Rating: 
Summary: Undistinguished
Review: "Trick Baby" is the story of Johnny O'Brien (street-named White Folks), a black con man born of a married black mother and white father. He is light-skinned: "He could have been Errol Flynn's twin." (pg. 9) Johnny O'Brien's coloration allows him to con white persons easily. Darker-skinned blacks shun Johnny O'Brien. Johnny resents white people for their prosperity and attitude towards black people, and fears many black people for the way they treat him.In "PIMP: The Story of My Life", Robert Beck (street-named Iceberg Slim) combined excellent dialogue with vivid descriptions. Mr. Beck did not duplicate this achievement in "Trick Baby". Here, his dialogues and descriptions are contrived. "Trick Baby" describes "the short con" -- a confidence game designed to cheat the victim out of small amounts of money. The short con is based primarily upon smooth and convincing dialogue, not upon elaborate sets. Mr. Beck's dialogues are so stiff that it is hard to believe the cons are successful. I do not recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Reading for the Less Informed
Review: ...Equipped with a slang term dictionary, this book has me spoiled. It was good to take a break from the... "Sister-Sister-Fan-Me-At-The-Mall-Dissappearing-Blues-Aint-Like-Mine-Acts" sagas...
Truly poetry in motion as Ice Berg took me through the slums and gutter of the con game. I truly fell in love with all "Trick Baby" characters as I learned more and more about concentrated 'White is Right' and Blue-Black phrases with no in betweens, amazingly how it applies to my world today, and frankly how somethings never changes. This book is humorous and truly a gem. When it came to a close, I couldn't put it down, in awe that it was over, fiending for the next Robert Beck novel. So sorry I'd waited so long to get access to the spoken word of Iceberg. -Sadgyrl
03/12/02
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Can you imagine feeling hatred, pain, and descrimination from those who share the same heritage as you? Johnny O'Brien, the main charactor of Trick Baby, feels the pain of having a white face and blue eyes yet being the son of an African American woman. White Folks, as he is affectionateley called, demands pitty as he takes you through his life as a bi-racial man living in a heightened era of racism. Despite its confusing explanation of the con game, Trick Baby is a fairly good book that would have a great appeal to the thousands of by-racial readers in America. Robert Beck has an outstanding ability to paint vivid pictures.
Rating:
Summary: YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE REALLY THERE.
Review: I just wanna let it be known this is a terrific book. from start to finish you feeel what Johnny is going thru, totally. I personally have had this problem and i'm glad he found someone to understand him and not give a damn. I am only 24 I read this for the first time i was about 19 so I am not familiar with the time but, I am familiar with the area. Things have changed dramatically but when reading i feel like i can see it smell it and overall imagine how it looked back then. This is a amazing read about life as a black con artist who looks like erol flynn. It is from a perspective never before seen and can never be duplicated again.
Rating:
Summary: Trick Baby
Review: In this story we get to see Johnny O'Brien grow up to a teen with his black mother named Phala. His father is white and was not around to raise him. Johnny looks white but is raised in a ghetto type neighborhood. When he is a teen his mother is gang raped and put into a mental institute. This is where the story really begins, when Johnny meets a guy street named "Blue" because of his dark skin. He takes Johnny under his wing as a partner in the con game and teaches it to Johnny. Blue street names Johnny "White Folks". Blue's whole life is "Con" and he believes that with a black partner who looks white he will be able to run the con on a larger group of people. Which turns out to be true, I had a good time reading about the different ways that they conned people and all their trials along the way. The book is comical in some parts. Blue really takes on a fatherly role for "White Folks" as his relationship with his lesbian daughter is not as close as he would like. I liked being taken to a whole different world while reading this book. Late 50's early 60's. The way they talked the slang and the price's of things - I really loved this book. White Folks and Blue go through a lot of drama - that they bring on themselves. I do recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading the sequel "Long White Con"
Rating:
Summary: Trick Baby
Review: In this story we get to see Johnny O'Brien grow up to a teen with his black mother named Phala. His father is white and was not around to raise him. Johnny looks white but is raised in a ghetto type neighborhood. When he is a teen his mother is gang raped and put into a mental institute. This is where the story really begins, when Johnny meets a guy street named "Blue" because of his dark skin. He takes Johnny under his wing as a partner in the con game and teaches it to Johnny. Blue street names Johnny "White Folks". Blue's whole life is "Con" and he believes that with a black partner who looks white he will be able to run the con on a larger group of people. Which turns out to be true, I had a good time reading about the different ways that they conned people and all their trials along the way. The book is comical in some parts. Blue really takes on a fatherly role for "White Folks" as his relationship with his lesbian daughter is not as close as he would like. I liked being taken to a whole different world while reading this book. Late 50's early 60's. The way they talked the slang and the price's of things - I really loved this book. White Folks and Blue go through a lot of drama - that they bring on themselves. I do recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading the sequel "Long White Con"
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: just like I Dig Donald Goines Iceberg Slim was tight as well.this Book is very honest in the world which it reflectsThe Surroundings.it comes directly at you.Books like this have no time period because upon reading them you can see&reflect them in any time period.it all depends on how you see&view the World around you.
Rating: 
Summary: Iceberg Slim's Trick Baby is worth consideration
Review: Telling the life story of White Folks, a black con-artist whose pale skin allows him to pass himself off as a white man, this book is not quite up to the standard of Iceberg's first book 'Pimp'. The book recounts White Folks' tragic early life, rejected by children his own age as being a 'Trick Baby', the illegitimate offspring conceived between a hooker and her trick. The main thrust of the story is the play off between White Folks and his older, blacker mentor who teaches him the con game. As with all his books, Iceberg writes in the style and language of the life he actually lead. There is nothing false or trite about this book. The reader gets a true insite into a world that most of us will never have to experience. Its a true cult classic. Often tragically funny, this is one not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: VERY SLOW!
Review: THIS BOOK WAS GOOD ONCE IT FINALLY GOT TO THE POINT! THE BOOK WAS A SLOW DRAG THAT MADE YOU WONDER IF IT WAS EVER GOING TO COME TO AN END. I FELT KIND OF SORRY FOR WHITE FOLKS. HE WENT THROUGH ALOT BUT NEVER GAVE UP. I WILL READ ANOTHER ONE OF THE AUTHOR BOOKS BUT IF THE BOOK IS A SLOW AS THIS ONE WAS, I WILL BE DONE READING BOOKS BY HIM! I WANTED TO LIKE THIS BOOK SINCE HE INSPIRED 1 OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS TO WRITE (DONALD GOINES). WHAT'S FUNNY IS THAT HE INSPIRED DONALD GOINES AND TURNS OUT DONALD GOINES IS BETTER! THIS BOOK WAS JUST TOOOOOOO SLOW!
Rating:
Summary: I REALLY wanted to love this book.....
Review: This book, I think, is doomed to end more of a period piece than any kind of real classic; although it provides insight into one particular kind of situation (the place of the white-appearing African-American con artist), beyond that, it's not well-written, heart-wrenching, or even coherent enough to really warrant all of the attention that it gets-- even if it is just a monior bit of attention..... I like the dialogue and the spin that the book gives to it's time period (late fifties-early sixties.... I'm not sure.... very contra-Ozzie and Harriet). I love the author's voice-- it's definately one-of-a-kind an interesting.... at a base level, though, I've had more trouble focusing and reading this book than one person ever should have; for a book that was intended to read like pulp fiction, that spoils it's while value..... It might be worth reading if you've read other books by Iceberg Slim and really like them or if you've read out whatever genre this falls into. Own it's own merits, though, this book is better left unread. And I'm a reviewer who rarely says things like that....
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