First published in 1997, this study of 9,000 people born in the same week in 1970, who have been followed up since birth, has produced a unique picture of life for those in their mid 20s – a year before the new Labour Government took office. The new survey shows a fractured society with clear evidence of an increasing gulf between those ‘getting on’ with their careers and blooming and those who are being left behind.

The polarisation between those ‘getting on’ and those ‘getting nowhere’ was primarily about financial and career achievement but was also reflected in almost every other area of their lives.

A theme running throughout the book is what characterises successful integration into adult life, as opposed to marginalisation and social exclusion which is encountered by increasing numbers of young people.