Average customer rating:
- My first,. but not my last
- SOCRATES IS A MAN OF CONVICTION
- One great character walks and rides LA busses again
- Tried to like it, but.....
- Releasing the Mind-Forged Shackles to Become Free
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Walkin' the Dog
Walter Mosley
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Mosley, Walter
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0316881716 |
Amazon.com
Once he had dreamed up the Easy Rawlins series, with its colored-coded titles and suave protagonist, Walter Mosley could have coasted for the rest of his life. Instead he delved into impressionistic fiction (RL's Dream) and sci-fi (Blue Light)--and came up with his own variant on Ellison's invisible man, a forbidding ex-con named Socrates Fortlow. The author first introduced this inner-city philosopher in Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, allowing him to vault one ethical hurdle after another. Now Socrates returns in Walkin' the Dog, still operating out of his tiny Watts apartment, still figuring precisely what to make of his freedom.
Like his dog, Killer--a spirited mutt who's missing his two hind legs--Socrates has to contend with a number of severe handicaps. Forget the fact that he's a black man in a white society. He's also the fall guy for every crime committed in the vicinity, a scapegoat of near-biblical proportions:
The police always came. They came when a grocery store was robbed or a child was mugged. They came for every dead body with questions and insinuations. Sometimes they took him off to jail. They had searched his house and given him a ticket for not having a license for his two-legged dog. They dropped by on a whim at times just in case he had done something that even they couldn't suspect.
Yet Socrates is no poster child for racial victimization. Why? Because Mosley never soft-pedals the fact that he is, or was, a murderer. "He was a bad man," we are assured at one point. "He had done awful things." Deprived of any sort of sentimental pulpit, Socrates makes his moral determinations on the fly. Should he admit that he killed a mugger in self-defense? Can he force his adopted son Darryl to stay in school? Should he murder a corrupt cop who's terrorized his entire neighborhood? His answers are consistently surprising, and that fact--combined with the author's shrewd, no-nonsense prose--should make every reader long for Mosley's next excursion into the Socratic method. --James Marcus
Book Description
Once he had dreamed up the Easy Rawlins series, with its colored-coded titles and suave protagonist, Walter Mosley could have coasted for the rest of his life. Instead he delved into impressionistic fiction (RL's Dream) and sci-fi (Blue Light)--and came up with his own variant on Ellison's invisible man, a forbidding ex-con named Socrates Fortlow. The author first introduced this inner-city philosopher in Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, allowing him to vault one ethical hurdle after another. Now Socrates returns in Walkin' the Dog, still operating out of his tiny Watts apartment,still figuring precisely what to make of his freedom.Like his dog, Killer--a spirited mutt who's missing his two hind legs--Socrates has to contend with a number of severe handicaps. Forget the fact that he's a black man in a white society. He's also the fall guy for every crime committed in the vicinity, a scapegoat of near-biblical proportions:The police always came. They came when a grocery store was robbed or a child was mugged. They came for every dead body with questions and insinuations. Sometimes they took him off to jail. They had searched his house and given him a ticket for not having a license for his two-legged dog. They dropped by on a whim at times just in case he had done something that even they couldn't suspect.Yet Socrates is no poster child for racial victimization. Why? Because Mosley never soft-pedals the fact that he is, or was, a murderer. "He was a bad man," we are assured at one point. "He had done awful things." Deprived of any sort of sentimental pulpit, Socrates makes his moral determinations on the fly. Should he admit that he killed a mugger in self-defense? Can he force his adopted son Darryl to stay in school? Should he murder a corrupt cop who's terrorized his entire neighborhood? His answers are consistently surprising, and that fact--combined with the author's shrewd, no-nonsense prose--should make every reader long for Mosley's next excursion into the Socratic method. --James Marcus
Customer Reviews:
My first,. but not my last.......2007-06-20
My husband and I enjoyed the audio rendition of this fine book.
Walter Mosely has been highly recommended to me, so I am on a missin to read/listen to more of his books.
A great book should take the reader into a world outside their own, and the world of Socrates Fortlow is not my norm, but I relished every minute lost in this story. Clean, stark writing, fresh and riveting characters...Go for it, you know you want to.
SOCRATES IS A MAN OF CONVICTION.......2005-02-26
Always Outnumber Outgunned was my first experience with Socrates Fortlow. He is a man of conviction and loyalty. If he is your friend, he is your friend, if he does not like you, he will not deal with you and does not want anything from you. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had more simplistic, but complex individuals to come into our life?
Socrates is still struggling with his freedom. True to form, Socrates takes in a two legged dog, like he took in the young man in the previous book. He knows that he cannot fix everybody, but he does what he can.
Walter Mosley is one of the best fiction writers of today, I like most of his Easy Rawlins series. Mosley gets it, he writes about what he knows and anytime I read his books, I am there. I grew up in the fifties, so I can hear the music, smell the fish frying, see the cars and clothing.
