Education of Uncle Paul-Algernon Blackwood

You Can't Win' is an autobiography that was serialized in the San Francisco Call and Post (1925). It became so popular that it was published as a book in 1926. The author recounts his experience as an itinerant, professional thief in the Western US and Canada from the late 1880s until around 1910. Mr. Black reformed his life over time, beginning with his incarceration in a Canadian prison, which afforded him, among other things, access to an excellent library. In later years, he often lectured on the subjects of criminology and prison reform. He disappeared in 1932 and was presumed dead by suicide. (Summary by Brian Fullen)