Austin Reviews

Valerie Austin provides an extensive amount of information on phobias, panic attacks, and anxiety disorders. She first describes each of these, then gives ideas on improving life with self-hypnosis. This book was very informative on the subject of self-hypnosis and relaxation. An excellent choice for anyone interested in improving and enjoying life.

Fr. Ralph Powell, O.P., a brilliant Dominican Friar from Chicago, has written a book filled with quotes from philosophers, historical sketches and brief outlines concerning the problem of epistemological relativism. "Freely Chosen Reality" delivers, point by point, pieces of evidence proving that most philosophers have agreed on one permanent claim. Powell, who admits to having relativist leanings, spent ten years studying and analyzing the "objectivity question," and the problem of historical and epistemological relativism. His findings-argued convincingly in Freely Chosen Reality-have laid to rest the vaguest credibility of relativist claims...

Powell shows two areas deeply affected by the problem of relativism: ethics and logic. Foundations supporting analytic ethics have been pulverized. The critique of Kant's universal moral imperative by Hegel, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche dismantled "the foundations both of analytic ethics and our contemporary liberal morality."

Powell's insight concerning the effect of relativism on ethics is, I feel, fundamentally sound. The collapse of contemporary ethics brought on by the easy critique of Kant has effects on today's college campuses. Once Kant's do-it-yourself Golden Rule has been proven to be silly, it becomes difficult to got back to common sense and accept the Old Testament commandments.

I also agree with Powell that relativism likewise affects the field of logic. Clearly, a denial of necessity would upset the art of thinking. Unfortunately, relativism denies logical necessity. Consequently, logic is discredited, held suspect and shunned by some philospohers and scholars. Powell says, "Epistemological relativism is...destructive of claims to the transcultural universality of logic."

Arguing that there is trans-cultural agreement among philosophers on the bedrock of sensual experience, Powell reveals the possibility of philosophical and intellectual unity and counters the divisive, violent movement of relativism with a fundamental truth. "There is trans-cultural agreement on an experiential basis for philosophy." His conclusion is capable of establishing a person's hope and trust in the conclusions of ethics and logic...That upon which the above philosophers agree is that a real-relation is the first object of experience and the extrinsic formal cause of sensation.

This book is one of my favorite histories of Medieval England- it is thorough and expansive but at the same time concise. It covers all the major issues of the time, from the rulers' personalities to the prevailing social issues. However, far from being a dry list of facts I found it very well-written, and surprisingly engaging! It is rare that I find myself captivated by a piece of thoroughly researched history. Nor can you doubt his accuracy, Poole's facts are obviously meticulously collected from both primary and secondary sources. I reccommend this book both to the casual learner and the more hardheaded scholar.

Austin Spare lived an extraordinary magical life. He invented his own system pretty much from scratch after his tutelage by an old witch who could trace her lineage back to the Burning Times. This is not some new age incense and Mozart approach to the Occult, but real Magic portrayed by deep linkage to the subconscious though the amazing drawing of Austin Osman Spare.

This is one of the most extraordinary books on Magic and Art ever published. I know of nothing else that comes close. Giger and Joe Coleman pale by comparison.

Spare once said when ill that he "...would not cure himself with a charm. If you remove one evil you induce another." That statement from most would seem like an excuse. But in Spare's case, he that had casually produced thunderstorms and Elementals (leading in short order to the deaths of the two woman who had repeatedly requested he do so, against his best advice), it is a sign of the depth of his knowledge and understanding.

There are rumors, generally regarded as fact, that he and Aleister Crowley were lovers for a time. Who Knows? Sex lay at the center of both their universes. Kia became manifest as matter according to Spare due to Cosmic Loneliness. Sounds plausible enough to me. Crowley once said of transcendence that the problem with it is that: "it becomes boring after awhile."

This book also includes many sigils (of which Spare was a Master) and pragmatic information on their construction and use.

This book gives a thorough explanation of the troops and equipment used during the Persian Gulf War and the build up to the war. The authors dig to find the most accurate numbers. Also give expert analysis on the Iraqi army and coalition forces in terms of diplomacy and experience. Also good background on the history of the region. I give the book an A.

I took this guide on a first time visit to San Antonio and found it invaluable. Not only was it up to date with info on the latest hotels, attractions, and restaurants, but it contains lots of asides containing interesting information on the different sites that added to our enjoyment at visiting these sites. A first rate job!

Fur Magic is a fantasy novel based on the legends of the North American Indians. In the tales of the Nez Perce, and other tribes, the Changer is a great power who has the ability to shape things. Often called the Trickster, the Changer delights in confounding others with his changes. Long ago, the Old People, sapient oversized animals, ruled the world, but then the Changer made mankind and changed everything.

