Split Decision is a gripping and powerful account that lays bare the strikingly different paths taken by Ice-T and his former crime partner, Spike. From their violent upbringing in gang-controlled neighborhoods to orchestrating daring jewelry heists together, their choices led to dramatically divergent destinies. Ice-T's rise to fame in the music and entertainment industry was contrasted by Spike's tragic fate, serving a lengthy prison sentence after a robbery gone wrong. Co-authored with New York Times bestselling author Douglas Century, this poignant memoir delivers a raw and honest narrative of survival, redemption, and the consequences of life-altering decisions in the face of adversity.

First let me be frank….I LOVE Ice-T. I loved his other books. He has such an incredible life and has sure been through it. He’s such a teacher and I feel like this book is going to be so helpful for young people trying to make their way in a world when it doesn’t always seem so easy. I read this so quickly, it was just so engaging!

I was utterly amazed at how much I loved this book. In a split memoir, Ice-T and Spike share their life stories with us providing a peek into how a very similar starting point resulted in two completely different life paths. The starkness of this makes the memoir. Additionally, the understanding, tough lough, and loyalty witnessed between Ice-T and Spike is admirable and adds so much to each of them. Whereas many might see this as a one way relationship with Ice-T supporting Spike, I believe this memoir exemplifies the mutual support, loyalty, and boundaries that a true, long-lasting friendship demands in order to last and not become unhealthy. The fact that both of these men took their paths and utilized each step on the journey to grow and support others is a tribute to their perseverance and true nature.

Two men, friends and partners in a series of crimes, end up taking very different paths into adulthood. Ice-T rose to fame, rapping about life in the late 1980s, before becoming a star on both the large and small screen. Spike continued the life of crime until caught and jailed on more than one occasion. Split Decision is both of their stories, with alternating chapters penned by one or the other.

I enjoyed reading Split Decision more than I expected, especially seeing how two friends from the same area could become adults taking separate paths. Ice-T made very different decisions than his crime partner, with good luck and great timing key in his success.

Readers who are fans of Ice-T will find his life story fascinating, especially his candor about his past. Split Decision is a quick read and one I would recommend to others.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this book was entirely my own.

I expected something a bit different. Overall, this was an ok read. Nothing more nothing less. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Ice-T is one of the most underrated celebrities we have. Split Decision is the story of what could have been had he made a different decision.

This is amazing storytelling and writing. I wish more books were written like this, where we see how lives are different because of decisions--how one person ends of in jail and one is the longest running male star of a night-time network drama.

This should be required reading in high schools.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you Net Galley and Gallery Books for this book for a review. This book was so interesting to read. Before Ice-T was famous he was a criminal on the streets with his friend, Spike. Once I’ve-T’s career takes off, he decides to give it all up, while Spike goes down the other direction. I love how detailed and descriptive this book is. You can tell Spike is a genuinely good person and just got messed up with the wrong stuff. I read it in two days because I felt like I was really invested in the story. You learn so much about what it was really like for gangs in the 90s. And what it’s like for a black man in prison.

