Cultural Writing. A true lost classic, Jack Black's autobiography was a bestseller in 1926 and went through five printings. It is an amazing journey into a hobo underworld, freight hopping around the still Wild West at the end of the century, becoming a member of the yegg (criminal) brotherhood and a highwayman, learning the outlaw philosophy from Foot-and-a-half George and the Sanctimonious Kid, getting hooked on opium, doing stints in jail or escaping, sometimes with the assistance of ever-corrupt cops and judges. This new edition includes an afterword by Michael Disend that tells some of what became of Black after he wore out the outlaw life and washed up in San Francisco, wrote this book, and reinvented himself. YOU CAN'T WIN was the blueprint for William Burroughs' first novel, Junky.