The Right Mistake

The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow

Contributors

By Walter Mosley

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Sep 29, 2009
Page Count
288 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780786726585

Price

$11.99

Price

$14.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $11.99 $14.99 CAD
  2. Trade Paperback $21.99 $28.99 CAD

From New York Times bestselling author Walter Mosley, the third collection of Socrates Fortlow tales, "a thought-provoking exploration of wickedness—and what's to be done about it" (Seattle Times).

Living in south central L.A., Socrates Fortlow is a sixty-year-old ex-convict still strong enough to kill men with his bare hands. Filled with profound guilt about his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos of the streets, Socrates calls together local people of all races and social stations and begins to conduct a Thinkers' Club, where all can discuss life's unanswerable questions. Infiltrated by undercover cops and threatened by strain from within, the Thinkers' Club doesn’t have it easy. But simply by debating racial authenticity, street justice, and the possibility of mutual understanding, Socrates and his unlikely crew actually begin to make a difference.

The Right Mistake is Walter Mosley at his most incisive. In turns outraged and affectionate, it offers a profoundly literary and ultimately redemptive exploration of the possibility of moral action in a violent world.

 

  • "I can’t stop thinking about it ... I’ll now be reading all of Mosley’s novels. And maybe even giving them out to people."
    John McWhorter, New York Times
  • "A thought-provoking exploration of wickedness--and what's to be done about it."
    Seattle Times
  • "Walter Mosley is a literary artist as well as a master of mystery."
    New York Times Book Review

Walter Mosley

About the Author

Walter Mosley is one of America’s most celebrated and beloved writers. A Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, he has won numerous awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and several NAACP Image Awards. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. His short fiction has appeared in a wide array of publications, including The New Yorker, GQ, Esquire, Los Angeles Times Magazine, and Playboy, and his nonfiction has been published in The New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and The Nation. He is the author of Down the River unto the Sea. He lives in New York City.

Learn more about this author