'A Youth Not Wasted is Ian Parkes' story of how he left home, aged 16, to become a jackaroo on a merino stud in the South Australian outback. Tough, tender, laugh-out-loud funny one minute, poignant the next, his memoir is both a ripping yarn and a love letter to the bush - to a time when a young stockman worked side-by-side with Aboriginal trackers and a big social event was a day out at the races with your mates.' (Trove record)
