After reviewing the principal theoretical problems relating to the study of working-class culture and consciousness, Dunk provides a detailed ethnographic analysis of "the Boys" - the male working-class subjects of this study. Male working-class culture, he argues, contains both the seeds of a radical response to social inequality and a defensive reaction against alternative social practices and ideas. In a new forward, Dunk contextualizes the original text with regard to the debates about class and masculinity that have occurred since the book was first published.

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"This well-written, revealing, and cogently argued community study adds to the knowledge of social inequality based on class, race, and gender." Choice "Dunk builds a strong interplay between the mundane and common-sense social practices with structural issues such as sexism, racism, cultural hegemony, and resistance .... A strong case is made illustrating how important leisure practices are for understanding the interplay between culture and consciousness." Critical Sociology "No one has previously provided such a nice ethnographic illustration of how discourses on hinterlands and on Native Americans fit into the common-sense reality of white working class peoples. In short, this well-organized, well-written little book is worth reading if you want to know more about what critical cultural theorists working within the Marxist tradition are doing." American Ethnologist "An engaging and stimulating ethnography. This book offers much to discuss and debate. It is very well-written, and makes an important contribution to debates over modern culture and to ethnography of the working class in Canada." American Journal of Sociology /// "A finely-crafted analysis of working class culture in northwestern Ontario ... Dunk's study is undeniably a work of commendable scholarship. He skillfully and judiciously intertwines theory and empirical research." British Journal of Canadian Studies "A very fine book." Contemporary Sociology "Dunk's book is a valuable addition to occupational folklore scholarship. His discussions and conclusions based on custom and expressive behaviour are excellent." Canadian Folklore