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"The newest of the great fictional detectives" (Boston Globe) from the New York Times bestselling author of the Easy Rawlins novels.

When New York private eye Leonid McGill is hired to check up on a vulnerable young woman, all he discovers is a bloody crime scene-and the woman gone missing. His client doesn't want her found. The reason will put everything McGill cherishes in harm's way: his family, his friends, and his very soul. ... Read more

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Considerations of the achievements of the acclaimed and popular African American writer ... Read more

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November 1963: Easy's settled into a steady gig as a school custodian. It's a quiet, simple existence -- but a few moments of ecstasy with a sexy teacher will change all that. When the lady vanishes, Easy's stuck with a couple of corpses, the cops on his back, and a little yellow dog who's nobody's best friend. With his not-so-simple past snapping at his heels, and with enemies old and new looking to get even, Easy must kiss his careful little life good-bye -- and step closer to the edge....Amazon.com Review
The saga of Easy Rawlins that began in 1990 with Devil in a Blue Dress, continues in A Little YellowDog. Working as a janitor at Sojourner Truth Junior High School,Easy is asked to care for a small dog owned by the attractive IdabellHolland, a teacher at the school. When Idabell's husband is murdered,Easy finds himself mixed up with a gang of criminals engaged inlooting Los Angeles schools and smuggling heroin from France. Idabelland Easy fall into a sexual liaison, but in the wake of it, Idabell isfound stabbed to death in the passenger seat of Easy's car. While atfirst Easy thinks the murders are a "simple falling out ofthieves," a surprising twist on the level of "The MalteseFalcon" reveals the truth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Underrated Mystery Novel
It's hard to read intriguing books like this with a critical eye. But there are many reasons why I think this is one of the best mystery books ever. Although I haven't gotten to the rest of the books in the series, I'm already in love with the character Easy. He's just such a charismatic character that you can't help but hope he doesn't get into any trouble or danger (although he seems to like going into that kind of stuff). The themes that are embedded in this novel: racial tensity, moral justice, abuse of power, financial problems, and more are what makes this book a classic. Either way, it's a fast read and definitely worth the time.

An essential for those wanting to read the most imoortant modern mysteries
This is one of the greats from the very first sentence (before Chapter One) to the very last line.The dog of the title is much more than just a canine character in a book. Pharoah is no Asta, not by a long shot.There's a symbolism, a link to the innermost souls of the human characters.All that aside, this is Mosely at his best, giving us not only a superbly crafted piece of crime fiction, but a social commentary.The linking with national events taking place at the time ends even more impact to the total.If you haven't yet read this, now is the time.

a little yellow dog
I am a Walter Mosley fan fan I had all his books, but gave away to someone
who wanted to read them; so I started over ordering and to my blessing this was a hardback autographed by Mr Walter Mosley himself, Thank You so
much.

Potent, original, capable, sexually puerile
Having been knocked a bit sideways by RL's Dream I thought I'd give something else of his a go.

This guy can write. Particularly in the final third as the story builds the intensity is gripping. He capably paints a cast of gritty urban characters, and hurls his protagonist `Easy' through Marlowesque investigation, dangerous engagement with cops and crims, beating and final climactic bloody resolution (in LA, no less). Easy is a good balance of resource and vulnerability and has his virtues. In many ways this is a better than average read. Moreover there are distinctively African-American insights.

Where I hesitated to rate this any higher than aBcame from the odd sexual morality. This review in a sense overstates it because it's only a minor aspect of an otherwise solid and occasionally striking book. And I'm really unsure (as an Australian Caucasian) just how to relate this to the significance of the Afro-American context. Is `Easy' meant to be a troubled individual, or is he in some ways meant to be racially emblematic? It feels like Mosley deliberately underpins the book with Negro values that, perhaps, he's happy to have at odds with my own. Or perhaps he wasn't even vaguely trying to write for an audience like me.

