Category Archives: Reading/Review

Suggestions for reading and/or reviews of influential things I've read

The Story of B

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Ammonite fossil, by Liez (H Zell), from Wikimedia Commons.

Oh No. Is Do the Math about to get hijacked for another long series about a Daniel Quinn book, like it was for Ishmael?

How about just a really long post?

The Story of B is the second in a series of three books associated with the wise gorilla, Ishmael, and his teachings. Some report “B” as a more powerful book than the first (Ishmael). For me, they sort-of run together, and I have trouble remembering which book focused on which point. That’s part of why I started the project of capturing the Ishmael content, and here do something similar for The Story of B. I figure if it helps me keep the books straight, it will help others, too.

In this post, I sketch the content of the book. I am not tracing much in the way of story elements. I’m not even fully fleshing out the key arguments, but making more of a map so that I or others can more quickly revisit key parts, or get a quick refresher on the entire book’s flow and content. For those who have not read the book, I hope it serves as encouragement to do so.

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Ishmael: Chapter 13

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Illustration by Tom Murphy (CC-BY-NC), 98% heritage from Mystify Me.

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

Chapter THIRTEEN contains no more lessons, focusing instead on a failed rescue attempt. Its brevity allows room for my own overall assessment at the end. This chapter is presented in four numbered subsections, beginning on page 255 of the original printing and page 275 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1743

Ishmael: Chapter 12

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In the hands of the gods (by urbanbushido; CC-BY-NC-ND).

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

In Chapter TWELVE, Alan uncovers the Leaver Premise and wraps up discussions with Ishmael about what it means and where we go from here. This chapter is presented in 12 numbered subsections, beginning on page 231 of the original printing and page 249 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1371

Ishmael: Chapter 11

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Hungry Hunter, Himself Hunted: Taker Take on Leaver Life (my amateur illustration of life on the knife-edge ridge line)

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

Chapter ELEVEN contains my favorite section (#4) of the book, exposing Taker biases on Leaver life: a huge hurdle in knocking loose Taker mythology. This chapter is presented in six numbered subsections, beginning on page 209 of the original printing and page 225 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. Section 4 is packed with incredible content, so receives a bit more attention. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1871

Ishmael: Chapter 10

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A Bonobo expresses culture; passed down from old to young. Photo by Mike Richey, (Wikimedia Commons).

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

In Chapter TEN, events in Alan’s life disrupt the lessons, and the book takes on the familiar feel of a novel for a bit. I won’t spend much time on the storyline, since that’s not why I’m making this effort. The chapter is presented in 9 numbered subsections, beginning on page 185 of the original printing and page 199 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1140

Ishmael: Bonus Material

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hockey sticks
Re-purposing the graphic used for Death by Hocky Sticks. Image by AS Photograpy from Pixabay.

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

In the Foreword to the 25th anniversary printing, starting on page xxiv, Daniel Quinn offers seven pages of additional material that he suggests could be appended to what is already the longest chapter in the book. The audiobook I listened to rolls right into this material at the end of Chapter 9 without pausing to indicate that it was not in the original.

Rather than making the Chapter 9 post even longer than it already is, I decided to make a separate entry for this material (also inserted into the schedule so-as not to disrupt the normal cadence of two “real” chapters per week).

Unlike the original content, this addendum is not split into numbered sections. I create section headings all the same just to break things up a bit.

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Views: 1589

Ishmael: Chapter 9

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By Lucas Cranach the Elder (Wikimedia)

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

In Chapter NINE, Quinn offers an intriguing and compelling take on the Garden of Eden story in the bible. This long chapter is presented in 17 numbered subsections, beginning on page 149 of the original printing and page 159 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1420

Ishmael: Chapter 8

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Royalty-free image from PickPik.

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

In Chapter EIGHT, Alan finally works out the Law of Life and explores its implications. This chapter is presented in 10 numbered subsections, beginning on page 123 of the original printing and page 129 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1717

Ishmael: Chapter 7

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Photo by Buiobuione on Wikimedia Commons

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

In Chapter SEVEN, Alan continues to have difficulty identifying the Law of Life. This short chapter is presented in four numbered subsections, beginning on page 111 of the original printing and page 117 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1565

Ishmael: Chapter 6

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From Wikimedia Commons

This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

Chapter SIX begins Alan’s quest to discover the Law of Life, during which Ishmael frequently employs analogies to more familiar laws of nature like gravity and aerodynamics to help Alan perceive the contours of the law. This chapter is presented in six numbered subsections, beginning on page 93 of the original printing and page 97 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

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Views: 1458