Routledge The Milltown Boys at Sixty: The Origins and Destinations of Young Men from a Poor Neighbourhood

The Milltown Boys at Sixty is a story like no other, giving both an insider and an outsider view of the ‘Milltown Boys’, exploring the nature of an ethnographic relationship based on research about their experiences of the criminal justice system. A group classically labelled as delinquents, drug-takers and drop-outs, the Boys were also, in many different ways, fathers, friends and family men, differentially immersed in the labour market, in very different family relationships and now very differently connected to criminal activity. Williamson has written books capturing their experiences over the fifty years of his continued association with them: about their teenage years; and twenty years later, in middle-age. This book is about them as they pass the age of 60, providing a personal account of the relationship between Williamson and the Boys, and the distinctive – perhaps even controversial – research methodology that enabled the mapping of their lives. It provides a unique and detailed insight into the ways in which the lives of the Milltown Boys that started with such shared beginnings have unfolded in so many diverse and fascinating ways. These accounts will be of interest to the lay reader curious about the way others have managed (or failed to manage) their lives, the professional who works with those living, often struggling, on the wrong side of the tracks, and the academic researching and teaching about social exclusion, substance misuse, criminal justice transitions and the life course. Review "In The Milltown Boys at Sixty, the indefatigable Howard Williamson provides a masterclass in ethnography that offers a nuanced scholarly commentary of what it is like to grow up and old(er) in lives that began on a social housing estate. Williamson does a superb job of allowing some of the ‘The Boys’, whom he first met when they were 13 or 14 and who are now 60, reflect back across the years on lives lived mostly on the margins, whilst offering social commentary on the institutions - labour market, criminal justice service, and social and health services - that repeatedly failed many of them, then and now. The inclusion of themes such as who has succeeded and what success means, who counts as family, the role of belief systems and identity, and the far-reaching effects of mental health struggles make this account relevant and timely. A story of young lives - their origins and destinations - told across nearly fifty years is rare, but then so is Howard Williamson – a reflective and compassionate youth worker, youth policy expert and youth sociologist who has spent his entire career in the service of young people. The Milltown Boys at Sixty challenges us to change our approach from youth studies to life histories, our academic gaze from distant to intimate, and our analysis from a single lens to that of a kaleidoscope. Congratulations Howard, we are very proud of you!" Sharlene Swartz, President, Sociology of Youth Research Committee, International Sociological Association, Professor of Philosophy, University of Fort Hare, South Africa "With this book Howard Williamson returns to the story of the ‘Milltown Boys’ as they reach the age of 60. First met as teenagers, that Prof Williamson has retained close contact with these men over such an extended period is a very rare, perhaps unique sociological achievement. The twists and turns of the lives of ‘the Boys’ – family lives and friendships, encounters with crime and the criminal justice system, with jobs and unemployment, experiences of ageing and bereavement - are recounted with sensitivity, care and humour. This is not a typical academic book – not least because it is extraordinarily engaging! It rings with ethnographic truth. It should be relevant to a range of university courses in sociology, criminology, youth studies, youth work and research methodology. I can imagine students reading this book with great enthusiasm." Robert MacDona