Split Decision is a brilliant tapestry of two lives woven together to create one exceptionally clever memoir.
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Documenting their trajectories through alternating perspectives, Ice-T and Spike deliver a raw, unfiltered and exquisitely detailed account of their lives as former jewel thief partners. Together they pulled off a string of jewelry heists in L.A. When presented with the opportunity to make an honest living as rappers, Ice-T and Spike made split decisions. While Ice-T embraced the opportunity, leaving his criminal lifestyle behind, Spike found it difficult to walk away from the fast money. Bouncing between the worlds of crime & music, Spike orchestrated a final jewel heist that went horribly wrong, causing a senseless murder, and leaving him to pay a supreme price in prison.
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The moment I read the synopsis for this book I knew it was going to be a game changer. Ice-T, an A-list celebrity, coauthoring a book with his former accomplice in crime is groundbreaking. This coauthor team is unlike any other author duo I’ve ever read. The dual narrative is akin to reading two memoirs at once. Their stories strike a perfect balance. Both are compelling accounts filled with enlightening life lessons.
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What I like most about Split Decision is that it highlights the destruction of straddling the fence, the necessity of setting boundaries, and the importance of making the right choices. It’s a crime drama, encased in a cautionary tale, that ends with a powerful chronicle of redemption and hope. This book will no doubt be one of the ͟m͟o͟s͟t͟ ͟i͟m͟p͟a͟c͟t͟f͟u͟l͟ ͟r͟e͟l͟e͟a͟s͟e͟s͟ of 2022. Simply put, it’s genius!
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I was hooked from the first page. There was never a dull moment! At times my heart went out to Spike. In other moments I wanted to give Ice-T high-fives and fist pumps.
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I devoured every page. This is definitely a BRBT must read! 5/5⭐️s. I can’t wait to listen to the audiobook.
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Thank you Gallery Books for gifting me an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is Ice-T's story of how his decisions led him to a life a celebrity and riches. But how the decisions of a friend if his (told by Spike) led him to prison. This book is told by both of these men and in a fairly chronological order. This is a great book and is an awesome look at this time in Ice-T's life.

This book was a total unexpected surprised!
While I love a good biography, I didn’t expect to like this one so much!

As an 80s baby I was able to relate to the stories and it was a walk down memory lane to relive some of the challenges with gangs & violence that were so common in Cali during that time.

I never followed Ice & his career to much, but it was amazing to hear that he was never actually a gang member — go figure!! The perception that the media portrayed was so wrong.

It was enlightening to hear him & Spike tell their story and the “why”. Growing up in that environment & those times where challenging. I never thought about things from the perspective of those committing the crimes, so I appreciated their story.

I’m glad that Spike came out & was able to get his life together. This is a great story & hopefully those going down the wrong path with read this & turn their life around.

As a person gets older, they begin to reflect on decision points where their life could have moved in a completely new direction. Ice-T, and his former companion in crime, Spike, must be at that point. In Split Decision, they look at each of those points and try to see how their lives diverged so completely. One is a famous rapper and actor. The other has a long criminal record. Was it luck, chance, planning, or innate skill that propelled Ice-T away from his criminal past?

I selected this book to see how authentic Ice–T‘s history is to his music. Very authentic is the answer I found. However, I found Spike’s story of prison life the more compelling of the two by far. Poor Spike! He just had to do that one last score that threw him in jail for decades. It just proves that everyone’s luck runs out eventually.

If you enjoy street or criminal memoirs, you will enjoy Split Decision. It is, of course, also a great choice for Ice-T fans. The two men’s memories are merged together seamlessly creating a compelling cautionary tale. 4 stars!

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

#netgalleyarc This was a good and quick read. I’m a fan of Ice-T as an actor and was interested in finding out more about his life. Reading his story and hiss friends and seeing how they were similar until they weren’t was interesting. I won’t be purchasing this for my high school library but I did enjoy reading it.

A dual memoir of Ice-T and one of his friends from his pre-fame life. This book dives into how Ice and Spike's lives paralleled each other up until a divergent point - Ice decided to become legit and Spike continued down the path of crime. As Ice rose to fame, Spike ended up in jail.

This book was not what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be more of a memoir by Ice-T but it was not that at all. It also mostly focuses on the 80s & 90s, so anyone wanting a more modern memoir from Ice should look elsewhere. I think if I had had different expectations going in, I would've enjoyed this more.

If you’ve read obsessively about Ice-T, many of his stories will be familiar to you, and the ones that won’t read like an expanded edition of his autobiography (which is a good thing). But coupling Ice’s account with Spike’s prison memoir reminded me of Ice’s early interviews, in which he described his Iceberg Slim-inspired talent for showing the good and bad that comes with “The Life.” It could be hard for anyone to see Ice-T’s life as an example of the downside of crime—he got out relatively early and thrived. There’s no chance of missing that with Spike’s story, watching him miss out on his family and friends’ lives after a 35-to-life sentence. Spike is also an excellent storyteller (s/o longtime Ice collaborator Douglas Century), and gets the platform he deserves with Ice-T. This book should be in schools, and I can’t wait for more people to read it.