RESOURCES: Classic text revisited ... Making Men W. McG. Eagar1953

Written post-retirement, Making Men is possibly the best history yet produced on any aspect of youth work. Focusing on the development of boys' clubs and related movements, such as the ragged schools and mechanic's institutes, it traces their history from the onset of the nineteenth century to the 1940s. Thoroughly researched and written with panache, it was intended to enthuse his colleagues as much as to provide grist for the historian's mill. So adept is Eagar as a writer, he satisfies both audiences.

Making Men tells a remarkable story of personal sacrifice, human ingenuity and collective endeavour. For contemporary practitioners it helps explain the major contribution youth work made to welfare policies and social reform movements. Acquaintance with Eagar is a marvellous antidote for dealing with those who dismiss our work as marginal and dispensable. The story may need updating and a similar history of girls' clubs is needed, but don't underestimate this text's worth. For it tells the story of a way of engaging with young people rather than with organisations.