Product Description

An inspirational tale that tells the incredible life story of Sergei Ivanov, affectionately known as Socrates, a sage whose wisdom was destined to change the lives of not only author Dan Millman but also the countless readers of his first book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior. In the heart of Tsarist Russia in 1872, an orphaned boy of Jewish and Cossack descent seeks to find his place in the world. The Journeys of Socrates is an odyssey of courage and love, revealing how a boy became a man, a man became a warrior, and how a warrior found peace. Dan Millman first described the wise enigmatic man he called Socrates in Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Now, in telling the life story of that old service station mechanic, Dan reveals universal truths about all our lives and reminds us of a courage and love as strong and ancient as the roots of the world. From tales of life at a Russian military school to the flight of a fugitive, survival in the wilderness to marriage and the search for family, The Journeys of Socrates is full of tragedy, triumph and hard-earned wisdom from the soul of a peaceful warrior.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70779 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From the Author
I devoted four years of my life to writing The Journeys of Socrates. Each of my books has a different purpose. For Journeys, my intentions included: relating the life of my old mentor; addressing a number of themes, especially how a warrior found peace -- how to break the cycles of revenge and retribution even when they seem justified. My other books, including Way of the Peaceful Warrior, convey didactic material and reminders for living. In this new book, I did not want to clone my first book, but rather to write a strong and original story. It includes many reminders about life, but they are found in the subtext (and more directly in conversations later in the story). As Sergei's mentor reminds him: In combat and in life, expect nothing, but be prepared for anything. I would advice readers of Journeys to do the same.

About the Author
Dan Millman is a former world champion athlete, martial arts instructor, Stanford gymnastics coach and Oberlin College professor. He is the author of 11 bestsellers that have sold millions in 29 languages. He leads seminars and workshops and speaks to thousands of people each year around the world. His books are promoted through his website, www.danmillan.com.

Customer Reviews

Epic adventure
The Journeys of Socrates - Dan Millman
This story tells the story of the early life an orphan child, Sergei Ivanov, who is placed in a Russian military school in the care of his Uncle. Born in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century Sergei is taught to become a great warrior. He was expected to take after his father, and fight to defend the Tsar, but he chose another path. He escapes from the military school and starts to search for a buried treasure that his grandfather had told him about. This treasure brings about his meeting with the girl who becomes his wife, and ultimately to the tragic event in which her life is taken in the most appalling way imaginable. He becomes set on revenge, and starts to track down her murderers. Along the way he meets many great men, who teach him that revenge is not the way forward. Instead he learns how to find peace and acceptance. This is an epic story, filled sorrow, horror, love, tragedy and triumph.

Down to Earth
Where WPW shows the magic and mystic adventure, JoS shows a much more real story, it shows what Soc went through and how he learned the things he taught Dan. The realism of how Soc learned to be a Peaceful Warrior has made me feel like its possible for me to do it as well - without having to find some magic man to help me. The book is wonderfully written in my opinion and while I was suprised by the turnout of some events, I never felt lost as to what was going on. And like most great reads it was nearly impossible to put down!

Only an average adventure story.
Dan Millman is a well respected author of motivational and inspirational books but, The Journeys of Socrates, although the prequel to his award winning lifestyle book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, is a work of fiction. This book tells the story of the early life of the orphan Sergei Ivanov, destined to become Socrates, Dan Millman's fictional mentor. Born in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century Sergei lives in a land of adventure and opportunity, of Cossacks and sabers, and also atrocities in the form of the pogroms - the heinous slaughter of innocent Jews at the hands of marauding bands of Cossacks. The book spans roughly thirty years and is a classic action-packed adventure story, feeling very like the plot of a martial arts film; the story of a young man seeking strength and revenge, slowly mellowing into a warrior who knows when and when not to fight.

We first join Sergei in a military academy learning the skills to become an elite bodyguard of the Tsar. Despite surviving many hardships he is forced to leave when he suspects he will be forced to join in the pogroms. However he becomes a fugitive when he accidentally kills the school bully, so he escapes into the wilderness, where he lives in the wild using his survival skills. When finally he feels it is safe, he travels to St. Petersburg where he meets and marries a young Jewish girl. This new life is ruined however, as, after a chance encounter with a band of Cossacks, his wife is killed, along with their unborn child. Sergei pledges himself to revenging his wife's death, seeking several wise masters in order to learn techniques and abilities in order to defeat his foes. Amidst these lessons he learns that violence isn't always the way and puts his quest aside. Unfortunately, despite his decision, fate conspires against him and he is forced to put his training to the test and face the Cossack band that killed his wife.

After reading this book I didn't know if I liked it or not, I read it quickly which is always a good sign, but after the book was finished I found it didn't leave much of an impression. For an adventure story it was a good example of its genre but was a much shallower novel than I was expecting. As Dan Millman is an author of inspirational and motivational books I was expecting something with a deeper message than was in this book. I also felt that it was only averagely written, lacking the certain something that would have set it out from the crowd, and the plot twists were slightly predictable and even childish in scope. The setting of 19th Century Tsarist Russia was a little strange, especially as even though I know very little about this period, I learnt nothing new by the end of the book. However, the characters were well fleshed out, and I connected well with them, they were well defined and their motivations clear, if a little clichéd.

In short the book was gripping and had potential, but was let down by the author's inexperience at writing mainstream fiction. It is an average adventure romp that would make good holiday reading, but lacks the depth that you might expect from a Dan Millman book.