Bought this at a library sale or a thrift store used book sale.

This is possibly my favorite book ever. It's about a gorilla who takes the main character and the reader on a journey of understanding about the world over time, humanity, the environment, and a lot more. It really opened my eyes and made me think. I re-read it often and recommend it to everyone and anyone. The back cover description really says it all.

From the back:
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 is launches the adventure of a lifetime...
So begins Ishmael, an utterly unique and captivating novel that has earned a large and passionate following among readers and critics alike- one of the most beloved and bestselling novels of spiritual adventure ever published.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Taking this to a BookCrossing meetup tomorrow. I hope it finds a good home!

Came home with me. Can't believe no one wanted it! :-) Perhaps I'll try again.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Taking to the BC in DC holiday party in case someone wants it.

Picked this up at today's BC in DC holiday party in Alexandria, Virginia. KateKintail described it as her favorite book, which is recommendation enough for my interest to be piqued. Looking forward to reading it. Thanks!

I picked this up because a friend highly recommended it, saying it was one of her favorite books of all time. Basically, the narrator comes across a classified ad in the newspaper advertising a teacher in search of a student with an interest in saving the world. The narrator, who was too young to join the hippie movement but was nonetheless enchanted by their ideals, looks up this teacher out of curiosity. From then on the book is almost entirely their sessions together, learning about the mythology of the "Taker" and "Leaver" cultures, respectively, and how to "save the world". I alternated between interest in the story and exasperation at the preaching. The ending was too predictable and too convenient, but I'm not sure how else it could have ended. As for the philosophy, well, it certainly wasn't a life-changing experience for me. I was left with too many questions. Living in harmony with the planet is certainly a worthy endeavor, but never are issues addressed like, for example, travel. Transportation requires a disruption of the natural order: trees and animal habitats must be swept away to lay roads, runways, and rails. Sure, it's easier to adapt to your surroundings if you never go anywhere, but such isolation also sows xenophobia and superstition. This is not to say we shouldn't strive to coexist peacefully with the rest of nature, or that it is our right and duty to reshape the world to suit our purposes. Not at all. I just felt that the arguments presented here were incomplete. They also propose that we who have plenty should not aid those suffering from famine and drought. I understand the idea behind it - it will just lead to overpopulation and more famine in the future - but I am not comfortable with the lack of compassion.

All that said, I must give this book high marks for giving me quite a lot to think about. Its insufficient arguments and somewhat ham-fisted narrative style aside, it made me ponder things I'd never even considered in the past. It instilled in me a desire to research the ideas presented in order to form my own opinions on subjects I never knew were up for debate. I certainly recommend it to anyone in search of a thought-provoking read.

Brought to the BCinDC monthly meetup. It didn't come home with me.

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KateKintail said this is one of her favorites, so it came home with me from the BCinDC get-together. Hopefully I'll find time to read it soon, or maybe Reader7079 may want it. It sounds like something he might enjoy reading.

This book will be released at the 2023 Kensington Day of the Book Festival.

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I have searched and searched my permanent collection shelves but have been unable to find my copy of this book. I spotted this book on the BCinDC tables at the 2023 Kensington Day of the Book festival. It was a copy I registered, and now it's back home with me so I can look up quotes that I've been wanting to do for a year now!