You Can't Win

di Blackjack (Autore)

Library of Alexandria, 2026

The outlaw life promises escape. Jack Black shows what it costs-and how hard it is to leave. In You Can't Win, Black recounts his years as a hobo, thief, and opium addict, moving through the railroads, back streets, and prisons of North America. First published in 1926, this autobiographical account opens a door onto the world of the "yegg": itinerant criminals bound by their own language, loyalties, and rules of survival. Freight hopping and burglary bring moments of adventure and fellowship, but also hunger, dependence, and repeated imprisonment. Black writes with a sharp eye for character and a willingness to examine his own decisions. His account of prison brutality sits beside unexpected acts of kindness; his portraits of fellow outcasts reveal a moral world more complicated than the division between respectable citizens and criminals. Neither a simple celebration of rebellion nor a tidy lesson in reform, the memoir explores addiction, punishment, and the obstacles to starting again. Its direct voice and dark humor helped make it an enduring influence on William S. Burroughs. What readers find inside: Life on the rails - Freight trains and rough sleeping shape an existence built around movement and uncertainty. The criminal underworld - Black describes the customs, slang, and loyalties of thieves and itinerant outlaws. Prison and punishment - His experiences expose brutality while leaving room for solidarity and human sympathy. Addiction and survival - Opium dependence becomes part of a larger reckoning with habit, choice, and consequence. The road away from crime - The possibility of change raises difficult questions about second chances and the forces that sustain a criminal life. For readers of true crime memoirs, American social history, and the literary roots of the Beat generation, this is an intimate encounter with a world usually described from the outside. Step into Black's account of life beyond respectability and the difficult search for a way back.

• Autore: Blackjack
• Anno edizione: 2026
• Editore: Library of Alexandria
• Formato: EPUB3 con Adobe DRM
• Lingua: Inglese
• Compatibilità: Tutti i dispositivi (eccetto Kindle)
• Layout: Reflowable
• EAN: 9781808303852