OK, what I'm talking about is the way that Easy - in so many ways an in control, mature, far-sighted, sharp, cool guy - seems to be consciously presented as a dumb animal in the opening scene - setting the book up more as soft-porn than a sophisticated crime novel. Easy himself is aware of the incongruity:

I'd been on good behavior for more than two years. I was out of the streets and had my job with the Los Angeles Board of Education. I took care of my kids, cashed my paychecks, stayed away from liquor.
I steered clear of the wrong women too.
Maybe I'd been a little too good. I felt an urge in that classroom, but I wasn't going to make the move.
That's when Idabell Turner kissed me.
Two years of up early and off to work dissolved like a sugar cube under the tap.

It's not merely titillation - but it is, make no mistake, titillation - and even if there's more going on, starting like that is very much a cynical use of voyeurism to get people in early. It just seems such an immature (or different?) view of sex.

Is it just stepping up the flirtations of a Chandler novel: in Farewell, My Lovely Marlowe fairly happily allows himself to play around in the seductive charms of a dangerous woman - is this simply Mosley kicking it up to 90s flirtation (i.e. from a little `foolin' around' to all the romance of instant rutting on a desk)? But I wonder if there's more - if it's simply that teenage thing of presenting a hero who has to show, "Hey, I'm in control, but I'm no prude." He's not writing James Bond farce here, so it's not excusable as daydream absurdity.

I'm skating on very thin ice here - I've got nothing to go on but the pap of the media's presentation of black America (we get plenty of US TV over here) - but is Mosley celebrating this sexual beast as part and parcel of the dormant avatar of the semi-mythical powers of the `streets' - presented here much as a dangerous magical power that can be drawn on but will exact a price. Is he deliberately suggesting that his Negro hero, as a Negro, has latent and at times uncontrollable urges for sex, risk and violence? For a white writer to hint at such animal tendencies would be, I suspect rightly, condemned as libellous racial stereotyping. Again, is this, rather, just something in `Easy', and never meant to be generalised? Sure it's the theme of a million `street' style T & A rap bluster music videos, but I thought Mosley would be somewhere beyond their openly stupid misogyny.

I suspect that Mosley would simply realise that whatever he was saying, I just didn't `get it'.

Whatever, this is one of those well written books that I just can't recommend as highly because I find something too offensive. I mean, it's not as offensive as, say, Fry's The Hippopotamus or Golsdworthy's Wish (again, both gifted writers), but I can't really just ignore the trivialisation of sex; I would have been able to thoroughly enjoy this aspect of the book if instead of sex he had have had Easy merely kiss Idabell (or, later, Bonnie). Moreover, handled well this would have been at least as powerful (and a world less gratuitous). If Easy had have, for example, found himself out of the blue passionately kissing a woman he'd hardly spoken to, when he'd had no other intimate relationship for years and was unsure about commitment, it would be just as valid to continue immediately afterwards:

When I leaned over to kiss her forehead I experienced a feeling that I'd known many times in my life. It was that feeling of elation before I embarked on some kind of risky venture. In the old days it was about the police and criminals and the streets of Watts and South Central LA.
But not this time. Not again. I swallowed hard and gritted my teeth with enough force to crack stone. I'd slipped but I would not fall.

A kiss can mean a lot. It can open up a whole new potentiality in a relationship - and be a risk that a cautious mind might regret having taken. It can also maintain an attractive innocence. I will probably be dismissed by some as being too childish in response to an adult novel. But for Mosley to treat sex like this feels juvenile to me: isn't he old enough to have worked out that commitment and relationship and sex have a bit more going on than this puerile opening daydream?

