Winner of the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, Ishmael is a Platonic dialogue in the form of a novel of ideas. The narrator is a truth seeker who answers an ad in a local newspaper from a teacher looking for serious pupils, only to find himself alone in an abandoned office with a full-grown gorilla. Ishmael, the gorilla, is a creature of immense wisdom, and his story extends backward and forward over the life span of the Earth, from the birth of time to a future there is still time to save.

"Books like Ishmael are a perfect compliment to texts that treat of ethics and morality in today's consumptive, destructive climate. College students ar grateful for having had the opportunity to read, reflect, and write essays based on the message of Ishmael."
Prof. Richard de Grood, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, WI