Much of this book is about loneliness. Yet its pages are bracingly companionable. It is one of the friendliest books ever written. It is a superb piece of autobiography, testimony that cannot be impeached. While it is a statement of an American tragedy, it has laughter, brevity, style; as a book to pass the time away with, it is in a class with the best fiction." — Carl Sandburg, New York World "Nothing half as rewarding has come down the highway of books about thieves, tramps, murderers, bootleggers and crooks in years " — New Republic "I believe Jack Black has written a remarkable book; it is vivid and picturesque; it is not fiction; it is a book that was needed and it should be widely read." — Clarence Darrow, New York Herald Tribune A major influence on William S. Burroughs and other Beat writers, this lost classic was written by Jack Black, a drifter and small-time criminal. Born in 1872, Black hit the road at the age of 16 and spent most of his life as a vagabond. In this plainspoken but colorful memoir, he recaptures a hobo underworld of the early twentieth century, a time when it was possible to pass anonymously from town to town. Black's firsthand accounts of hopping trains, burglaries, prison, and drug addiction offer a compelling portrait of life outside the law and honor among thieves.
In what ways is comedy subversive? This vital new book critically considers the importance of comedy in challenging and redefining our relations to race and racism through the lens of political correctness. By viewing comedy as both a constitutive feature of social interaction and as a necessary requirement in the appraisal of what is often deemed to be ‘politically correct’, this book provides an innovative and multidisciplinary approach to the study of comedy and popular culture. In doing so, it engages with the social and cultural tensions inherent to our understandings of political correctness, arguing that comedy can subversively redefine our approach to ‘PC Debates’, contestations surrounding free speech and the popular portrayal of political correctness in the media and society. Aided by the work of both Slavoj Žižek and Alenka Zupančič, this unique analysis adopts a psychoanalytic/philosophical framework to explore issues of race, racism and political correctness in the widely acclaimed BBC ‘mockumentary’, The Office (UK), as well as a variety of television comedies. Drawing from psychoanalysis, social psychology and philosophy, this book will be highly relevant for postgraduate students and academic researchers studying comedy, race/racism, multiculturalism, political correctness and television/film.
From the Newbery Medal–winning author of Dead End in Norvelt, the uproarious final volume of Jack Henry stories According to his new motto—A WRITER'S JOB IS TO TURN HIS WORST EXPERIENCES INTO MONEY—Jack Gantos's alter ego Jack Henry is going to be filty rich even before he gets out of junior high, for his life is filled with the worst experiences imaginable. For instance, in the course of the few months covered in this closing cycle of interlinked stories, Jack is humiliated by a gorgeous syncronized swimmer, gets a tattoo the size of an ant on his big toe, flubs an IQ test and nearly fails wood shop, and has to dig up his dead dog not once but twice. And that's not the half of it! At the close of this final book of semi-autobiographical stories, Jack may not end up rolling in dough, but he will prove once again "a survivor, an ‘everyboy' whose world may be wacko but whose heart and spirit are eminently sane" (School Library Journal). This title has Common Core connections.
From the Newbery Medal–winning author of Dead End in Norvelt, the uproarious final volume of Jack Henry stories According to his new motto—A WRITER’S JOB IS TO TURN HIS WORST EXPERIENCES INTO MONEY—Jack Gantos’s alter ego Jack Henry is going to be filty rich even before he gets out of junior high, for his life is filled with the worst experiences imaginable. For instance, in the course of the few months covered in this closing cycle of interlinked stories, Jack is humiliated by a gorgeous syncronized swimmer, gets a tattoo the size of an ant on his big toe, flubs an IQ test and nearly fails wood shop, and has to dig up his dead dog not once but twice. And that’s not the half of it! At the close of this final book of semi-autobiographical stories, Jack may not end up rolling in dough, but he will prove once again “a survivor, an ‘everyboy’ whose world may be wacko but whose heart and spirit are eminently sane” (School Library Journal).
When movie star Jack Black and his musical compadre Kyle Gass get together, they are better known to their legions of fans as the 'acoustic metal' band, Tenacious D. Filled with photos, script extracts and bonus features, this book is an illustrated guide to 'The D', as told by the band themselves.
This work uses the techniques in Mindstore, Jack's first book, and applies them to the arena of the more personal; memory and learning, tip of the tongue triggers, relationships, communications, diet and nutrition and intuition.