Like I said, I don't suppose I was the audience he was aiming at with that.

just like the other guy said..."too convoluted and unlikely."
"call me fool."

that's what easy rawlins says to us when idabell makes things very informal between them. that is the answer to all the questions you might have about this muddled and somewhat confusingly stupid story about a woman who could have made everything right if not for her love for a little yellow dog. when you read the book and wonder why easy did this and why he did that and how come he didn't do this smart thing or that smart thing, just remember what he tells us early on in the beginning. "call me fool."

two shady twins are dead, one of them found on the grounds of the school easy works for. through some rather unbelievable circumstances, other than because easy is black and the cops are mostly white, easy is a suspect for at least one of the killings. instead of telling the police the truth, which isn't always smart when you're black in the 60's, he lies to them. over and over again. instead of playing dumb, he lies. that's not the smartest move either. so let's just keep going with this story, calling him "fool." this "easy" fable of double homicide turns into something frighteningly worse as the gangsters get meaner, the whites get more evil and the blacks tell worse lies. when idabell asks easy to temporarily care for her "little yellow dog," everything falls to pieces and his nice little model citizen charade goes to crap, literally. before long, easy is about to get killed, about to lose his job, about to go to jail and about to clean up dog feces.

the dog, however, is very funny. he hates easy so much it's crazy. when easy is being beaten up by a bad guy, he sees the dog in the distance and waits for the dog to help out so that he could get a breather. but when the dog attacks him instead, a scene about sheer brutality becomes pretty funny.

with some backstory about several, and i do mean several, key characters, we're off and running with this yellow dog tale that doesn't disappoint nor does it relieve. it's just there. there for the moment, there for the heck of it, but there. in classic mosley fashion, we get a whirlwind of characters that we've mostly forgotten about by page one-hundred, but they return by page two-hundred as important links in this whodunnit chain. you really have to be a fan of these rawlins mysteries to keep up with mainstays like mofass, jewelle, jesus, feather, mouse and jackson. for the most part, these characters never really go away, so as long as you are familiar with the books, the introductions of new characters who are mostly just along for this single story shouldn't be much of a problem. well, usually it's not, but the convoluted plot kept spinning me into a weird place where i didn't know my right from my left, let alone my ups from my downs. not one of walter's better books.

i miss easy the drunk from earlier novels. easy the womanizer, the street runner. now, his words are pretty well-written to compensate for his life changes, but i miss the old easy. he was much more exciting. fool or no, he was right about one thing from the very first page - it was the dog's fault. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (13)

A Nice Thick Collection
Most people will purchase Transgressions simply to read a novella by one of their favourite authors. I myself picked this up just for the Westlake novella inside.I don't think anyone, no matter which author motivated them to buy this, will put down this collection only satisfied by one story.Yes like any various author anthology the quality varies as do the stories fitting into your personal tastes, but I doubt there will be anyone that either doesn't find a new author to check out or at the very least is reminded of the talent of an author they've maybe only read one or two books of a long time ago in the past.Some novellas such as Walking Around Money can only be found in these pages and others such as The Things They Left Behind you may well have already read before (Just After Sunset).

Keller's Adjustment in my opinion is the best of the lot.I've read a few of Block's other books containing stamp collecting hit man Keller, and this is easily the best story.You don't need to have read any previous ones to follow or get the most out of Keller's Adjustment.It reads like a standalone novel with no plots of previous novels given away.Keller a man who used to have no problems getting on a plane in New York and flying anywhere in the US without any serious searching by security for weapons he would take with him to commit the crime or validating his fake ID has had his world suddenly change. The post September 11 2001 demand for the airlines and airports to wake up and take security seriously for domestic flights now means a lot of complications if there's someone that needs to be killed on the other side of the continent.On a road trip across America in a rental car to get to his next victim Keller starts talking to himself out loud, something he's never done before which consequently freaks him out.His target also lives in a high security gated retirement community causing quite the challenge for Keller as well as plenty of time to ponder if a post 9/11 world is really a world where you can have a satisfying career as a hit man.

