Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation [NOOK Book]

( 3 )

Overview

In his late teens and early twenties, Walter Mosley was addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. Drawing from this intimate knowledge of addiction and recovery, Mosley explores the deviances of contemporary America and describes a society in thrall to its own consumption. Although Americans live in the richest country on earth, many citizens exist on the brink of poverty, and from that profound economic inequality stems self-destructive behavior.

In Twelve Steps to Political ...

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Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation

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More About This Book

Overview

In his late teens and early twenties, Walter Mosley was addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. Drawing from this intimate knowledge of addiction and recovery, Mosley explores the deviances of contemporary America and describes a society in thrall to its own consumption. Although Americans live in the richest country on earth, many citizens exist on the brink of poverty, and from that profound economic inequality stems self-destructive behavior.

In Twelve Steps to Political Revelation, Mosley outlines a guide to recovery from oppression. First we must identify the problems that surround us. Next we must actively work together to create a just, more holistic society. And finally, power must be returned to the embrace of the people.

Challenging and original, Recovery confronts both self-understanding and how we define ourselves in relation to others.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Mosley's slim manifesto aims to foment an American "intellectual revolution," but it offers few original ideas toward realizing that end. Linking personal unhappiness to political disenfranchisement, the acclaimed thriller writer of the Easy Rawlins series, prescribes a 12-step program for kicking "Americanism"—an addictive and pernicious ideology that encourages "tolerance to lies, worldwide aggression... pain and lifelong unhappiness." Social ills can be cured through communication: dialogue between the young and old, between friends, between people who have a single political agenda in common—the last through a semi-conceived Web site he calls "Democracy Initiative." Elsewhere, Mosley's "steps toward revolution" might be better defined as banal exercises in self-help (he argues that therapy can be a tool for political change because it is a safe space for "revolutionary exchanges" and attaining objectivity), recapping Marx, or well-intentioned irrelevance (it's "the responsibility of every person in the nation to tell the truth at least once a day"). Though Mosley is admirably candid about his own struggles with addiction and depression, and his prose can sing, as a catalyst the book is more likely to spark frustration than epiphany (May)
Library Journal
Mosley (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey) is best known for his mystery novels, but he is also an accomplished political essayist with keen insights into the state of our nation. In this short book, using his own experiences as a former abuser of alcohol, he offers his own 12-step program of redemption that he hopes will produce a new paradigm in which true democracy flourishes. Mosley scoffs at the idea that true democracy already exists in America but holds to the belief that one day soon the Internet will free us by allowing political organizing outside the traditional two-party system. Some readers may be turned off by Mosley's emphasis on class struggle. (For example, he calls for a limit of a ten-percent profit on goods sold.) But there can be no doubt that this author writes well. VERDICT Regardless of one's political point of view, it is refreshing to read a book on social issues written with the flair of a novelist. Those interested in keeping up with the state of our country will enjoy, along with fans of Mosley's fiction.—Robert Bruce Slater, Stroudsburg, PA
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781568586670
  • Publisher: Nation Books
  • Publication date: 4/26/2011
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 112
  • Sales rank: 417,220
  • File size: 180 KB

Meet the Author

Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley is the author of more than thirty-four critically acclaimed books, including the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins. He is the winner of an O. Henry Award, a Grammy, and PEN America's Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in New York City.

Biography

When President Bill Clinton announced that Walter Mosley was one of his favorite writers, Black Betty (1994), Mosley's third detective novel featuring African American P.I. Easy Rawlins, soared up the bestseller lists. It's little wonder Clinton is a fan: Mosley's writing, an edgy, atmospheric blend of literary and pulp fiction, is like nobody else's. Some of his books are detective fiction, some are sci-fi, and all defy easy categorization.

Mosley was born in Los Angeles, traveled east to college, and found his way into writing fiction by way of working as a computer programmer, caterer, and potter. His first Easy Rawlins book, Gone Fishin' didn't find a publisher, but the next, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990) most certainly did -- and the world was introduced to a startlingly different P.I.

Part of the success of the Easy Rawlins series is Mosley's gift for character development. Easy, who stumbles into detective work after being laid off by the aircraft industry, ages in real time in the novels, marries, and experiences believable financial troubles and successes. In addition, Mosley's ability to evoke atmosphere -- the dangers and complexities of life in the toughest neighborhoods of Los Angeles -- truly shines. His treatment of historic detail (the Rawlins books take place in Los Angeles from the 1940s to the mid-1960s) is impeccable, his dialogue fine-tuned and dead-on.

In 2002, Mosley introduced a new series featuring Fearless Jones, an Army vet with a rigid moral compass, and his friend, a used-bookstore owner named Paris Minton. The series is set in the black neighborhoods of 1950s L.A. and captures the racial climate of the times. Mosley himself summed up the first book, 2002's Fearless Jones, as "comic noir with a fringe of social realism."

Despite the success of his bestselling crime series, Mosley is a writer who resolutely resists pigeonholing. He regularly pens literary fiction, short stories, essays, and sci-fi novels, and he has made bold forays into erotica, YA fiction, and political polemic. "I didn't start off being a mystery writer," he said in an interview with NPR. "There's many things that I am." Fans of this talented, genre-bending author could not agree more!

Good To Know

Mosley won a Grammy award in 2002 in the category of "Best Album Notes" for Richard Pryor.... And It's Deep, Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992).

Mosley is an avid potter in his spare time.

In our 2004 interview, Mosley reveals:

"I was a computer programmer for 15 years before publishing my first book. I am an avid collector of comic books. And I believe that war is rarely the answer, especially not for its innocent victims."

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    1. Hometown:
      New York, New York
    1. Date of Birth:
      January 12, 1952
    2. Place of Birth:
      Los Angeles, California
    1. Education:
      B.A., Johnson State College
    2. Website:
      http://www.waltermosley.com

Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted December 7, 2011

    As always, Walter Mosley at his best!!!

    I found this joint to be helpful and intuitive to what's needed if you want to make a new approach in your everyday life.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 6, 2011

    Great discussion contemporary politics

    This book was quite excellent and was a unique interpretation of contemporary politics.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 21, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

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