The right people are working on the wrong end of the problem

When you hear the name Jack Black you’re more than likely to think overweight, overpaid, under-talented actor come musician; when in fact you should think crook, opium fiend, vagrant, outlaw, cross-county stick up man and author extraordinaire. You Can’t Win is the 1926 roughshod autobiography of Missouri based Jack Black chronicling his life and exploits spent as a hobo and vagabond during the late 19th century to early 20th century in the american Wild West. Unlike much of the Beat Generation which followed, many of who were heavily influenced by You Can’t Win, Black tells his stories from first hand experiences having lived for much of his life on the fringes of society. From seeing a fellow vagabond crushed to death in a freight train journey gone wrong, to bribing crooked cops in order to escape from jail, Black’s tales of life on the road are fraught with angst and a stubborn resilience to the pressures american society tries constantly to enforce upon him. Told with a style seeded form a life short of education and clearly no literary schooling the book immediately drops us into the hobo underworld of the mid west. Having spent a particularly long stint in prison Black was introduced to Frermont Older, a wealthy business man who afforded Black the chance to work for his newspaper The San Francisco Call. It was here that Black began writing his autobiography with help from Rose Wilder Lane. Originally intended as a sort of self help manual for persistent criminals, Black began lecturing at prisons and reform centres across the country until in 1926 the full book was picked up by the Macmillan Company and went on to become a best seller. With a film adaptation from Robinson Devor in pre-production, the book is sure to gain more publicity which can only be a good thing for such a greatly talented and underrated author. Its also worth a note that any incarcerated person can write to the publishing company and receive a copy of the book for $10 where as the rest of us will have to cough up and extra $6. One of Black’s biggest fans was William S Burroughs who went on to write Junkies as a direct homage to You Can’t Win and wrote the introduction to its re-release.