Walking Around Money although not Westlake's best story or even best Dortmunder novel is an important find for any fan of the late grandmaster's work.You won't find Walking Around Money published anywhere else as it was written after Thieves' Dozen (Westlake's collection of the Dortmunder short stories) was published.In fact it is actually the third last Dortmunder adventure written before Westlake's death and takes place time wise between Watch Your Back and What's So Funny.Important for fans of the series as you find out if repulsive fencer of stolen items Arnie Albright sticks to his rehabilitation.In this adventure Andy Kelp and Dortmunder meet through a friend of a criminal friend an old man named Querk. Querk's angry and bored with his life as a forklift driver, working for a rural printing company who shattered his dreams of using his printing skills he learnt behind bars, which they told him are now obsolete in this computer designed modern world. Querk has plans for counterfeiting currency for a South American country during a night the plant is shut down, however he needs a couple of fellow criminals who don't live in his small town to help with the heavy work and to get it done in time.Like any Dortmunder novel, outside factors and Murphy's Law always play a part in a should be smooth caper not turning out quite that way.

Anne Perry's Hostages about a rural cottage holding a couple and their adult son at gunpoint is interesting, however the husband of the main character is such a racist, bully and just in general not bright or nice guy that you are actually hoping he will be killed and/or the objectives of the Protestant extreme group hoping to replace him as leader will actually come off.

Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large was a bit disappointing for me.I've read and enjoyed other Mosley stories and was enjoying this one to begin with about a young guy from the country who moves to New York and notices a weird advertisement for a job in a few different papers so decides to apply. He then meets a very strange man who gives him a list of people and tells him to go visit them and talk to them if he can.When one dies before his eyes he becomes a suspect. However then the story just got a little stupid.

The other stories Corn Maidern by Joyce Carol Oates, Resurrection man by Sharyn McCrumb, Merely Hate by Ed McBain, The Things They Left Behind by Stephen King, Ransome Women by John Farris or Forever by Jeffery Deaver were no stand outs to what those authors normally produce.However I did find McBain's intro to this collection to be a really interesting read.

Fun Anthology
This anthology includes ten crime novellas.

EXCELLENT
Lawrence Block "Keller's Adjustment" -- Block is a master. In this one hitman Keller ponders his future after September 11. Great writing especially dialogue.

Sharyn McCrumb "Resurrection Man" -- This is less crime and more literary. It's about a black graverobber who works for a Georgia university before, during, and after the Civil War. Stars slow but great storytelling.

Anne Perry "Hostages" -- I usually get irritated with Perry because it often seems that she's being paid by the word. This one, however, surprised me. It's lean, mean, and compelling.

Donald Westlake "Walking Around Money" -- Westlake is another master who knows exactly what he's doing and how to do it.

GOOD
Ed McBain "Merely Hate" -- Good procedural with a few twists.

Walter Mosley "Archibald Lawless" -- Interesting if implausible piece about a naive New Orleans young man who gets involved with a larger-than-life personality after moving to New York City.

Stephen King "The Things They Left Behind" -- Per usual, King is repetitive and can't quite pull off a great concept. I kept wanting this September 11 piece to get better, but it never did.

Jeffery Deaver "Forever" -- Deaver just can't end a story. He's got to add twist after twist after twist until the story becomes this unsatisfying scifi thing. Still, Talbot is a great character.

FAIR --
John Farris "The Ransome Women" -- John Farris is one of the worst writers ever. He is just awful. However, he is so bad he sometimes becomes good. Shlocky, soap operish, melodramatic romance novel--you've got to read it to believe it. I was laughing out loud at some of the hackneyed lines and plot twists. I about died when a character and his doomed relative roasted marshmallows over the burning ashes of one of his paintings.

Joyce Carol Oates "The Corn Maiden" -- Oates is not a bad writer. But she's certainly not a good one either. The story was disturbing and really kind of gross. I don't know what it is about Oates, but I get the feeling that she's never lived but only written and read. If that makes any sense.

Forever by Jeffery Deaver
Over approximately the last month, I've slowly made my way through Transgressions, the 2005 anthology of crime-fiction novellas edited by the late Ed McBain. As with most anthologies (especially those composed primarily of "big names"), the results have been of mixed quality. A few stand out among the rest -- among them The Ransome Women by John Farris and The Resurrection Man by Sharyn McCrumb -- but only one stood high enough to be recognized as definitely the best of the bunch: Forever by Jeffery Deaver, an author I'd not previously read.

