Excellent read! An indepth look into the life of Robert Beck a.k.a. Iceberg Slim to his friends and to his business associates. Robert Beck led the life of a poor child coming up abused by his biological father and after his father left his mother, he was abused by some of his mother’s later boyfriends and a babysitter. His mother moved to different cities so he learned the ways of folks north, Midwest, east-coast and west-coast. Robert was a gifted and articulate person even from an early age and always thought to be “pretty.” He learned from friends and older street hustlers how to use his talents to his advantage without getting a square job. Through his many connections growing up he learned how to street hustle – get financial gain from lucrative if not always legal endeavors. As he grew up he went from numbers “policy” to some dodgy streaks running cons on people selling boxes full of bricks that were supposed to be television sets, or selling and unfortunately sampling product “drugs” weed, pills, heroin. He developed a heroin habit that stuck with him into his later adult years. But the one hustle that Iceberg Slim is known most for is when he became a pimp. While in prison he learned from some of the OGs (old gangsters) there how to control a woman, charm her and manipulate her into selling her body for money that she would then bring home to him. He would give the girls in his stable, usually no more than 20 at a time, a percentage of the money they brought in, but, Iceberg Slim kept the lion’s share. He was known for his skills and his sweet talk, his immaculately pressed suits and fine clothes. His hair just so and diamonds glistening on every finger. He was articulate and knew just how to work a trick (someone interested in hooking up with one of his ladies) and did very well for himself. Although he went to prison 4 times for various reasons he always went back to what he knew and was good at when he got out. In his later years he got out of the business of pimping and met a woman named Betty that he married. He settled down somewhat though still working small-time hustles for money. He and Betty had 4 children together and he raised the baby Betty carried when they first met as his own son. Robert would tell Betty stories of his various activities he had been involved with and she told him his life would make a great book. She followed through and wrote down all he said, typed it up and submitted his story to a small time publisher that was riding the black-sploitation craze of the early 1970s. Soon Robert’s story and later additional books he dictated about people he knew giving them different names to protect their innocence were in print and could be found throughout the Crenshaw neighborhood and later throughout the black businesses in Los Angeles. Word spread about his books and more and more they were requested throughout the United States by other black businesses. Robert and Betty received minuscule compensation for all the books the publishing house was selling. The books have been translated into 17 different languages so far and are still in demand, yet, Robert received little in return as his royalty checks and he and Betty spent their marriage in constant financial need and at times Betty had to get ugly with the publishing house to give them some money to live on and feed their kids. Betty and Robert’s marriage ended due to his philandering, her temper and the dire circumstances they found themselves in. He wanted Betty to start writing screenplays of his work and she refused. She was fed up with always having to do the work and take care of the children while he went out for fun times with other women leaving all the responsibilities to her. Betty took the children and left him. She never went back. A few years later Robert received a fan letter from a teacher that he personally responded to. This became a sort of pen-pal arrangement with their finally meeting, falling in love and marrying. Slim went on to write more novels though he begged his new wife and his children to find a new publisher for his works as he believed he had been taken for many hundreds of thousands of dollars maybe millions in royalties as his books are still being reprinted for the current generation. Iceberg Slim was read by and acknowledged as the inspiration for many rappers today, two of which took their name from his – Ice T and Ice Cube who formed the group N.W.A. This is a very interesting read and I highly recommend it. The story of a man who did not let his circumstances dictate his path, he made his own way and makes no apologies for doing what he felt he had to do to survive his “street poisoning.” He would have made a wonderful speaker for an author visit. A story teller and a teacher.
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