Cultural Writing. Autobiography. First published in 1924, this book holds up remarkably well because Jim Tully was one of the founders of the spare, gritty, unsentimental style that became known as "hardboiled." BEGGARS OF LIFE chronicles Tully's life as a road-kid, tree surgeon, "library bum," boxer, chain maker, secretary to Charlie Chaplin, and finally, a feared and respected journalist in Hollywood. "Tully's portraits of the persons her meets vividly acquaint the reader with his characters. He writes keenly of what he has observed keenly, and his descriptions of long night rides on mail trains and the death of `Oklahoma Red' are little short of fascinating"--New York Times.