Based on his lectures and tapes, this book is a distillation of Jack Black's approach to self-improvement. It is essentially a life management book, full of advice for achieving excellence in all areas of life.
There was the film; there was the album; there was the tour; and now, the final piece of Tenacious D's masterful Post-Apocalypto universe: the graphic novel, complete with accompanied audio. In the fall of 2018, the Greatest Band in the World - Tenacious D (comprised of Jack Black and Kyle Gass) - added arguably its most crucial work to an already scintillating catalogue of rock greatness: Tenacious D in Post-Apocalypto the movie (available on YouTube) and Post-Apocalypto the album. And now - with great excitement - Tenacious D will add the final piece to the Post-Apocalypto universe: the graphic novel, which Jack Black drew and Kyle Gass wrote, complete with accompanied audio. Post-Apocalypto finds Tenacious D thrust into a world of complete and utter destruction following the drop of an atomic bomb. Surviving the attack in classic cinematic fashion (a good old imperishable 1950s refrigerator), the duo quickly learn that new forms of evil have spawned from the blast. One thing becomes apparent - for humanity to prevail, Tenacious D must save the world. With unimaginable twists and turns, an insane visit to the White House, a time machine, a space adventure, and the help of some tried-and-true daddy issues, Post-Apocalypto is as hilarious as it is political, and as brilliant and multi-faceted as its incredible creators.
A collection of songs written and recorded by David Fletcher, aka BlackJack Davy, from 1969-2019. For 50 years BlackJack has honed his craft into a fine art.
The book is called When We Were Black. I came up with the book, or the book came up to me several years ago. It was during one Christmas holiday spent time with children and grandchildren, while I was relating to my familys diverse tree, when one of my daughters informed me that her children did not consider themselves a color, speaking of black. Initially, I was insulted because black was never a color but was a very serious movement during the 1960s and 1970s. Well, I had to consider whether I had impressed this point to my own children and spoke to others who were having similar conversations with the younger generation. I felt serious enough about it to write a book diagramming my road to being black because back then you were a Negro or Colored on your birth certificate. Being that this was on your birth certificate, the parents continued calling themselves that. It was a big thing, radical, to tell your parents that you were black because, for many, it was revolutionary. A revolution is nothing but change, and we were attempting to change the world. I would guess that I am embarking on changing the world now because many do not see the significance between African American and black. There is a significant difference, which the book explains.
The book is called When We Were Black. I came up with the book, or the book came up to me several years ago. It was during one Christmas holiday spent time with children and grandchildren, while I was relating to my familys diverse tree, when one of my daughters informed me that her children did not consider themselves a color, speaking of black. Initially, I was insulted because black was never a color but was a very serious movement during the 1960s and 1970s. Well, I had to consider whether I had impressed this point to my own children and spoke to others who were having similar conversations with the younger generation. I felt serious enough about it to write a book diagramming my road to being black because back then you were a Negro or Colored on your birth certificate. Being that this was on your birth certificate, the parents continued calling themselves that. It was a big thing, radical, to tell your parents that you were black because, for many, it was revolutionary. A revolution is nothing but change, and we were attempting to change the world. I would guess that I am embarking on changing the world now because many do not see the significance between African American and black. There is a significant difference, which the book explains.
Traditional narratives of black educational history suggest that African Americans offered a unified voice concerning Brown v. Board of Education. Jack Dougherty counters this interpretation, demonstrating that black activists engaged in multiple, overlapping, and often conflicting strategies to advance the race by gaining greater control over schools. Dougherty tells the story of black school reform movements in Milwaukee from the 1930s to the 1990s, highlighting the multiple perspectives within each generation. In profiles of four leading activists, he reveals how different generations redefined the meaning of the Brown decision over time to fit the historical conditions of their particular struggles. William Kelley of the Urban League worked to win teaching jobs for blacks and to resettle Southern black migrant children in the 1950s; Lloyd Barbee of the NAACP organized protests in support of integrated schools and the teaching of black history in the 1960s; and Marian McEvilly and Howard Fuller contested--in different ways--the politics of implementing desegregation in the 1970s, paving the way for the 1990s private school voucher movement. Dougherty concludes by contrasting three interpretations of the progress made in the fifty years since Brown, showing how historical perspective can shed light on contemporary debates over race and education reform.
