# Any good books about a pimps life other than Iceberg Slim

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 8, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972 "2015-10-08T23:53:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972/1 "2015-10-08T23:53:08Z")

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I read Iceberg Slims biography and the book the naked soul of iceberg slim. Both were decent. Any other books along the same lines? Donald Goines seems to write a lot of fiction, I’d like to read something more non-fictional or fiction based on life experience.

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972/2 "2015-10-09T03:23:02Z")

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Is this the wrong board to ask about the lives of pre-civil rights black pimps?

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972/3 "2015-10-09T04:09:38Z")

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The early sections of _The Autobiography of Malcolm X_ describe his life as a pimp and petty criminal before his prison term and conversion.

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972/4 "2015-10-09T05:31:44Z")

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Thanks. I forgot about those parts, but I read his book a few years ago. I personally liked his conversion in prison the best. I thought he said he would starve as a pimp and that is why he became a thief instead.

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**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972/5 "2015-10-09T05:45:09Z")

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I read a book called **Gentlemen of Leisure** back in the 70s. It was written by a sociology student at Berkeley who interviewed numerous San Francisco pimps about their lives. He was more or less accepted by them (he was white; the pimps were all black) largely because his wife was putting him through college by working as a topless dancer, so the pimps considered him a “gentleman of leisure”.

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**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-books-about-a-pimps-life-other-than-iceberg-slim/733972/6 "2015-10-09T05:49:51Z")

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Has James Lipton wrote about this at any length?

Yes, the 89 year old interviewer was a pimp.