The ultimate anti-hero, Iceberg Slim, takes you into the secret inner world of the pimp, and the smells, the sounds, the fears and petty triumphs of his world. A legendary figure of the Chicago underworld, this is his story: from defending his mother against the evil men she brought into their lives, to becoming a giant of the streets. A seething tale of brutality, cunning and greed, "Pimp" is a harrowing portrait of life on the wrong side of the tracks, and a rich warning from a true survivor.
Pimp: The Story of My Life
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Editorial Reviews
Review
* Slim belongs to the knuckle-duster-in-the-face school of storytelling. Sunday Times * Slim always told it as it was, without compromise. -- Irvine Welsh * Pimp is hot and frantic, a remarkable tour de force of carnality and violence. The Times * Iceberg Slim does for the pimp what Jean Genet did for the thief. Washington Post * Pimp is an eye-boggling netherworld documentary, a tear-arse tale of ferocious emotion, expressed through action. Q magazine * Iceberg Slim always kept it real. It is blatant, uncompromising, and as close to the truth as you can get without going there yourself. -- Ice T * This brutally honest memoir...is as shocking today as ever. A precursor of 40 years of black-street culture, this is uncompromising and harrowing, but a landmark book nonetheless. Big Issue 20090302
About the Author
Roberk Beck, who used the moniker Iceberg Slim, was a major league pimp who enjoyed serious sucess during the 40s and 50s. He decided to leave the pimping game having served his third and final stretch in jail. He moved to Los Angeles where he straightened out and began a career as a writer. Pimp was originally published in 1967.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
292 of 313 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I think this Iceberg Slim's writing debut alongside with his "Naked Soul of Iceberg Slim" are monument classics to the extreme. Iceberg Slim, all BS aside tells the bitter truth about the pimp life during the 40's and 50's in the Black concrete reservation called Harlem. It shows the candid realities of the ghetto life and about the struggles of a man, frustrated with the setbacks and oppressions of a prodominately white society and despairingly turns to pimping and drug pushing as a way out. Now, I must further comment to some of the youngbloods out there that read Iceberg is dead in his grave, but if he were alive today, and read some of the entries here, he would not be flattered but pissed, to put it bluntly. When 'Berg meant for people (particularly young African-American males to read "Pimp", he intended to give you insight on the pimp game in order for you to see just what a hellish life he really lead as a pimp. It was not meant as a rule book, but a discouragement from the game.Oh, sure, there was the easy money, the power over women, and the false sense of respect as you ride down the street in that Cadillac. But what about the other dangers, like having to look over your shoulders for the police, f--king up your mind with that powder (although today we have crack, even worse). And the women, when they get older and more resentful, they'll cross you and set you up one day, so you have to constantly make sure that they stay mostly ignorant of your weaknesses as not just a player, but a man. If Ice were alive, he would tell you that the pimp life ain't so f--king glamourous, but it's hell, that's why he later settled down with his wife and kid and turned straight. So, brothers, as a former player myself, I'm telling you, don't diss your sisters, talking about pimping, because it's not a beautiful lifestyle. You want money, you want girls to dig you? Get an education, Get a f--king job, save some money and get some f--cking business. Because I tell you bro's you might say it's the "White Man's Fault" we're in the shape were in, but in truth, we've got nobody to blame but our own nappy head selves. Yeah, we were bad, cool, and slick back then, but in reality, we were stupid as hell. We were only to steps from the County Jail and that's where you'll end up if you don't check your mind. Stay your a--es in school, and keep your f--king a--es out of jail. Or else, just be another profit to the man. That's what I have to say and I know Ice would agree. Peace! END
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
If Mark Twain were a Black street pimp, he would have been Iceberg Slim. Pimp is one of the most captivating books I have ever read. Slim effectively uses his eye for detail and dry humor to bring the hard streets of the Chicago's South Side to life. The characters are well constructed, and the author's protrayal of himself is colorful and honest. Slim does not look for the reader to forgive him for his actions, nor does he try to justify his past deeds with rationalizing rhetoric. Instead, he just tells it like it was, using street slang that can be hard to follow at times, documenting his rise and fall, and how the latter brought him around to "square" life. This book is a true masterpiece of American literature.