Mr. Mosley, please write another Socrates, and I would to see Walkin the Dog done on the big screen or HBO like your first Socrates book.
Keep the good work up. My grandson (19) is also a big fan, he likes Fearless.
One great character walks and rides LA busses again.......2004-12-05
_Walkin' the Dog_ is closer to being a novel than the previous stories featuring the menacingly large reformed ex-con Socrates Fotlow, _Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned_. Repetitions of basic information about the characters is rarer. If the stories were published separately, there is no indication of credits.
Socrates remains a compelling figure. He continues to develop, as he manages rage that is often provoked. Unfortunately, his quasi-son Daryl doesn't grow (as a character).
The final chapter/story in the book is particularly gripping, though I remain uncertain that someone conditioned to self-preservation in a long prison sentence would undertake such dangerous public protest. Several non-black, mostly Latino people champion him in his confrontations with police, developers, and coworkers. Mosley's prose is always compelling and any sentimentality rubs against a world of Brechtian pressures and troubles.
Tried to like it, but............2004-09-01
I read this book shortly after I read Devil in the Blue Dress. These are the only two Mosley books that I have read. First, let me say that I admire those novelists who do not stick to a formula of the same character, same type of plot, same type of result, etc., etc (e.g., Tom Clancy, & Patrick Robinson). However, that does not mean that Mosley will score big for every effort.
I very much enjoyed Devil in the Blue Dress, and I wanted to like Walkin' the Dog, but it didn't happen. The author presented a good study of the street language used by his main character and supporting characters. The first half of the book was able to easily keep my interest.
The problem was that the author never decided to make a novel out of his short stories. This resulted in story lines that disappeared and the regurgitating of previously expressed ideas so that I sometimes dreaded turning the next page. How many times did we need to know that Socrates (the main character) is a big, black, "bad man" who has done bad things in his past? Yes, he's big, I get it! He's black, I figured.... Also, months and years seemed to pass without notice or explanation.
The other problem is that the writer wanted to make Socrates a unique philosophical figure. His philosophical ideas, though, are hardly original, complex, or Socratic. The author also has the character use some misleading ideas of Afrocentrism to support his beliefs (e.g., that St. Augustine was black because he was from Africa. He was from the coastal area now known as Algiers, but that would not make him black as anyone familiar with Algiers would know). The latter is not a major problem, but by that time in the story, I was a little irritated by the flow of the book. In sum, I am pleased that Mosley sought a different type of story, at least he is trying to be a legitimate author. He just missed the mark with this book.
Releasing the Mind-Forged Shackles to Become Free.......2004-05-11
Mr. Mosley has written a brilliant book that explores the concept that freedom begins and ends in the mind. The physical world may put hand cuffs or handicaps on you, but you choose how you respond to those limitations. The roads you choose not to take limit your freedom far more than what anyone else will do to you. This is a timeless novel that will probably be considered a classic in the future. I encourage everyone to read it. You have much to gain.
Socrates Fortlow is an ex-con who is just trying to survive. His dreams are haunted by memories of his small cell and the murder he committed that placed him there. The book opens to find him operating like a future butterfly in its cocoon. He is constrained by his violent feelings, his distrust of progress and good fortune, and his discomfort with people. Like many who have sinned (all of us), he has many good qualities. He is mentoring a teenager he works with, will do more than his share of the work required, quietly endures mistreatment by white people, and cares for a badly handicapped dog who has only two legs. His great strengths are that he is interested in controlling his own actions (rather than just striking out in blind anger) and making the best moral choice (taking full responsibility for his actions).
Throughout the story, Socrates develops and finally emerges from his cocoon, and begins to seek out new opportunities and experiences. As a result, he grows as a person and as a moral force. Gradually, he begins to lose the mental bonds that hold him back from fulfilling his mighty potential.
The book is filled with much violence, hatred, and inhumanity. That backdrop will disturb many readers. Yet, for many people, life is like a battleground, and what is portrayed here is realistic in terms of inner city life for many black people.
On the other hand, the book is filled with much love, generosity, and caring. Seeing how these positive and negative forces confront and affect each other is extremely interesting in the plot that Mr. Mosley has developed. You will find it difficult to anticpate what will happen next, because of Mr. Mosley's inventiveness.
Like the Greek Socrates, Socrates Fortlow asks many questions and his questions help others to find their own solutions, as well. You will find yourself pondering the questions, long after you close the book.
The dog, Killer, is an astonishing metaphor for Socrates' life (and indeed our own), and will help every reader to appreciate the nuances in this story.
As much as I enjoyed the Easy Rawlins series, this book vastly transcends those fine books to move into the rarified air of great literature. Many will see the obvious similarities to Les Miserables, but I found Socrates Fortlow to be a greater creation than Jean Valjean was. Also, Mr. Mosley does a better job of character development with Socrates Fortlow than Victor Hugo did with Jean Valjean.