In Forever, Deaver introduces police statistician Talbot Simms. Tal in a numbers whiz who is happy to remain at his desk, crunching arithmetic means and standard deviations. But when a couple of elderly suicides present themselves as statistical "outliers" (meaning the combination of events fall far outside the norm of mathematical likelihood), Tal declares them "2124" (suspicious) and inadvertently heads toward solving his first case as a "real" police detective.

Deaver skillfully portrays Tal Simms as a novice among veterans, concurrently showing the reader all the tiny details needed to follow procedure. But Tal slowly feels his way along, with the reluctant help of Detective Greg LaTour, who develops a grudging respect for the "Einstein" of his department. Both characters are fully three-dimensional, and I would welcome a series from Deaver featuring them. Forever also features some of the most original plotting and imagination this side of classic science fiction. Odd that I put off reading it for so long, primarily from not knowing his work, because Deaver's is the name I'll come away from Transgressions most praising.

AReading Buffet
Transgressionsprovidesreaders with the opportunity to sample ten different offerings from ten different authors.There is a gritty 87th Precinct novella from Ed Mcbain and a lyrical offering on a child abduction from Joyce Carol Oates.Steven King is well represented with a short but strangely moving tale of a 911 survivor haunted by his souveniers from his unlucky co-workers.

I enjoyed Transgressions for both its quality and variety. While no story in particular was a stand out, each provided a sample of the particular author's style.Like a buffet, a taste is really all you need to determine where (and whether) you will return for second and third helpings.

A smorgasbord of great reads!
After the success of his novel BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, Evan Hunter (Ed McBain) turned to what were then referred to as "novelettes," his subject being the 87th Precinct detectives of Isola (think New York). As time passed, the 87th Precinct novelettes grew to full-length novels. Fifty years later, McBain persuaded nine other mystery, thriller, and horror writers to submit what are now called "novellas" of around a hundred pages each.

The result was one of my most enjoyable reads of 2006. I don't know why I don't read more anthologies. It was in an anthology that I first experienced Stuart Kaminsky, Sharyn McCrumb, and Lawrence Block.

Coincidentally, one of the best novellas in this anthology is one by Block. Block returns with his enigmatic hit man Keller in KELLER'S ADJUSTMENT. Block manages to make us feel empathy for the man. Although he has sex with a Phoenix real estate saleslady, Keller is essentially a lonely man. He needs somebody to talk to. He once had a dog, but a former girlfriend took it with him when she left; he went to a therapist, but the therapist turned into a snoop, and he had to dust him. Unwilling to take a chance on a living breathing entity, Keller buys a stuffed animal to talk to.

Jeffrey Deaver also responded to the call with FOREVER. In it he introduces Tal Simms, a mathematician/statistician working for Westbrook County Sheriff's Department. Simms is considered a "computer geek" by the rest of the detective squad, especially homicide detective Greg "Bear" LaTour. Simms and his eventual partner LaTour are confronted with several suspicious suicides. Older rich couples are killing themselves under dubious circumstances. In most respects, the underdog character Simms is every bit as likable as Lincoln Rhymes. I would definitely buy a full length novel featuring Simms.

A new discovery for me was John Farris.Farris's THE RANSOME WOMEN concerns a beautiful art appraiser named Echo Halloran who agrees to pose for the great artist John Leland Ransome. She's not only flattered, but as a budding artist herself, she wants to learn from him. Her boyfriend, police detective Peter O'Neil, is suspicious, and with good reason. I enjoyed this novella so much I ran right out and bought FURY, THE TERROR Farris's masterwork.

I have to admit that Ed McBain's own contribution, MERELY HATE, was my principal motivation for purchasing the anthology. I needed my 87th Precinct fix, and it's great as usual. It is post 9/11 in Isola, and the detectives are called to investigate the murder of a Muslim cab driver. Through these cab driver murders, McBain capsulizes the reason for the problems in the Mid East.

