The memoir of the youth of Donald Windham in Depression-era Atlanta. The recollections describe the pleasant memories of his childhood as well as the less happy ones, and recount Windham's increasing desire for a world beyond Atlanta.

Emblems of Conduct is Donald Windham's moving memoir of his Depression-era youth in Atlanta, Georgia. Praised as "a masterpiece" by Georges Simenon, Windham's tale is not only a portrait of a bygone era but also a moving statement about the physical and spiritual need of youth to take risks.