Book Review: Pimp: The Story of My Life
by Iceberg Slim
- A 2024 National Bestselling Book – Adult Nonfiction (Paperback)
- A 2023 National Bestselling Book - Adult Nonfiction (Paperback)
- A Top 10 Book in the “Urban Fiction Books – Pre 1999” Category
- 8 Time AALBC.com Bestselling Book!
Cash Money Content (May 10, 2011)
Nonfiction, Paperback, 320 pages
More Info
Book Reviewed by Thumper
Hello All. Now, my friend Gwen hipped me to Iceberg Slim. First, with his
book, Mama Black Widow and now Pimp. I didn’t know what to expect, but I
knew that it would be in-you-face reality. I got that and more. Pimp: The
Story Of My Life is brutally honest and it seems to wallow on the dark, ugly
side of human nature. It’s definitely not for the weak-stomach,
illusion-preferred-having people. This is about the other side of reality
that many of us, by the Grace Of God, will only encounter in a book, such as
Pimp.
Pimp covers the life of Iceberg Slim, from his early childhood
to his first stint in prison to his rise and fall as a pimp. Simp opens the
door and a window to the seedy side of town. He goes into details of how to
"turn" a woman to become a prostitute, his relationship to the women in his
"stable", rules in the unwritten book of pimping, and even gives a brief
history of the black pimp. But, the most dangerous is his insight into human
nature. It’s not pretty, not by any stretch of the imagination.
I
was captivated. I felt like a kid reading Hustler in the middle of the
night, under the covers with a flashlight. For it seemed that I was reading
and learning things that I shouldn’t. Let’s face, it disturb the devil out
of me.
The only element about the narrative of the book is the fact
that Slim used slang throughout it. Normally, I wouldn’t mind it, but you
must realize that the slang he used are words that was used almost 60 years
ago. Yep, a history lesson unto itself. Eventually, I caught on, but it took
a while.
Pimp is indeed powerful. Years ago I heard that there was a
possibility that some people in Hollywood was thinking about making Pimp
into a movie. It could be done. But the only problem is…who would play
Iceberg Slim?
