Tales of Adam [Hardcover]

Daniel Quinn (Author), Michael McCurdy (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2005

Ever since the publication of Ishmael in 1992, readers have yearned for a glimpse into a dimension of spiritual revelation the author only hinted at in that and later books. Now at long last they have it in seven profound but delightfully simple tales that illuminate the world in which humans became humans. This is a world seen through animist eyes: as friendly to human life as it was to the life of gazelles, lions, lizards, mosquitos, jellyfish, and seals — not a world in which humans lived like trespassers who must conquer and subdue an alien territory. It's a world in which humans have a place in the community of life — not as rulers but as equals — with the paths of all held together in the hand of god.This is not an ancient world or a lost world. It exists as surely today as it ever did — for those who have eyes to see it. Tales of Adam, delightfully illustrated by Michael McCurdy, is a book that will come to be shelved alongside The Prophet, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and The Alchemist.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There are a handful of books that are more than literature: they are polished gems of written wisdom. Tales of Adam is the latest of them. . . . Short, pithy and ageless . . . Quinn crafts his narrative with a diamond-cutter's care . . . Here is wisdom for the ages, for all ages, in a beautiful package." — Santa Fe New Mexican

About the Author

Daniel Quinn is the award-winning author of numerous books including Ishmael,The Story of B, My Ishmael, If The Give You Lined Paper Write Sideways, After Dachau, The Holy, and most recently the children's book Work, Work, Work. He lives in Houston with his wife, Rennie.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Steerforth; 1St Edition edition (October 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586420747
• ISBN-13: 978-1586420741
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.5 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Animist Book of Fables and Parables, November 10, 2005

By 

mumikuke (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Adam (Hardcover)

In this book, we follow a hunter-gatherer, Adam, and his son Abel through different episodes of their lives where Adam teaches his son what he must know not only to survive but to live a good life. As with all good parables, each of these has layers of meaning. There are practical, emotional, and spiritual lessons contained in each story. Quinn shows that the knowledge and experience that humans gained over millions of years as hunter-gatherers still applies, even though few of us actually live as hunter-gatherers. The wisdom of that life is very much needed today.

As in The Story of B, The Man Who Grew Young, and The Holy, Quinn inspires and encourages with a love for the world and for life that our culture clearly lacks. I closed the book with tears in my eyes because Quinn had once again reminded me of that love. Throughout, he writes with a poetic fire that builds and builds to the final story "The Web Woven Endlessly" which is one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.

This is a book for all ages that will be read and understood differently at different times in one's life and I think new readers as well as long-time Quinn fans will love it. How do we see ourselves? Our lives as a whole? How do we act and move on in difficult situations? What is life all about anyway? Big questions are addressed in this book and are answered by profoundly satisfying stories, which bring one deeper into the vision at the core of all Quinn's work, the vision that fostered the lives of humans for millions of years and that can only enhance our own lives when we adopt it for ourselves.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but too short., December 19, 2005

By 

Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales of Adam (Hardcover)

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Daniel Quinn, best know for his Ishmael trilogy (Ishmael, My Ishmael & The Story of B), has released some more writings in this vein of thought. That is the good news; the bad news is, the book is only about a hundred pages long.

For those fans of Quinn's earlier writings it will be a treat, a little treasure to be savored over and over again. I have already read it twice and got even more out of it the second time. The book is broken into seven teaching stories, much like the stories used to illustrate points in the trilogy, except they are not woven into a larger story.

The stories are each told by `Adam' to his son Able. The stories teach lessons on sustainability, greed, wisdom and knowledge. They teach Able and us our place in the universe and our responsibility as creatures of reason. In teaching about ecology, Adam states, "Every track begins and ends in the hand of god. Every track is a lifetime long." P.22.

In talking about place Adam says: "No Place where there is life is a desert except to man." P8. This sentiment on place echoes much of Terry Tempest Williams' thought. Towards the end, Adam tells his son, "We are seekers of holy places." P.74, and that is true of many of us. We are questers on a journey to find out who we are and our place in the universe. These sorts of stories might help us along the path.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quick yet important read, November 3, 2005

By 

D. Taberner (Worcester, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales of Adam (Hardcover)

For anyone who has read Ishmael- this is for you.
Although the book is short, the stories that are in it are well worth the price.
For people who have not read Ishmael- read Ishmael and Story of B first! They may change your life forever.