* Critically acclaimed biographies of history's most notable African-Americans * Straightforward and objective writing * Lavishly illustrated with photographs and memorabilia * Essential for multicultural studies
At the beginning of World War II, Prince Junio Valerio Borghese, dashing Italian nobleman, assembled the famous Decima MAS naval unit-the first modern naval commando squad. Borghese's "frogmen" were trained to fight undercover and underwater with small submarines and assault boats armed with a variety of destructive torpedoes. The covert tactics he and the Decima MAS developed, including the use of midget submarines, secret nighttime operations, and small teams armed with explosives, have become a standard for special forces around the world to this very day.After the Italian capitulation in 1943, Borghese determinedly fought on as a Fascist commando leader. After the war, he became a man of mystery, variously said to be involved with several right-wing conspiracies, abortive coups, and clandestine activity. The Prince's death in 1974 was every bit as mysterious as his life.Greene and Massignani have drawn upon official archives as well as information from Allied and Axis veterans in an unprecedented attempt to separate fact from fantasy in this detailed examination of Borghese, the Decima MAS, and the Italian naval special forces.
Jack Lindeman was born and raised in Philadelphia. He served three years in the army. He has taught at Lincoln & University, Temple University and Kutztown State University. He edited The Conflict of Convictions which critic Edward Wagenknecht in a review wrote "..gives us a new angle on the Civil War...." He also wrote a book about living on a farm, Appleseed Hollow, which Harry Eshleman in a review in Bookends called "...a collection of feelings, insights, and conclusions about our contemporary world which at times rival Henry Thoreau's writings about Walden Pond." He has also published two books of poetry, Twenty-One Poems and As If, which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
A black southern doctor offers a gripping memoir of his childhood in Alabama, his efforts to overcome racism in the white medical community, his participation in the civil rights movement and his problems with the Medicaid program and state medical authorities"--Provided by publisher.
As service workers in a luxurious sleeping-car train system, Pullman porters had both the highest status in the black community and the lowest rank on the train. They were trapped in the dual roles of charming host and obedient servant, and their constant smiles--even in the face of unreasonable demands by white passengers--were part of the job requirement. Jack Santino's interviews with retired porters provide extensive firsthand accounts of their work, the job inequities they faced, the formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and the aborted Pullman porter strike of 1928. Through the testimony of ran-and-file workers as well as key figures such as E. D. Nixon, the porter who initiated the Montgomery bus boycott and helped launch the career of Martin Luther King, Jr. and C.L. Dellums, the only surviving founding member of the BSCP, Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle illuminates the Pullman porters' struggle for dignity.
“This book helps to set the record straight, not just through the facts of O'Dell's life, but through introducing the reader to O'Dell's powerful analysis.”—Bill Fletcher Jr., coauthor of Solidarity Divided “Jack O'Dell describes an 'easy journey…[and] an easy course' through his extraordinary life. But there was and is nothing easy about the roles Jack played—and continues to play—as strategist, tactician, mentor, and leader in so many campaigns for justice. As often behind the scenes as in front of the microphone, Jack fought for internationalism in the African-American freedom movement and held the internationalist movement accountable for fighting racism. Jack O'Dell resides among the greats in the pantheon of our movements and of our country. His words continue to shape our history.”—Phyllis Bennis, author of Challenging Empire: How People, Governments and the UN Defy U.S. Power "Jack O'Dell is one of the great unsung heroes of the Black Freedom Movement. Climbin' Jacob's Ladder offers a fascinating and inspiring chronicle of O'Dell's long career through his own writings. With a brilliant and exhaustive introduction by Nikhil Singh, one of the sharpest radical thinkers of his generation, this collection is a vital addendum and corrective to our existing knowledge of the 'long' Civil Rights Movement and its legacy."—Barbara Ransby, author of Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision
In 1875, a young man from Pennsylvania known as Captain Jack joined the Dodge Expedition into the Black Hills of Dakota Territory, penning letters to the Omaha Daily Bee during that time and for six months in 1876. John Wallace Crawford, aka Captain Jack, wrote a vibrant account of this fascinating time in the American West. His correspondence featured unusual and intriguing details about the relative merits of the gulches, the vagaries and difficulties of travel in the region, the art of survival in what was essentially wilderness, the hardships of inclement weather, trouble with outlaws, and interactions with American Indians. Award-winning historian Paul L. Hedren has compiled these almost unknown letters, writing an introduction and essays, which result in a treasure trove of hitherto hidden primary documents as well as a ripping yarn in the traditions of the old West. Book jacket.
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