After you finish this story, think about where pessimism has stolen choices from you. What else can you choose to do that will set you free from the limitations of your mind? Like Killer, realize that you may need some help from others in order to accomplish everything you potentially can.
Choose to live free of your preconceptions!
Average customer rating:
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Walkin The Dog
Darwin, Demers
Manufacturer: Xulon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Religious
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1600349919 |
Book Description
Prepare to be challenged as you find yourself drawn into the real life existence of an ordinary family whose home becomes a prison and whose lives become a hell, as they struggle to find the answer that will finally set them free! Perhaps you'll even come to believe that though life isn't fair... It is a gift!
Average customer rating:
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Walkin the Dog
Walter Mosley
Manufacturer: Little Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MVQS4Y |
Average customer rating:
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Walkin' the Dog
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Mystery & Thrillers
| Books on CD
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 0788747436 |
Product Description
A forbiding ex-con trying to do the right thing in the bowels of LA.
Average customer rating:
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Walkin' the Dog
Walter Mosley
Manufacturer: Little Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUF4Z2 |
Average customer rating:
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Walkin' the Dog
Manufacturer: Little, Brown & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0965327760 |
Product Description
Fiction which shows social life and customs of Los Angeles, Afro-American men.
Average customer rating:
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Walkin' the Dog
Walter Mosley
Manufacturer: LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OL87QY |
Book Description
Step-by-step illustrated directions for dozens of classic motifs, borders, medallions — plus ways to combine them into bonnets, purses, gowns, more. 117 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
A Timeless Treasure.......2005-05-14
Thank goodness for reprints. Learn how to create an heirloom quality piece of crochet for your family. Directions and illustrations are easy to understand and follow.
One of my favorite needlework books!.......2000-02-28
Finding this book was a revelation to me! This unabridged reprint of the Priscilla Irish Crochet Book first published in 1909 by The Priscilla Publishing Company in Boston is filled with exquisite Irish crochet such as is rarely seen or made today. Leaf through this book and you will be astounded by the breathtaking delicacy and intricacy of which a hook and a thread is capable! Three-dimensional roses, shamrocks, thistles, passion flowers, daisies, blackberries, grapevines, chysantheums, and myriad other motifs and floral pendants, with instructions for making up -- using the various background and edge stitches -- into a variety of beautiful items, from edgings, insertions, medallions, and doilies to stunning masterpieces such as purses, collars, cuffs, portrait hats, blouses, gowns, and coats. With crochet hooks in sizes ranging from 13 through 16 and cotton threads in sizes 40 up to 100, I have made a many of the projects in this book, all absolutely spectacular!
Terrific book on an almost lost art.......1999-02-27
This book opened a whole new dimension of crochet for me. --Beautiful, mind-boggling stuff. The directions are quite accurate although rather different from modern crochet books. Loved it!! This book was 1st published in 1907, and raised rather interesting questions, like :how big was an Irish match 93 years ago? You are supposed to wrap cord around 1 to 4 matches. My answer: best to add one to their count- I use 3 Chinese wooden skewers for their 2 matches!!
Amazon.com
We think of herbs as food, or as medicine, but we don't often think of them as aesthetic objects. Gardeners are taught to grow herbs for a reason--these are plants that should be harvested. The author of Landscaping with Herbs, James Adams, aims to show readers how to appreciate herbs as decorative plants. He wants to illuminate their hidden potential, their "other half." Because herbs are so integral to our lives, Adams believes they should be more integral to the garden, sharing in a gardener's landscaping fantasy as much as tulips or magnolia trees.
This coffee-table book is mostly text, with a few scattered photographs, and the prose is a dense mixture of ideas. A chemist by trade, Adams has a complex mind, even going so far as to classify "the volatiles that we perceive as odors released by both flowers and foliage." One highlight: a section on the many ways to landscape a fragrant herbal garden, scattering jasmine and rosemary so that each garden room is flooded by a distinct natural perfume. --Emily White
Book Description
This book is a veritable treasure-trove of garden, landscaping and herbal information and lore, presenting a variety of landscaping designs complete with layout plans. James Adams includes descriptions of the more than 600 herbs incorporated in the plans, recipes, medicinal uses, cultural requirements, herbs for a fragrant garden, useful charts and tables, and splendid line drawings and illustrations. This is a book that herb enthusiasts as well as general gardeners will want to have on their shelves.
Average customer rating:
- Landscaping With Herbs
- Not at all a helpful resource for herb gardeners
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Landscaping with Herbs (Landscaping Series , No 3)
Jim Wilson
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Herbs
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0395709415 |
Book Description
Ornamental herbs, edible flowers, and annuals thrive in light shade at Caprilands Herb Farm, in Coventry, Connecticut. This is just one example of Landscaping with Herbs. Beautiful photographs show us how to use these plants in many attractive ways.
