Ishmael

Um... it's about the teachings of a telepathic gorilla who (by dint of being an animal and not a human, presumably) has attained the wisdom necessary to learn how humanity can avoid destroying the world.It had its interesting points, despite the Socratic dialogue format, with the narrator being basically a (particularly dull and two-dimensional) foil, breaking up the gorilla's long monologues with a continuous refrain of “I don't know” or “I don't understand.”Basically a very long philosophical essay, thinly draped in fiction (much like [b:Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 629 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values Robert M. Pirsig http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157065130s/629.jpg 175720]). Not sure what audience the author hoped to reach – I thought it was too condescending and simplistic for those who are already environmentalists, but those who aren't will be immediately turned off by its new-agey tone and, well, totally silly premise.