A major influence on William S. Burroughs and other Beat writers, this lost classic was written by Jack Black, a drifter and small-time criminal. Born in 1872, Black hit the road at the age of 16 and spent most of his life as a vagabond. In this plain-spoken but colorful 1926 memoir, he recaptures a hobo underworld of the early twentieth century, a time when it was possible to pass anonymously from town to town. Black's firsthand accounts of hopping trains, burglaries, prison, and drug add...

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...

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...

An amazing autobiography of a criminal from a forgotten time in american history. Jack Black was a burgler, safe-cracker, highwayman and petty thief.

From the brilliantly demented minds behind The Eric Andre Show and Bad Trip, an insane illustrated compendium about the art of pranking.Eric André is a master of the art of pranking—“an Andy Kaufman for the Four Loko generation,” as Spin magazine once hailed him. For over a decade, he and longtime collaborator Dan Curry have dreamed up and performed a cornucopia of outrageous, often illegal, and always death-defying hijinks for the Adult ...

Two editions, two narrators, one thrilling story. Enjoy this version read by Jack Black, and then be sure to check out the other available version, narrated by Samira Wiley.The first official Minecraft novel! In the tradition of iconic adventures like Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of...

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, expl...

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 ...

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.

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...

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.An amazing autobiography of a criminal from a forgotten time in American history. Jack Black was a burglar, safe-cracker, highwayman and petty thief.