From a list of back cover quots on Ishmael :
I’ve read through and including Beyond Civilization. Quinn’s works have undoubtedly changed my world view, more to the point, he synthesized vague notions that I’d been tumbling around for some time myself. I’m still working on applying that new point of view toward changing my own life. I guess a good step is just being more aware of Mother Culture whispering in your ear.
So that’s my testimony. Now for testimony of the Teeming…
I read The Story of B several years ago and thought it was so much nonsense. Frankly, I’ll take modern society with its ills, but also with its literature, global communication, medical techniques, etc. over a hunter-gatherer society anyday. I’ll admit that I don’t remember the book very well, but what I do remeber doesn’t impress me.
Quinn doesn’t advocate adopting a hunter/gatherer society, but rather that we might learn a thing or two from such societies regarding how we might exist on the planet without consuming it. The Story of B is also a sequel, and a signifigant amount of groundwork is laid out in the first book, Ishmael.