Other writers who contributed novellas were Donald Westlake, Anne Perry, Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, Sharyn McCrumb, and Stephen King. All of them were excellent. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of three cases for Easy Rawlins: "Devil in a Blue Dress", where he must find a missing girl who has a trunkload of someone else's cash; "A Red Death", where Easy is accused of murder whilst working for the IRS; and "White Butterfly", a hunt for the killer of a white prostitute. ... Read more

Product Description
Readers of this Critical Companion will discover the richness of Mosley's writings, as well as his contributions to the African-American literary tradition, the genres of detective writing and science fiction, and American literature in general. Mosley's influences, inspirations, obstacles, and successes are presented in a richly drawn biographical chapter, which incorporates the author's most recent interviews. ... Read more

Product Description
The Easy Rawlins series together for the first time in a 5-title gift set!

The five most popular works by the foremost mystery-writer of the nineties, Walter Mosley, have been collected into a special slip-sleeve audio package

Walter Mosley’s reluctant and existentially minded black detective, Easy Rawlins, has brought Mosley bestseller status and the type of mainstream literary acclaim usually denied writers of mystery thrillers. This outstanding five-volume set brings Rawlins to life and takes the listener into the intricate soul of a singular man. The earthy voice of actor Paul Winfield is the perfect match for the street smart, world weary Rawlins. The set includes:

A Red Death—Rawlins is forced to cut a deal with the FBI to get a corrupt, racist IRS agent off his back. However, Easy finds himself a prime suspect.

Devil in a Blue Dress—It seems simple enough...
there’s good money if Easy can find Daphne Monet, a blond beauty known to frequent jazz clubs, but the case is much more than it appears to be.

A White Butterfly—The serial killing of three black bar girls doesn’t cause a stir until a white coed is similarly killed. The L.A.P.D. calls on Rawlins to go to places they can’t.

Black Betty—Easy hunts for a sensuous woman who leaves a trail of murder and mayhem in her wake, and is plunged into the depths of America’s racial dilemmas and the mysteries of human character.

A Little Yellow Dog—Easy takes a nice quiet job.
Unfortunately, a teacher, two corpses, suspicious police, and a little yellow dog ring the bell on his peaceful existence.
... Read more

Product Description
Devil In A Blue Dress; A Red Death; White Butterfly. 3 Vols. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Astonishing First Novel in Series
I read Devil in a Blue Dress in one sitting.Obviously, writer Jonathan Kellerman did too, because he later wrote, "I read Devil in a Blue Dress in one sitting and didn't want it to end.An astonishing first novel."Fortunately for Mosley fans, there are more Easy Rawlins mysteries.Devil in a Blue Dress remains my favorite.It's set in 1948 in Los Angeles.Easy Rawlins is a war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant.This is the role Denzel Washington plays so well in the movie.Devil is much more than a hard-boiled mystery.The book left me wanting to read more about Easy Rawlin's adventures.

The first three Easy Rawlings novels are sensational!
When Roger Harris, editor of the Books section of the Star Ledger recomended all the Easy Rawlings novels, someone gave me the 3-book set as a present.

You want to get the three book set! The plots are complicated but there are no loose ends, the characters are strongly drawn, and Mr. Mosley has created a world you will want to return to after reading each novel.

Read them in chronological order, and enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
In What Next, Walter Mosley -- New York Times bestselling author -- has crafted a deeply personal and political proposal, offering a commonsense approach to the challenge of finding world peace in a post-9/11 world. Mosley recalls his father’s story about not feeling like an American until German soldiers shot at him during World War II. Now the younger Mosley explores what the terrorist attacks meant to him, and challenges African Americans to use their unique position to help create a new kind of peace between the U.S. and the rest of the world. What Next examines this and other questions in a powerful polemic and call to action for African Americans and freedom-loving people everywhere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A call for grass roots organization
The question here is not whether you agree or disagree with all that the author, Walter Mosley, says in this thin volume.The questions are simple.Do you really want worldwide peace?Are you willing to do something about it?From the outset, the author states that all are welcome to read this, but that he did write it as a wake-up call to African Americans. This is good that the book is specifically aimed at this group, but that sure as heck doesn't mean that there isn't a lot for all of us to chew on.I wish I could make thisrequired reading for all Americans, not only those of African heritage.

