Rating: 
Summary: Let's think about the homeless
Review: I think this is Grisham's best book yet. Why? Because I believe the best reason to communicate with each other is to affect change. Grisham has done that in this book. Whether or not we are offended by this depends on the reason we believe the poor are poor (and often homeless). I know it changed my viewpoint as I researched the poor and came upon the Poverty in Alabama website that posted this information:
Myth 1: Very few people in the U.S. are ever poor because there is so much opportunity to succeed.
A study performed by the University of Michigan, tracking the fortunes of a representative sample of U.S. families for twenty-five years, found that fully 25% of these families at some time in the 25 years, became poor, as defined by the official poverty line. This means your family also has a 1 in 4 chance of becoming poor. Myth 2: People become poor by making bad choices and/or living an immoral life.
Loss of a job, cutbacks in wages, and/or loss of a wage-earner in the family due to death, divorce or disability are the main paths to poverty for many families. For families living on the edge of the poverty line, an illness, accident, loss of transportation or of affordable child care also can result in loss of their job, and thus, poverty. The rich, on the other hand, can make many bad choices in their lives (i.e., drinking alcohol, gambling, divorce, etc.) without it necessarily resulting in poverty. Myth 3: Most of the poor are lazy and don't want to work.
A minimum wage worker with two kids and no spouse, by working full-time throughout the year, (under the new minimum wage) would still be below the poverty line. Recently HUD released the statement that, in the year 2000, there is no county in the U.S. where a minimum wage worker can afford an apartment. Myth 4: Most of the poor are receiving welfare, so they are in fact not poor anymore.
Most of the poor are not eligible for assistance. States set the eligibility levels for welfare much lower than the poverty line. In Alabama, for example, a family of three would have had to have less than $2000 in earned income last year in order to be eligible for a TANF block grant. And, in no state does welfare bring recipients up to the poverty line. In Alabama, receiving TANF would bring a recipient's income up to roughly 15% of the poverty line. As this indicates, there is plenty of room to be poor and yet not eligible for aid in this country. Myth 5: Most Americans on welfare are black.
The largest group of people receiving welfare (AFDC, food stamps, Medicaid, or SSI) are white. Myth 6: Welfare pays women to have illegitimate kids, while the rest of us can't afford to have more kids because our taxes are so high.
In Alabama, the per child monthly stipend is, on average, $27 per child on TANF. For a full year that would total welfare payments per child of $174!!! Myth 7: Our government does more for the poor than it does for the rest of us.
In addition, much more is spent by the government on 'wealthfare' or subsidies to the non-poor. We just don't think of them as welfare: FHA home loans, student loans, GI Bill, agricultural subsidies, business subsidies, etc. etc. etc. Myth 8: Folks on food stamps eat better than we do; if they managed their money better, they wouldn't be poor.
The most generous food stamp allowance provides recipients with roughly $1.26 per meal per person. Myth 10: Private aid organizations are better able to provide assistance to the truly needy than is the government.
Groups such as Volunteers of America, the Salvation Army, etc. estimated that they would have to be ten times more prosperous than they currently are to be able to begin to substitute for the welfare state.
Rating:
Summary: The Street Lawyer
Review: The Street Lawyer was an excellent book! It was interesting and easy to follow. Michael Brock's life as a powerful lawyer in a big firm, a loyal friend to his co-workers, and a husband does a complete one-eighty. Brock does something legally and ethically wrong that he didn't intend on doing. Getting into trouble causes Brock to become a street lawyer and changes his life forever. John Grisham did a superb job giving this book suspense. I couldn't put The Street Lawyer down and strongly recommend reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and a fairly accurate picture of D.C.
Review: While not exactly challenging literature, this book was a fun, quick read. Sure it's a bit cliché, but it stays fun throughout and gives a fairly accurate picture of D.C. It's my first Grisham book and I now plan to read others.
Rating: 
Summary: I Wanted to Like It
Review: This was the first Grisham book I read. I had heard so many good things about Grisham and wanted to like it. Unfortunately, I found the characters unbelievable and the plot implausible. Maybe it's just me, but I find it hard to believe that a Lawyer who was on his way to becoming partner would throw it all away. I found myself screaming "Schmuk! Take the money!"
Rating:
Summary: Good thing this wasn't his first
Review: John Grisham crafted this book well as he does in all of his books. They are easy to read and well plotted. This one however, unlike others of his I've read, was a genuine struggle to finish because from start to finish I could never get fully into it. It was, in a word, boring.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely not Grisham's best
Review: The book started fine. The scene was truly one of his best creations; building tension right from the beginning. But you know what the say: the bigger the anticipation, the bigger the dissapointment. In my humble opinion, this is definitely not one of Grisham's best law-oriented books, nor does it hold your tension for a whole while... only the beginning. If you're looking for brilliant book about law, suspence, and all other stuff we're used to getting in Grisham's books, keep on looking. Skip this one. Hovewer, this book is a very very good description of the homeless situation. It is beautifully written; at times it's humourous, at times very sad. But always realistic, because the problem the book tries to "document" is real, oh it is real indeed. Good book; Grisham has a done good job describing the social issue, but on the way he missed his niche, the niche we all know from his other better books, like "The Partner", for instance. P.S. Aren't there any white homeless people in DC? Because the impression that I get from the book is that only non-white folks are homeless, or atleast those are the characters in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Some potential... but overall, not worth the time
Review: This book would have had potential had it not gotten too politically "preachy". The book opens with a homeless man, who goes by the name of "Mister", who barges into a prestigious Washington D.C.law firm. There, he holds members of the firm hostage at gun point for several hours, only to end in his own tragic death via the law enforcement. From that point on, the story drags on, documenting the plight of the homeless. Not until half-way into the book do we get even get a glimpse of "Mister"'s character and why he chose to terrorize this particular law firm. A chapter or two about the plight of the homeless and poverty in America would have sufficed, followed by another chapter or two as to why the main character, Michael Brock chose to leave all the amenities of a prestigious law firm to help those who were less fortunate (hence, the name "The Street Lawyer"). John Grisham is one of the best authors of his genre. Don't judge him by this book. For vintage Grisham read "A Time to Kill", "The Firm", and "The Pelican Brief."
Rating:
Summary: A Struggle To Complete
Review: I am a true Grisham fan after reading nearly all his books. However, I guess he is human and can't hit a home run every time out. This one is a real strikeout compared to the rest of his work. It is slow moving and it's basically an uninteresting story. I labored through the pages of boring information about the homeless that were weaved through a bland storyline and unlikable characters. All with the unfulfilled hope and expectation that the book would improve to Grisham's usual quality. It was a chore to finish and all through it I was made to feel guilty about living above the poverty line. Of course, I doubt that Grisham has ever gone hungry and slept under a highway bridge either.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: This is the only book I have read by John Grisham that has been disappointing. There was not much story and lots of crusading for the homeless. I felt that I was being lectured to about the homeless, constantly given statistics, information, etc. about their plight. I found myself skipping pages to find the story and keep up with the "plot". I found a little bit of crusading for the rain forest, etc. when I read The Testament, but The Street Lawyer was really heavy with crusading. Come on John, just give us your usual good, intrigueing stories, that I can't put down until I finish the book. Forget the promotion of causes...we can get that anywhere. We don't want to pay good money for your books, expecting a good story, then get beat over the head with a "cause".
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have read several Grisham books and I think he is a wonderful writer. This one, however, went into the recycle bin after page 100. It seemed contrived and the political comments kept pulling me out of the story. It also made me wonder how, in view of his preaching, Mr. Grisham can justify owning two homes when there are people out there with none?
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