 1949! The narrator's is even referred to as "Ish" (although it's short for Isherwood, not Ishmael!), and his group of fellow survivors is called "The Tribe". It's a wonderful story as well, and one I would recommend to anyone. It certainly gives one an idea of how long some of these ideas have been floating around the collective unconcious..."
  Check out and/or Order Earth Abides from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Earth in the Balance by Al Gore has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Paul Barnes...and Paul has this to say about the book: "I enjoyed this book for 2 reasons: 1 - A good deal of scientific evidence is presented in laymans terms, describing clearly the effect civilization is having upon the planet. 2 - A very sound attempt at affecting change is presented as a "Global Marshall Plan", a way of tying together ecology and economics."
  Check out and/or Order Earth in the Balance from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Earth Prayers from Around the World by Elizabeth Roberts has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Heidi Hopkins...and Heidi has this to say about the book: "A beautiful collection of writings subtitles "365 prayers, poems, and invocations for honoring the earth." Of particular use in writing/preparing rituals."
  Check out and/or Order Earth Prayers from Around the World from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Earthship Volumes I-III by Micheal Reynolds has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Jason Thomas...and Jason has this to say about the book: "The Earthship is the basis of Micheal Reynold's vision for a sustainable future. It's a style of home designed for maximum efficiency and independence and minimum effort. In his words, "Imagine... living in a home that cost you nothin to heat or cool. Imagine... building this home yourself. Imagine... growing your own vegetables year round in this home. Imagine... no utility bills. Imagine... easily available "limitless natural resources" to build this type of home. Imagine... a more earth friendly civilization. Imagine... EARTHSHIPS." Truly revolutionary. Check out the webiste and the books for all the details."
  Check out and/or Order Earthship Volumes I-III from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Eating in the Light of the Moon by Anita Johnston PH.D. has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Colleen Napier...and Colleen has this to say about the book: " "Storytellers speak in the language of myth and metaphor, " Johnston explains." "They tell us a truth that is not literal, but symbolic.If we hear the stories with only the outer ear, they can seem absurd and untrue, but when listened to with the inner ear, they convey a truth that can be understood and absorbed on a deeply personal level. In this way, stories help us connect with our inner world, to the natural rhythms and cycles of the earth, and to the power of our intuitive wisdom.""
  Check out and/or Order Eating in the Light of the Moon from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching (3rd Ed.) by Edited by Dave Foreman & Bill Haywood has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Sean Reany...and Sean has this to say about the book: "A great guide to defending the earth from those who would (and are) killing it."
  Check out and/or Order Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching (3rd Ed.) from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Economy of Nature, The by William Ashworth has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Mark Meritt...and Mark has this to say about the book: "A fantastic companion piece to Hawken's "The Ecology of Commerce." Gives an even more in-depth, yet very accessible, analysis of how the principles of economics and ecology are inherently compatible, pointing the way toward a viable sustainable future. It's out of print, but Amazon says they'll look into it for you."
  Check out and/or Order Economy of Nature, The from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Ecopsychology : Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind by Theodore Roszak has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Xavier Sonnerat...and Xavier has this to say about the book: "Most of the essays in this book are much needed. They show that 'saving the world' starts by connecting with the source of all things, both within ourselves and in the non-human world."
  Check out and/or Order Ecopsychology : Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Terry Shistar...and Terry has this to say about the book: "Ecotopia and Ecotopia emerging may not have all the insights of Ishmael, but they have good ideas about building tribes and sustainable societies."
  Check out and/or Order Ecotopia from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Ecotopia Emerging by Ernest Callenbach has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Terry Shistar...and Terry has this to say about the book: "The prequel to Ecotopia, some good ideas about strategies for getting to a tribal, more sustainable future."
  Check out and/or Order Ecotopia Emerging from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Marissa Collins...and Marissa has this to say about the book: "This book paints a vivid picture of living life the Native American, tribal way even though the characters are surrounded by Takers. Please read this book, it's amazing."
  Check out and/or Order Education of Little Tree from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Elements of Refusal by John Zerzan has been suggested by Ishmael Network member michael pergola...and michael has this to say about the book: "this book,like Ishmael,questions the " givens " in todays civilization. The preface reads "Everyone can feel the nothingness, the void, just beneath the surface of everyday routines and securities " and the book is a collection of the author's writings. A wonderful book."
