I was disappointed by this book, though the second half makes up for a bit of the disappointment. Long White Con marks the second appearance of Iceberg Slim's possibly real acquaintance, Johnny O'Brien AKA White Folks. Folks is an extremely light-skinned black man with blue eyes, the son of a mixed-race couple. Named "White Folks" by a fellow con artist because no white person would ever go by that name. The first half of the book involves a semi-complicated and not very interesting long con with a pretty flat cast of characters. The second half shows Folks in his element, doing the long con his way. But the ending just seals the deal. The lessons to be learned about "the life" are not trite, saccharine or ultimately meaningful. They serve as cautionary tales, not morality plays, showing the ephemeral nature of the highs and the nagging consequences of the lows. Slim speaks the language of the street in a manner similar to Charles Bukowski or Hubert Selby, Jr. This, as well as his own personal narrative, are what make his stories so real and compelling.