Customer Reviews:
Landscaping With Herbs.......2000-11-17
Jim Wilson provides an overall personal history in his introduction, A Lifetime of Herbs. He describes the herbs individually in great detail; when they bloom, through which zone they can be planted, everything you might wish to know about them. The photos are beautiful. The index is very detailed. There are lists of common and latin names and mail order sources. The hardbound version I first encountered in my local library was 220 pages packed with valuable information and details on everything about herbs; soil types, feeding, overwintering in containers, harvesting herbs for crafts, landscaping with herbs, planting herbs with regard to color and scent, the kitchen herb garden, herbs in walls and pavings. The photos are numerous, in full color and each photo, in itself, is a work of art. This book inspires.
Not at all a helpful resource for herb gardeners.......2000-04-19
Planning an herb garden, or just thinking about it? Do yourself a favor and get yourself "Taylor's Guide to Herbs" or another herb-gardening resource. This book has photos and rambling descriptions of different kinds of herb gardens, but there is very little defining information on herbs themselves. If you are looking for color photos or illustrations of different herb plants, medicinal/cosmetic/culinary uses of herbs, or even suggestions as to which herbs to plant next to each other, this is NOT the book for you. If you're a professional gardener, this is still not the book for you. However, if you are looking for a coffee-table book that suggests you are a gardener, then go ahead and buy this book. I'd give it a negative star if I could.
Book Description
Landscaping with Herbs provides friendly information on using herbs as ornamental plants throughout the home landscape-not just in herb gardens. Gardeners will learn which herbs can be used as groundcovers, hedges, and edgings-even how to combine herbs with other plants. The book features seven garden designs including an herbal butterfly garden, a rock wall garden, an evening herb garden, and a welcoming front-door garden. With an A to Z guide to the 32 best landscaping herbs, this manual offers creative new uses for these fragrant, versatile, and popular plants.
Book Description
A guide to planning and growing the edible landscape, with more than 100 recipes.
Average customer rating:
- A herbalist's paradise
- 'Landscaping Herbs' Author Handles Her Herbs!
- Excellent Book on the care and feeding of ornamental herbs.
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Landscaping Herbs
Barbara Collins
Manufacturer: Stipes Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Landscape
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Herbs
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Landscape
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0875637965 |
Customer Reviews:
A herbalist's paradise.......2004-06-10
The photos are of great beauty, and the line drawings are extremely well done without annoying you with too much specificity. You'll learn a lot, without even trying, about the allure and the lore of herbs. Landscaping with herbs is a whole field to itself, and not many people can explain it as well as Collins and Giles. I think this book might inspire you to bring out your trowels, even on a cold and wet day, and in summer it will be a herbalist's paradise.
'Landscaping Herbs' Author Handles Her Herbs!.......1999-09-07
'LANDSCAPING HERBS' has color photos taken by the author. Detailed and unique sketches drawn by a professor at the University of Illinois. Extensive descriptions of over one thousand herbs. Even accurate and pertinant maps, tables, and listings. All of these strands together braid into one IMPRESSIVE reference guide. After reading 'LANDSCAPING HERBS', the only conclusion that the reader can make is that the author really knows her stuff. Enough said.
Excellent Book on the care and feeding of ornamental herbs........1999-08-27
I was impressed with the breath and depth of the author's knowledge of herbal botony. The book was easy to understant and a pleasure to read. The book was also asthetically pleasing and a good book to refer to again and again. I liked it!
Average customer rating:
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Landscaping Plans for Small Homes
Manufacturer: American Garden Guild & Hanover House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000CDLY6O |
Product Description
Complete plans for gardens or landscaping in small areas. 90 individual plant groupings and 30 representative landscape themes in which to use them. Includes dimensions, planting lists and actual number of plants suggested.
Product Description
A slipcased box library set of 4 of Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening books: Annuals and Bulbs, Perennials, Landscaping with Perennials, and Herbs.
Book Description
Offers information and inspiration that mothers need to begin breastfeeding and to continue for may months. It gives concise answers to common questions and provides practical solutins for problems mothers encouter such as avoiding sore nipples, dealing with newborn jaundice, breastfeeding after a cesarean, deciding when and how to wean, starting solids and finding time for mothers.
Customer Reviews:
answers all your questions in a simple way.......2007-02-14
I liked this book and give it out to family and friends who are expecting. It is short, easy to read and to-the-point. Accurate information. Thanks, LLLI!
Straight to the point.......2001-06-19
This book is so great! It is a short, easy to read guide to breastfeeding your baby. The title tells it all, "Breastfeeding: Pure & Simple"! Great book for first time nursing mothers. Highly recommended!
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