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the autobiography of a pimp. There's nothing apologetic in it. The author regrets the line of work he chose, but you never get the impression that he's overplaying or underplaying any story in this book. It doesn't judge. It doesn't glamorize. It is nothing but honest. You get the impression that he's is telling this to you, or wrote it as it came to him and never went back to edit. Even the typos and misspellings added to the authenticity.
As a look into an unknown world, this book is fascinating. As a piece of writing, it certainly expanded my vocabulary. There's a glossary in the back for all the slang, but I found that I didn't even know a lot of the words that weren't included in the glossary, presumably because their meaning is well-known. And for all the sex and brutality in the book, the writing is well-crafted-you know enough, but it's never graphic for the sake of it.
The story itself is basically the life of this pimp, nicknamed Iceberg Slim. He tells you upfront that he was very lucky he didn't end up dead or in jail, as most people of his profession do. The story follows him from a young naďve kid to a wise old pimp at the top of his game. The book was written in the late 60s, but the story runs mostly from the '30s-'50s. From different cities to different jails, from whore to whore, the entire book oozes seediness and grit. It makes very clear that there is nothing glamorous in the life of a pimp.
As a look into an unknown world, this book is fascinating. As a piece of writing, it certainly expanded my vocabulary. There's a glossary in the back for all the slang, but I found that I didn't even know a lot of the words that weren't included in the glossary, presumably because their meaning is well-known. And for all the sex and brutality in the book, the writing is well-crafted-you know enough, but it's never graphic for the sake of it.
The story itself is basically the life of this pimp, nicknamed Iceberg Slim. He tells you upfront that he was very lucky he didn't end up dead or in jail, as most people of his profession do. The story follows him from a young naďve kid to a wise old pimp at the top of his game. The book was written in the late 60s, but the story runs mostly from the '30s-'50s. From different cities to different jails, from whore to whore, the entire book oozes seediness and grit. It makes very clear that there is nothing glamorous in the life of a pimp.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good story by Iceberg Slim, but not his best.
I thought this book by Iceberg Slim was okay but not as powerful and moving as his other stories like Mama Black Widow and Trick Baby.
Published 7 days ago by timothy polk
4.0 out of 5 stars
this is good
i like this story, it is a true story, i like the aspect of the 1930s/40s slang and when hos get slapped
Published 1 month ago by captain ahab
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting.
Even though the language in the book is outdated, I could visibly see and feel the era in which he was.
Published 1 month ago by sinnister
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pimpin ain't easy
The way the author laid his life story out can be summed up in one word, sad...he proved to his reading audience that not only is this life not easy, but you have to constantly... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Darryl A. Cox
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gritty But Engaging
I took this book with a grain of salt as some details seemed too specific for events occurring so many years earlier. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mammoth Films
5.0 out of 5 stars
wow
I love this book. I always wanted to read it and when I found it on amazon I was very excited and could not pass up the opportunity.
Published 1 month ago by Jennifer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book, Great Price
Iceberg Slim -- the original gangsta writer all the others aspire to be. "Pimp" is harsh and unrelentingly pimp game real.
Published 1 month ago by William Hoadley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes me wanna slap'a ho
Pimp by Iceberg Slim is a savagely honest autobiographical story by a man who was fully immersed in the cut-throat world of pimping. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ismael Galvan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really good
You can buy that your eyes closed, you wont regret it.
The voice is good, the "well-known" story take an another dimension when carry hite narrate it...
The voice is good, the "well-known" story take an another dimension when carry hite narrate it...
Published 2 months ago by Fab
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thats not how to treat women
But if you learn about this world, this is a stonecold account of the raw years when he was active....
Published 3 months ago by Nico Lecocq
