Narrator JD Jackson's performance gives this literary biography of Robert Beck warmth and animation. Better known by his pen name, Iceberg Slim, Beck wrote the foundational novels of street lit 50 years ago. Gifford, a scholar of street and pulp literature, provides an analytical and sympathetic biography of Beck from boy to man, pimp to prisoner, to increasingly insightful author. Beck's first novels, written from personal experience, feature black pimps and thugs as underdogs against racist white cops; his later works show a wider range of themes. Jackson clearly delineates with both pacing and inflection the passages Gifford quotes from Beck. Gifford and Jackson pair well to realize Beck's complex humanity and help listeners understand why he remains the recipient of homage in both street lit and rap.
Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781622317660
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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