Uncommon perspective, uncommon good sense
Mosley presents a highly readable story of coming to terms with an America troubled with racism, war policies, and inequitable society. From race riots in Watts to War in Iraq, Mosley's views are inspired by an often wise father. It is a humane yet realistic viewpoint. Common sense, so very rare in much public discourse, is refreshed by a perspective from black (with some Jewish roots too) and non-privileged society.

Fun to read, personal, simple, sometimes profound, his ideas put the rhetoric of Ivy elites and news casters to shame.

A 5 Star Review that is finally listed from Disilgold Soul
When I got on the chat room with The AALBC. com founder, Troy Johnson, Thumper and Linda, author of Althea, our topic of discussion was "What's Next" by Walter Mosley, a cleverly interwoven essay designed to encourage African Amercians to take action and bring the world to peace, among all of the latest world issues and tragedies evolving from September 11.

I am merciful that this world renown writer survived the tragedies and caught the glimpse of horror in New York on the eventful day from his high rise posh apartment in Manhattan. I am resolved that he tributes his book to Haki Madhubiti.

Okay, the man has clout, we're in for a conversation, and all is touching. Kudos go out to Mr. Mosley for listening to his grandpa who shares the irony of war, and plight of Black Americans being faced with the realization that even if Black and in American uniform, are discriminated against, shot and forcefully killed by opposing forces with the same anger and resentment toward White soldiers during World War 2 as an "American."

The question of Americanism fuels the reader's daunting emotions, who Mosley seems to sheepishly but intentionally question, " Are you proud to be American?" A gulp of hot fiery tension develops in the base of the readers neck, emotions fly, and before you know it, you too are lashing out at the brilliant writer with menacing anger, but it's really the issues you've been waiting to quell.

This isn't a conversation that unfolds, it's a war between those who debate the issue. After the debate is over, you cleverly realize that as an African American you have fallen into Mr. Mosley's trap which unveils the issues within the Black Community and even how we relate to one another.

The question is no longer, "Are you proud to be American?" but do you really love and respect your fellow Americans no matter what culture, ethnicity, race, upbringing and race enough to take pride in being an American citizen even with the tragedies bestowed upon Black America from slavery to social upheavals.

After all, many Black Americans are living the dream, and financially stable. Are these folks, like White America responsible for helping those not as well off? Are we asking for reimbursement from within our own community of successful Blacks in America to digress from retribution owed to Black America for the injustices and inequitable land bartering reminiscent of the sell out of Manhattan to Native Americans? Questions, questions, questions unfold, and the question of what do we do is so earthshaking, that between all of our responses on the chat room, cause the transcript to be lost forever. My computer also froze.

My last thought, "Did someone freeze my computer? Only being humorous. I hope Thumper, and I can make up, and I thank Troy Johnson for being a mediator of cyber war. I would have to blame Walter for this fateful mishap and forbid him to keep his questions to himself.

However, expect your heart to palpitate, emotions to fly, and true forgiveness of the eloquent Mr. Mosley, who only asked a question. Calm down, enjoy this thorough and poignant read. I hope you didn't think this question would be answered in one read? Expect many more debates and emotions run amuck from those who have missed the message. I hear you Walter. What is next?

Question: Was that Walter Mosley featured live on C-Span during The Harlem Book Fair 2003 blending in with the questioners of the panelists and just as charming as ever? Who would know the man is a humorous and light-hearted soul who can stir up controversy around the world with such powerful strength to affect a whole nation?

