Early Life: Jack Black (not to be confused with the actor) was born in a poor family and experienced a troubled childhood. He faced numerous hardships and became increasingly disillusioned with society.Life as a Vagabond: The narrative follows Black's journey through various cities in the United States and Canada as he survives on the fringes of society. He shares stories about living on the streets, hopping trains, and engaging with other drifters.Criminal Underworld: As he navigates thro...

The True Crime Autobiography of an Early 20th-Century Thief and Dope FiendJack Black's 1926 bestselling true-crime memoir inspired generations of countercultural writers, including William S. Burroughs.William S. Burroughs first read the book as an adolescent and cited You Can't Win as influential in his life and writing, mentioning the autobiography in his 1953 book Junky.

This beautiful collection explores the creative spark behind some of animation’s most well-known and beloved characters, as well as never-before-seen personal illustrative and sculptural pieces from world-renowned character designer Nico MarletThe work of Annie Award–winning character designer Nico Marlet spans more than three decades and multiple studios and has left a trail of the most iconic animated characters in the DreamWorks, Disney, Amblimation, and Pixar l...

My background is crowded with robberies, burglaries, and thefts too numerous to recall. All manner of crimes against property. Arrests, trials, acquittals, convictions, escapes. Penitentiaries! I see in the background four of them. County jails, workhouses, city prisons, Mounted Police barracks, dungeons, solitary confinement, bread and water, hanging up, brutal floggings, and the murderous straitjacket. I see hop joints, wine dumps, thieves' resorts, and beggars' hangouts. Crime followed ...

You Can’t Win, the beloved memoir of real lowdown Americana by criminal hobo Jack Black, was first published in 1926, then reprinted in 1988 by Adam Parfrey’s Amok Press, featuring an introduction by William S. Burroughs.After its Amok Press edition went out of print, You Can’t Win found popularity once again with the AK Press edition.Feral House’s new version will take this classic American narrative a lot further, including two remarkable nonfiction arti...

This is the fifth in our important Prosperity series. Now, together for the first time, are ten more of the most important books ever written on the subject of Wealth and Success. We’ve gathered another 1,000+ pages of the best advice and instruction that you’ll ever receive on how to become successful, for one incredibly reasonable price. The writers in this volume are all legendary and for good reason. It’s time to stop hoping for success and do something about getting it. This book will...

This is the fifth in our important Prosperity series. Now, together for the first time, are ten more of the most important books ever written on the subject of Wealth and Success. We’ve gathered another 1,000+ pages of the best advice and instruction that you’ll ever receive on how to become successful, for one incredibly reasonable price. The writers in this volume are all legendary and for good reason. It’s time to stop hoping for success and do something about getting it. This book will...

Originally published in 1926, ‘You Can't Win’ is an amazing autobiography of a criminal from a forgotten time in American history by Jack Black, a burglar, safe-cracker, highwayman, and petty thief.The book recounts Black's adventures in the hobo underworld, freight-hopping around the western United States and Canada, with the bulk of incidents taking place from the late 1880s to around 1910. He narrates of becoming a thief, burglar, and member of the yegg (safe-cracking) subculture, explo...

In what ways is comedy subversive? This vital new book critically considers the importance of comedy in challenging and redefining our relations to race and racism through the lens of political correctness.By viewing comedy as both a constitutive feature of social interaction and as a necessary requirement in the appraisal of what is often deemed to be ‘politically correct’, this book provides an innovative and multidisciplinary approach to the study of comedy and popular culture. ...

In "You Can't Win," Jack Black delivers a raw and unvarnished autobiographical account of his life as a petty criminal and wanderer in the early 20th century. Embracing a confessional and conversational narrative style, Black vividly chronicles his experiences in the underbelly of society, encompassing themes of poverty, addiction, and the transient nature of existence. The book is set against a backdrop of a rapidly changing America, offering a unique lens into the realities of drifting t...

Beginning within the hallowed halls of a convent school as a young boy, Jack Black recounts his gradual journey towards a life of crime and his adventures within the lawless underworld as a professional thief, hobo, and member of the notorious "yegg" safecracking brotherhood in the American and Canadian West between the 1880s and 1920s.After its initial appearance as a popular series of articles in the San Francisco Call newspaper, You Can't Win was reissued as a ...

You Can't Win is the unvarnished autobiography of Jack Black, a real-life hobo, thief, and professional criminal whose life unfolded across the underbelly of North America at the turn of the 20th century. First published in 1926, the book plunges readers into a world far removed from conventional society - one of freight-hopping railroads, urban alleys, opium dens, lock-picking, and penal institutions.Black's narrative begins with his departure from a trou...