willowmillway reviewed Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Just Read Fredy
3 stars
Ishmael: i picked up ishmael because a dear friend in the anti-civilization circle held it as the most formative book to their political development. For me that moment was absolutely reading Against History, Against Leviathan followed by Letters of Insurgents, both by Fredy Perlman. Seeing as Perlman articulates a similar story and I had read it first, i couldn't help not comparing the two. Every time for me Fredy wins out. Some things that Quinn says, were new to me however. For example i took a moment thinking about original sin and slave morality, ways to excuse civilization of its wildly understated shortcomings. And the tie-in of Ishmael the character to the idea of humanity's true purpose in the universe. Quinn is able to stand out by giving clarity to challenging ideas; this strength is what makes the book interesting to read. But again, as someone for whom this is …
Ishmael: i picked up ishmael because a dear friend in the anti-civilization circle held it as the most formative book to their political development. For me that moment was absolutely reading Against History, Against Leviathan followed by Letters of Insurgents, both by Fredy Perlman. Seeing as Perlman articulates a similar story and I had read it first, i couldn't help not comparing the two. Every time for me Fredy wins out. Some things that Quinn says, were new to me however. For example i took a moment thinking about original sin and slave morality, ways to excuse civilization of its wildly understated shortcomings. And the tie-in of Ishmael the character to the idea of humanity's true purpose in the universe. Quinn is able to stand out by giving clarity to challenging ideas; this strength is what makes the book interesting to read. But again, as someone for whom this is mostly old news, i rather notice a seemingly bland writing style, that particularly irks me when the main character flatly ooo's and aaah's at apparently critical moments. Overall it ends up being forgetable for me. But maybe this is just me being properly 12 years deep into this anarchist shit. In conclusion, if your already an anarchist, read AHAL. if not, maybe try Ishmael first. Or just read Gelderloos.