  Check out and/or Order Elements of Refusal from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Elements of Refusal by John Zerzan has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Parker Krieg...and Parker has this to say about the book: "Zerzan further deconstructs mother cultures advances and seeks to tear her out of our very psyche."
  Check out and/or Order Elements of Refusal from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Elk Heart by David Petersen has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Tom Whiston...and Tom has this to say about the book: "Thoughts from a true Elkheart. Reminded me of B's description of the Deer People."
  Check out and/or Order Elk Heart from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Josh Marinko...and Josh has this to say about the book: "Six years after being overwhelmed by such a large amount of truth, I still have had trouble ajusting to everyday life. No pills just yet, this book was a big help."
  Check out and/or Order Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Gus Steeves...and Gus has this to say about the book: " Tells the story of McPhee's travels with former Sierra Club "Archdruid" David Brower as Brower faces a key government dambuilder, Southeastern developer, and Northwestern mine engineer. Interesting comparisons of how an eco-activist's mind and his companions' minds interpret seeing the same things... and some may surprise you."
  Check out and/or Order Encounters with the Archdruid from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Ender's Game by Orson Card has been suggested by Ishmael Network member audie timms...and audie has this to say about the book: "read it and find out...i'm not gonna give it away at all!"
  Check out and/or Order Ender's Game from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Endgame by Derrick Jensen has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Brian Kern...and Brian has this to say about the book: "It gives, in detail, the reasons civilization is destroying our planet and why we need to bring it down. It seems like Ishmael's non-fiction brother."
  Check out and/or Order Endgame from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Energy, Society & Heriarchy by Jeff Vail has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Jeff Vail...and Jeff has this to say about the book: "This article examines the link between patterns of energy useage and the cage of civilization. What energy issues do we have to address in our creation of an alternative vision? Read the article online for free at: http://www.directactionjournal.org/energy.html"
  Check out and/or Order Energy, Society & Heriarchy from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Essays by Michel De Montaigne has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Pamela Shapiro...and Pamela has this to say about the book: "His essays, "On Cannibals" and "On experience" explore the nature of people's relationship to the world and the necessity of examining all of our existence, including our relation to the physical world and the knowledge we gain from that."
  Check out and/or Order Essays from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Europe and the Prople without History by Eric Wolf has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Dave Dellatore...and Dave has this to say about the book: "it gives an account of the somewhat early european history. explains how others used to live before however it is we do it now. not quite the easiest read i've ever experienced but a good book indeed."
  Check out and/or Order Europe and the Prople without History from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Evasion by A. nonymous has been suggested by Ishmael Network member kerry rose...and kerry has this to say about the book: "Evasion is a sort of travel journal of a 22 year old vagrant. the author describes how he squatted, dumpstered, and stole his life back. the book inspired me to drop out of college and stop participating in the economy. i recommend it to anyone who doesnt know what to do and doesnt want to support our society by working. i especially recommend it to young folk who don't want to be in school or get a job, but don't think there is anyone out there who has succeeded without doing so."
  Check out and/or Order Evasion from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Mary Peterson...and Mary has this to say about the book: "If you are looking for new ways to see the world and life in general, Tom Robbins is the man to give them to you!"
  Check out and/or Order Even Cowgirls Get the Blues from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Ever Since Darwin by Stephen J. Gould has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Michael Edrich...and Michael has this to say about the book: "Very good on evolutionary theory and its history. A good insight into the way our Taker vision has tried to blur our perception of evolution, and justify its own ends by it."
  Check out and/or Order Ever Since Darwin from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Evolutionary Architecture by Eugene Tsui has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Jane Thanx...and Jane has this to say about the book: "Living in harmony with our own nature and the nature surrounding us."
  Check out and/or Order Evolutionary Architecture from Amazon.com! You can also order from a local bookstore by using BookSense.

• Evolution's End by Joseph Chilton Pearce has been suggested by Ishmael Network member Robin Green...and Robin has this to say about the book: "Fascinating look at how our mind shapes and is influenced by reality. Contains "possibilities for the next step in human evolution.""
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