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 standalone book in...

You Can't Win is the pioneering American criminal underworld memoir written by Jack Black, a burglar, drifter and criminal active in early 1900's America. Black's astonishing accounts of hopping trains, cracking safes, escaping prison cells, and drug addiction offers 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, d...

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 ...

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. ...

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.

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...

Circles in the Wind is a creative nonfiction memoir of the “back to the land” movement of the 1970s and the counterculture of the late 1960s. The novel documents the wanderings of Red Dawge, Blackjack, and Memphis Dennis across the country from commune to commune, hobo camps, and remote mountain hideaways. From the story of the Rainbow hippies to the loner Houndog Tom, the novel weaves an intricate tapestry of the life and times of those who sought a different existence from the mainstream...

A collection of songs written and recorded by David Fletcher, aka BlackJack Davy, from 1969-2019. For 50 years BlackJack has honed his craft into a fine art.

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...

Unlock the Power of Side Counts with the Blackjack KO SystemThis book introduces a simple yet powerful approach to card counting: a single-level, plus/minus side count that tracks only two ranks-designed specifically for players using the Knock-Out (KO) Count in S17 shoe games. By pairing KO with the 5m7c side count, you gain stronger betting accuracy, sharper playing decisions, and reduced risk-all with the ease o...

My name is Jeff Friend I have 33 years experience in playing the game of blackjack. I think of this game as a sport, and being a good team player. Having good manners and respect for others is so important. I believe people will enjoy reading this book because it teaches, most miss played hands and good common sense plays, and why we do them. At the end of the day hopefully, you have made some money and gained some friends at the table. In 2010, I was one of the top contenders in tournamen...

This book analyzes Spanish 21 S17 game using the side count 455m8AAc to add to the Spanish 21 HL primary count. Prior to reading this book, my two previous books mentioned below should be read as background to this book.The Table of Critical Running Counts (TCRC) was first introduced for unbalanced counts by this author in his previous book, KO with Table of Critical Running Counts. This book introduces using a TCRC for Spanish 21 High-Low where Spanish 21 High-Low true counts can ...