David Quinn's book Ishmael is a fiction book with sobering relevance to the world we live in today and the direction it is going. The main characters in the book are a young man and a telepathic gorilla, Ishmael. The book opens with the young man looking at the newspaper where he sees a classified advertisement by a teacher looking for a pupil with an earnest desire to save the world. The young man at first is annoyed by the posting, but then decides out of curiosity to check it out.
             Upon reaching the address given, the young man found that it lead to an old office in the back of an office building. When he entered the room, there was little more than a chair in the middle of the floor and a small bookcase with volumes of history and anthropology books. He then detected a rank circus smell, and a large glass window in one of the walls leading to another room. After some inspection, he was eventually able to see through it, where a huge gorilla was sitting looking back. The two then entered into a discussion about where Ishmael had come from. Ishmael told the story of how he came from Africa at a young age to end up living in a zoo. He was later sold to a circus where he was called, Goliath. Over time Ishmael came to identify himself with the name Goliath, until an old Jewish man happened upon his cage. The old man eventually bought Ishmael from the circus and took him home. Ishmael was put into a large gazebo with a scenic view where he was taught by the old man and renamed Ishmael. After a while Ishmael surpassed the old man and began teaching him. Ishmael also tutored the old man's daughter, who was later responsible for setting up Ishmael's office when the old man died. Once in his office setup, Ishmael began teaching. After a few others, the young man became his pupil. The first idea Ishmael raised was that perhaps we are all being lied to, to keep society going in its current di
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