Jack Black (1) (1871–)

I sort of wish that Goodreads had a star beyond five sometimes. If they did, I would put this one there. I read this book a little over ten years ago now and I couldn't forget it. I think about this fella and his incredible balance of bad-assery and compassion all the time. This book is a cult classic and if you don't read it, you'll be super sad. His writing style is simple. So simple that the most complex of emotional, heartbreaking situations are reduced to a concentrate that socks you in show more the gut page after page. A real stand-up guy that took the hard road; riding the rails, friend to cultural lepers, a brilliant and honest thief. He makes no excuses for himself. He lays his tale for good or bad toward the reader with complete grace. Jack has a cynicism and wit that would resonate with most anyone but it is really his mercy and kindness that turn the book into something remarkable. So, if you would, anyone...just get this book. You won't regret it and then get a copy for someone you love. show less

Smiler - “Kid, I’ll never try to rob another Mormon. I’ll go to work first.”

The author, Salt Chunk Mary, the Sanctimonious Kid (Sanc), Civil War veterans and all manner of ’yeggs’, vags, bums, winos, and ‘hypos’ fill this book with a cornucopia of colorful characters! Heck, even Bat Masterson is in here! And the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco! Black is a thief, albeit not a very lucky one, and his travels across the U.S.A. and Canada, and his travels through the jail cells show more of both countries, are quite an adventure to read about! He describes everything with great detail, including his heroin addiction, and he even gives his opinions on prison reform and ways to improve the legal/justice system. But it's his adventures that make this such a good read, and one can see the impact this book, and those adventures, would have on future generations, especially Kerouac and the Beats. This almost reads like a thief's version of "On the Road"! I sure am glad I picked it up! show less

It's been a while since I've done a 'proper review' (however the hell that's defined) but this was requested so I figured why not?

Rather than waste time with the unnecessaries let me just say that this book is quite fantastic. Now, this already qualified 'quite fantastic' requires a few caveats, asterisks, modifiers, et freaking al. This is a dated text, very dated. Some might construe this datedness as problematic but, honestly, I would disagree; this is a book so contextually all over the show more place (problem of authorship, authenticity, what have you) that for it to be anything other, or less, than what it is would absolutely reek of the college educated editor when, for a text like this, that simply couldn't work.

Despite being billed as 'true' this story reads like fiction, in fact, to call this both a bildungsroman and even, god help me, picaresque (if that's to be taken in a gritty, all too turn of last century American way) is, to my mind, accurate. 'Jack Black' as a character does much but learns little, but this little builds over time into a considerable amount of hard earned wisdom, particularly American in its rough hewn and directly stated truth.

I very much recommend this work to anyone interested in true crime, history, biography, and honest, if very exaggerated and somewhat Romanticized, Yankee grit. show less

i have read two autobiographies in a row now, and they couldn't be more different--Chateaubriand and Jack Black! No, not that Jack Black. This is former criminal and hobo Jack Black, who published this book in 1926. Like Chateaubriand, he gives an incisive picture of his life and times. Of course, the milieu is a bit different. Chateaubriand has the French Revolution for a background, whereas Jack Black has hobo jungles, cheap hotels, and prison. Both write well, however, although in very show more different ways. Chateaubriand's work is a literary masterpiece. You Can't Win is a masterpiece of straightforward storytelling using the jargon of the times. Both authors were well read, actually. Chateaubriand seems to have read every book ever written. Black, mostly during his spells in prison, had lots of time to read as well, and even ended up as a newspaper librarian once he decided to go straight, a few years before publishing his autobiography. So, while you might not be quoting or underlining passages in Black's book for their literary quality, you'll certainly remembers his stories of his apprenticeship in crime from a series of colorful, criminal, but somehow admirable characters--some of whom meet very bad ends. The preparation for the crimes and the details of how they were committed is fascinating. Home burglaries took place while the victims were asleep, and since valuables such as wallets and jewelry were usually kept in the bedrooms, that's where the thief went. Even if it meant putting a hand under a sleeping victim's pillow to find the loot. Other heists are a bit simpler, but not usually. And so many things can go wrong, as we learn from this chronicle. Of course, Black ends up in jail or prison. Jails of all types and prisons of all types, including in Canada, where a good portion of the book takes place. We also get interesting pictures of Chicago, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and other places. Criminals must travel. The book uses a few words to describe ethnicities that aren't politically correct, but Black doesn't seem to bear any animus to any race or creed. He goes out of his way to praise the Mormons he did time with, for instance (most of the polygamists) for their generosity in sharing everything they had. Black also attests to the honesty of Chinese. He spent quite a bit of time with them due to his hop (opium) habit, which is one of the interesting sub-plots of the book.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book, as I did the first part of Chateaubriand's Memoirs from Beyond the Grave. Unfortunately, there is no sequel by Black. He apparently died just six years after this book was published, a presumed suicide. Details are sketchy--he disappeared and is presumed to have taken his own life after coming to the point where he didn't feel like living any more. This readiness for death is also a trait he shares with Chateaubriand--who just kept on living even when he had little interest in doing so! show less