Showing results by author "Jack Black" in All Categories

The favorite book of William Burroughs. A journey into the hobo underworld, freight hopping around the still Wild West, becoming a highwayman and member of the yegg (criminal) brotherhood, getting hooked on opium, doing stints in jail or escaping, often with the assistance of crooked cops or judges. Our lost history revived. With an introduction by Burroughs. A BookSense 77 selection.

The traveling criminal known as Jack Black was born in 1872 and disappeared in 1932. His matter-of-fact autobiography was a major influence on William S. Burroughs and other Beat writers. In this plainspoken but colorful memoir, he recaptures a hobo underworld of the early 20th 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 addiction offer a compelling portrait of life outside the law and honor among thieves.

You Can't Win is the pioneering American criminal underworld memoir written by Jack Black, a burglar, drifter, and criminal active in early 1900s America. Black's astonishing accounts of hopping trains, cracking safes, escaping prison cells, and drug addiction offer an unusually vivid portrait of American underworld life over a century ago. Beat legend William S. Burroughs ("Junkie") cited the book as influential in his life and writing. In his striking, and often deadpan and humorous, memoir, the author recaptures the transient underworld of the early 20th century.

Uno de los grandes clásicos olvidados de la literatura norteamericana: la autobiografía descarnada, lúcida y sin remordimientos de Jack Black (1871–1932), que pasó treinta años en el lado equivocado de la ley.

You Can't Win' is an autobiography that was serialized in the San Francisco Call and Post (1925). It became so popular that it was published as a book in 1926. The author recounts his experience as an itinerant, professional thief in the Western US and Canada from the late 1880s until around 1910. Mr. Black reformed his life over time, beginning with his incarceration in a Canadian prison, which afforded him, among other things, access to an excellent library. In later years, he often lectured on the subjects of criminology and prison reform. He disappeared in 1932 and was presumed dead by ...

You Cant Win is a captivating autobiography originally serialized in the San Francisco Call and Post in 1925. Its compelling narrative quickly gained popularity, leading to its publication as a book in 1926. The author shares his harrowing journey as a professional thief traversing the Western US and Canada from the late 1880s until around 1910. His transformative experience began during his time in a Canadian prison, where he discovered a passion for reading through an extensive library. As the years passed, he became a voice for change, lecturing on criminology and advocating for prison ...