The Right Mistake: The Further
Philosophical Investigations of
Socrates Fortlow by Walter Mosley
A Grand Slam
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. Now freed after
serving twenty-seven years in prison, he is filled with profound guilt about
his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos of the streets. Along with
his gambler friend Billy Psalms, Socrates calls together local people of all
races from their different social stations—lawyers, gangsters, preachers,
Buddhists, businessmen—to conduct meetings of a Thinkers’ Club, where
all can discuss the unanswerable questions in life. The street philosopher
enjoins his friends to explore—even in the knowledge that there’s nothing
that they personally can do to change the ways of the world—what might
be done anyway, what it would take to change themselves. Infiltrated by
undercover cops, and threatened by strain from within, tensions rise as
hot-blooded gangsters and respectable deacons fight over issues of

personal and social responsibility. But simply by asking questions about
racial authenticity, street justice, infidelity, poverty, and the possibility of
mutual understanding, Socrates and his unlikely crew actually begin to
make a difference. In turns outraged and affectionate, The Right Mistake
offers a profoundly literary and ultimately redemptive exploration of the
possibility of moral action in a violent and fallen world.
Personal Review: The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical
Investigations of Socrates Fortlow by Walter Mosley
Socrates Fortlow is one of my favorite literary characters. When I'm
frequently mired in skirmishs with government bureaucrats on behalf of my
son, who is disabled, I remind myself that we are "always outnumbered,
always outgunned" so what. Some days progress is measured in small
increments. What a treat to find a new Socrates Fortlow adventure.
Mosley turns a fine phrase, in reference to the Thursday Thinkers dinners:
"We are here because the world . . . the whole damn world is messed up,"
Socrates said simply and to the point. "An' all we do every day is shut our
eyes hopin' that it'll get bettah wile we ain't lookin."
When you've grown up in Los Angeles, in the mid century, you remember
the LAPD at its "finest" -- and Mosley has not forgotten these times either.
It's all there: profiling, infiltration/spying, etc. Truth becomes the only
defense when you're surrounded by lies. Perhaps some of the characters,
the more "normal" lawyers or social worker or singer are a little one
dimensional, and to the average reader they are perhaps more easily
understood. Socrates Fortlow has paid a terrible price for his truth and
freedom. Now he finds love with Luna, and companionship and
philosophical discussions while breaking bread with friends and strangers.
This book is a good read: thought provoking, presenting possible solutions
(only if we talk with each other) and lots of comic relief with the highly
original gambler and cook, Billy Psalms. Utopian, perhaps, but if you don't
imagine it's possible, where do you find hope? Or truth for that matter?
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