For five years, Jim Walker followed the stories of four groups of young men, from their last years at an inner-city high school to their early twenties. Louts and Legends is a rich portrayal of their ways of life, their responses to school and teachers, and their experience of job-seeking, employment, unemployment, further education and training.

Louts and Legends presents a unique perspective on Australian culture, showing the problems, achievements, and social context of four distinct cultural styles: the macho ‘Aussie’ culture of the footballers; the competitive challenge of the Greeks; the ‘nice guy’ friendliness of the handballers; the artistic aspirations of the stigmatised three friends.

The interview and participant observation data gathered over a long period contains fresh insights on youth culture as well as moving individual stories. The findings in this book pose a challenge to educational and social policy, but they also offer realistic suggestions for teachers, youth workers, parents and for other young people.