Rating: 
Summary: Moving
Review: Despite the exconvict's violent past, Socrates is a reflective, compasionate man with pride, principal and love in his heart for his community. Socrates never fails to strongly affect every person that he interacts with--positive or otherwise.There is much that Socrates had to learn after being incarcerated for over 20 years, all of which is intertwined with the guilt he still feels for his crimes. What's more, he learns and teaches a new lesson everyday. There is much to be said for a person that can actually recognize his faults and learn from them. Socrates is/was a brutal murderer of innocent people. Yet Mosley wrote about a man with integrity and purpose. There should be more men like him (excluding the criminal past).
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Summary: A Wonderful Paul Winfield Legacy
Review: For those who have read or listened to them, the Socrates Fortlow stories will be more enduring than the Easy Rawlins mysteries. Beyond this, Paul Winfield's performance ("reading" does not begin to do justice to his achievement) of these stories is at least the equal of Walter Mosely's work here. I really regret that I did not hear these tapes until after Winfield had died. I would have made great effort to advise him personally how moving, delightful, and enlightening his performance is. Winfield has more than internalized and reiterated these stories and characters. Time after time he intonates a word that catches the listener off guard with insight into Mosely's rich characters and settings, drawing a winsome smile, an outright laugh, or an uncomfortable unanticipated point of empathy with a life situation I really would not want. Winfield and Mosely have created a warm and indestructable thread in the fabric of American art that truly celebrates American culture, from a vantage point that one would not expect to yield such results. I am sorry to see that, as of this writing, Amazon lists the Winfield tapes as out of stock, but I can see why that is so because Winfield's performance here dserves to be "sold out." It would be a great, great shame, however, if Paul Winfield's wonderful performance were not available soon again for an ever widening audience.
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Summary: Masculinist writing?
Review: For years, we've seen the growth of so-called feminist writing. In my opinion, this is about as close to masculinist writing as you can get. It explores the soul of a man who wakes up every day and knows that he did this to himself. It's about a man who strives to keep living another day, the best years of his life gone, trying to live up to a standard he failed years ago. It asks the question what is a man? Those who criticize it as predictable or formulaic forget that life itself is predictable and formulaic. It's what you do with it that counts. Most of us will never face the trials of Socrates, being shielded from his cold reality by the concerns of credit cards and will I have to go with cloth instead of leather seats. But in the end, we still face the same questions. I applaud Walter Mosley for such an honest look into the soul of man.
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Summary: another five stars
Review: I can see there are plenty of raves for this book already, I'd just like to say Mr. Mosley has topped himself again and I really enjoyed following this new set of characters. Can't wait to get into his next one.
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Summary: Mosley just gets better and better
Review: I enjoyed this collection of stories about the remarkable Socrates Fortlow as much as any book I've read in the past several years. The stories are more like chapters in a novel, each building on the prior story, yet each a classic short story that could stand alone. Mosley's use of dialogue and metaphor is simply unparalleled; he brings his protaganists alive like no one else. Readers who have enjoyed the Easy Rawlins series will surely love this book as well. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice appetizer, where's the main dish?
Review: I have never read anything by Mosley before, so I can't compare this work to Easy Rawlins. I enjoyed this collection of stories, but I wanted it to turn into a novel (which might be next . . .) instead of a series of pat character sketches. I got tired of being introduced to the same character again and again. I know I shouldn't read a collection of stories as a novel, but I found Mosley's engaging writing hard to put down. So like a bag of potato chips, you can't have just one. Yet alas, like those chips, you wish for more substance. . .
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, great insight
Review: I heard it was a book of short stories, but found it to read like a novel. Socrates is a deep and thoughtful character who will stay on your mind a long time. He tries to do the right thing in very adverse conditions. This book was an easy read, but deep and beautiful. I'd recommend to every reader I know.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, great insight
Review: I heard it was a book of short stories, but found it to read like a novel. Socrates is a deep and thoughtful character who will stay on your mind a long time. He tries to do the right thing in very adverse conditions. This book was an easy read, but deep and beautiful. I'd recommend to every reader I know.
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Summary: one of the best books i've read
Review: I just wanted to say this book is one of the best I've ever read. I feel it should be on every high school's curriculum.
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Summary: I fell in love with Socrates
Review: I searched a used bookstore for an 1 1/2 hours knowing that inevitably God would reveal a wonderful book before me. When I found Walter Mosely's novel, I knew it was 'the one.' I loved Socrates, the main character, in a way I have never loved a book's character. And I am especially looking forward to the follow-up novel, Walking the Dog. (Soon to be released!)
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