Mosley call us to think, to speak, and to act.
The gift of the George W. Bush presidency is a wake up call. With What Next, Walter Mosley contributes beautifully and practically to that awakening. Written in a readable voice that is like having a long cup of coffee with Mr. Mosley, this book needs to be spread far and wide --- not just for his specific thoughts and ideas, but also for the inspiration it provides for us all to think for ourselves rather than simply accepting what we are spoon fed.

Buy several copies and help spread the word.

- Thom Rutledge, author of Embracing Fear (HarperSanFrancisco)

REFLECTION ON PEACE
Walter Mosley is one who moves beyond the tag of being a mystery writer. In this slender volume he shares his reflections and thoughts on how to achieve world peace.According to Mosley African-Americans hold the key in achieving world peace due to their unique experience in America.

How does Mosley get to this idea? He shares with us a story told to him by his father. LeRoy Mosley shares his epiphany of being an American through his World War II experience. He states, "It was the Germans and the Americans who were at war... I didn't know I was an American until they ( the Germans) started shooting at me." The senior Mosley reveals the paradox of being Black in America. Blacks are seen as outsiders by the majority population but those who are America's enemies don't make a distinction between Black and White. Regardless of ethnicity, Americans are seen as the enemy.

Using his father's story as the launching point, Mosley looks at the events of September 11th and sees that blacks are identified with the oppressor even if they are considered outsiders. Since Blacks occupy a precarious position in the society they can understand the anger of the enemy. As Americans Blacks can no longer remain silent about world affairs. They must become key players for America's fate is tied to African-Americans.

Mosley calls for grassroots organization, the utilization of the media and political action in order for African-Americans to engage America inpromoting piece. You don't have to be a political science major to realize the need for such actions. Mosley has some good thoughts but he rambles and at timesyou wonder how he got from point A to point B. He speaks about the silence of Blacks concerning 9-11 but fails to point out that the so-called silence was due to the media and not passivism on the part of African-Americans. His ideas are so general as to be useless. After all, haven't these steps have already been taken?

I applaud Mr. Mosley for starting the conversation about peace but he needs to add more depth and detail into what he feels African-Americans can do to achieve it. ... Read more

Product Description
Features three complete cases for Easy Rawlins - African-American war veteran turned private investigator - who was born on the bad side of 1950s Los Angeles. This anthology contains: "Devil in a Blue Dress"; "A Red Death"; and "White Butterfly". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Page turner.
A very good book. Walter Mosely never ceases to amaze me with his story telling ability. His wit and writing style really draws you in. This is a must have for any real Walter Mosely fan or anyone who enjoys a good, engaging, read. This is probably his best book since "Always out-numbered, always out-gunned." I could not put this book down. My only complaint is that it was so short. ... Read more

Product Description
Three detective stories by Twain, with an introduction by Walter Mosley: "Tom Sawyer, Detective," an adventure featuring Tom and Huck, and two other stories that poke merciless fun at the genre. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It's Mark Twain!
As expected, this book from America's greatest writer is fun and funny.It's actually three books, put together in a facsimile edition by Oxford.The first books, _The Stolen White Elephant, etc._ is a collection ofClemens' humorous short stories and speeches. Though these do not get intothe same serious criticism of society as _Huck Finn_ or _ConnecticutYankee_, they do have a biting tone and make the reader laugh. Despite thetitle, the only of these tales with any detectives is the title story. Thesecond book, _Tom Sawyer, Detective_, follows Tom and Huck on a thirdadventure. Huck tells the story, and though the accent isn't done asthoroughly as in the prequel, the novel is funny and...well, funny! Thelast novel, _A Double-Barreled Detective Story_, makes fun of the wholedetective genre.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who who missed Tom,Huck and Hank Morgan, and to anyone looking for a good laugh. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Muy Bueno

Tenemos cintas magneticas de este libro pero necesitamos el libro para leer y entender unas palabras. ... Read more