Yes, everything Daniel Quinn writes about in Ishmael fits with what we know
anthropologically, including archeologically.  He is a VERY eloquent writer,
and expresses a lot of things so beautifully that I have been trying to get
across to classes for years in a less articulate way -- that is why I am
using Ishmael in class next semester.  Especially his writings about the
difference in world views between Western and many traditional cultures with
regards to dominating the environemnt, how people fit into the natural
world, and the concepts of Western culture being based on "Make stuff, get
stuff" while traditional cultures may be materially poor, but are based on
"Give support, get support."  That may explain why people who are so
materially poor,  as in Mali, are yet so much happier and laugh so much
more, than people in the West. Also, his descriptions of previous
attempts/failures at creating civilization are quite accurate, and make
sense of the archeological record in ways no archeologist has.   I think
Ishmael is wonderful -- and I hope it will be life-changing for some of the
280 senior business majors I will have in my Peoples and Cultures of the
World class next semester.

Kathy Dettwyler
anthropologist