Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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210 of 226 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't be fools, brothers..., November 23, 1998
By A Customer
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
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there..., February 9, 2005
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 naïve 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.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A vivid cautionary tale, March 24, 2000
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.
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