Plot Overview
The life of Robert Beck is one of tragedy, drama, triumph, and triumphant disappointment. His life and the lives he witnessed inspired the memorable characters he created in his novels and essays penned until his death in 1992. In Iceberg Slim, unofficial biographer Peter Muckley has dissected the characters and prose of Pimp, Trick Baby, The Naked Soul of Iceberg Slim, Mama Black Widow, Long White Con, Death Wish, Doom Fox, and Airtight Willie and Me to reveal some insightful interpretations as to the significance of these works. Through this exhaustive critique, Muckley has provided an intimate look at the man that the world has come to know as Iceberg Slim.
Reader’s Review
Already read this book? Was it good or bad? Share your thoughts and do a review for Street Fiction. EMAIL a paragraph or two with your thoughts on this book. Thanks.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Sixto Ríos // Nov 25, 2007 at 10:17 am
This book is unique. It is a marvellous and a first class work of reference with a high documentary value (pictures, vignettes, citations). Moreover, it is a brilliant, perceptive and a well-written psychological/literary portrait from one of the African American Cultural Icons. The book is a vibrating travel through Iceberg Slim´s works.
Muckley shows us (and he knows how to do it) very sharply and without subterfuges, that life can be a brutal, shattering experience, where survival is attached to Wisdom, a Street Rogue Wisdom. Thus, the author in a masterly way engage us with Robert Beck´s Life Manifesto. Muckley take us into the pimp underworld/Beck´s universe where fascination and cheap glamour coexist along with hazardous shadows, violence and perversity.
This book is clear and direct. Stylistically solid. A masterwork, a timeless book, a great book!
2 sergio // Dec 23, 2007 at 6:45 am
I found this work particularly interesting for any fan of Iceberg’s because of its permanent features: the plot-breakdowns;the list of Slim’s fictional character’s and their traits; the link between Iceberg’s life and African-American history; the Works Cited.
I am not much of an enthusiast for criticism but the critical comment is good. For all the above, this book is well-worth possessing and treasuring to go along with your real Slim collection.
3 Eddie P. Johnson Jr. // Dec 29, 2007 at 6:12 am
Peter Muckley’s Iceberg Slim: The Life As Art is a good and handy reference guide to have, one which won’t date easily.
Still, I found the best thing about the book was the critical commentary. In this, I am in total agreement with Thumper of AALBC who said of the book that it “… is deep–truly a fine work of literary criticism on Slim’s Literary work”.
The criticism highlights just how good Slim’s street writing is, and how evil the society in which he and millions of other Blacks have to live was/is.
4 WilleB // Jun 27, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Muckley’s not much of a scholar, though, as the book has many, many errors. Possibly these are the fault of the publisher. One such is “Tom Bradley, mayor of California” on page xviii of the paperback.
Also, he makes some big leaps–he tries to tie Holloway House’s name to a British prison, when the publishing company was named after a nearby street.
It’s a start in the study of Robert Beck, but it’s not the final word.
5 Pete Muckley // Jul 5, 2008 at 2:17 am
In response to WilleB’s criticisms, I feel I should point out the following…
There are indeed many errata in the text and I attempted to correct them all but even proofreading must have a stop.
Obviously Tom Bradley could not be the mayor of a state since states do not have mayors. That particular section –the parallel chronology– proved impossible for my publishers to handle. the format, at first, was all over the place. I gave up after correcting them time and again. I do not see this as a failure of “scholarship”.
I did not wish to give Holloway House any protagonism at all because they treated Slim so shabbily. I do not say anything factual with regard to the British prison and Holloway, but rather point out a terrible coincidence between a publishers which tried to imprison Slim and the infamous British prison. I do the same with A4 paper and prison cells. Again, this is not faulty scholarship but an attempt to tie disperse and disparate discourse together.
Tom Bradley was mayor of Los Angeles, of course. Holloway is called that way for the reason WilleB gives, that I know but that does not highlight their nature one jot.
Finally, I thank WilleB for making the observations and must only add that Iceberg Slim: The Life as Art is not supposed to be “the final word”. It is meant as a first word and as a reference book. I sincerely hope WilleB writes something better himself, all Slim fans want that –the best possible.
Thank you for your patience,
Peter Muckley
Leave a Comment