In this story, Cory Adler is a Floridan boy whose father has been assigned to Viet Nam by the Army and whose mother is taking care of his grandmother in San Francisco. An old Army buddy of his father, Uncle Jasper, has invited Cory to stay on his ranch while his parents are away and Cory looks forward to it with great anticipation. Yet the actual experience is much more frightening than he expects; the horses are big and buck him off, the animals have sharp teeth and claws, and the night is filled with strange noises.

The day after his unsuccessful attempt to ride a horse, Uncle Jasper takes him up to an old line cabin in the high country and leaves him there while the adults ride off to inspect the young horses. Cory agrees to wait for Black Elk, an old indian shaman, to arrive at the cabin and then to phone for a jeep to carry the old man to the main house. Cory is willing, as long as he doesn't have to ride a horse, and soon starts to explore the surrounding area. He accidentally falls into a shallow hole and breaks a basket and a turtleshell rattle within the hollow. He takes a leather bag back to the cabin to get a better look at it, but decides it is a medicine pouch and replaces it within the broken basket.

While exploring some more, he notices brown shapes moving around on a distance hillside and uses his binoculars to resolve the image into three buffalo, two adults and a calf. Moreover, he sees a man wearing an animal skin, possibly coyote, dancing close to the animals while carrying a decorated stick and a turtleshell rattle. He is held motionless by fear, but manages to drop the binoculars, which frees his muscles. Still terrified, he nonetheless runs toward the site where he has seen the buffalo and the man, but only tracks remain of the animals and man.

When he returns to the cabin, he finds an old indian man sitting motionless by the firepit. He asks the old man if he is Black Eagle and is finally answered with a bare acknowledgment. Cory makes a meal in the firepit for the old man, who eats everything given to him and Cory's portion as well. Afterwards, the old man pulls out a leather bag, the same medicine pouch that Cory had returned to the basket, throws some dust on the fire that causes a steady stream of smoke to rise above it, and insists that Cory has done wrong and must purify himself by holding the pouch in the smoke. When Cory complies, he is transported into the mind of an oversized beaver named Yellow Shell.

Cory thinks that he is in an exceptionally vivid dream, but cannot awaken. His mind accompanies Yellow Shell as he fights against marauding minks and clever crows which are minions of the Changer. He even meets the Changer face to face and is able to fight back and find a way to return to his own body. Moreover, he is now able to overcome his fears.

This story may be the earliest of the author's tales involving the legends and people of the tribes. Other works influenced by these traditions include the Beast Master series, The Sioux Spaceman, and The Defiant Agents. These tales of indian ways have been very influential to many young people through the years, possibly including Jane Lindskold, author of Changer and the Firekeeper series, which contain some of these same images.

This novel is intended for young people, but like her other juveniles, is also enjoyable to an old man like me.

Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys simple tales of exotic folks and heroic quests.

this book edited by joe austin is a comprehensive selection from some very fine scholars on the subject of youth culture. some of the topics include such misunderstood cutlures as graffiti writers, skateboarders, zoot suiters, double dutch girls and so on. These authors are committed to the articulation of these cultures from the perspective of the participants rather than using youth culture as a jumping off point fo r theoretical meandering. This is a great introduction to the field and will be of interest to both scholars and general readers.

Though small and unassuming, this little book packs a wallop in its thorough discussion of the miracle of Jesus' birth in its historical context.

Ms. Austin discusses the political background of the times, Jewish customs and traditions, and even angelic appearances. The writing is crisp, fascinating, and authoritative without ostentation. Scriptural cites are used throughout. I especially enjoyed bits of original verse that the author includes in several chapters. The book can be read in just a few short sittings, although I found it difficult to put down once beginning.

I originally picked up a copy at a used book store and it has been such a blessing to me that I read it annually close to Christmas. I am thrilled to find it available at Amazon and plan to share copies with friends and family this year.

And finally, if you would like to read a scholarly, plausible discussion of exactly what the "star of Bethlehem" might have been, you will not want to miss this book. The book is well worth reading for that discussion alone.

Glacier Ice is a comprehensive survey which is both well-written and extensively illustrated. It is easy to read, but mastery of its contents would take considerable time and effort. So it is suited to a broad range of audience. Even a beginner with an interest in the subject would be able to get a good deal out of this book. Because the writing is straightforward and assumes nothing about the reader's expertise. And because Glacier Ice contains many photographs which are specifically presented to illustrate topics being discussed in the text.

For those who have spent time walking glacial surfaces in a state of awe and wonder, this book will answer all the questions that kept arising as you moved about in that supernal world. And it will clarify in detail the terms that you have heard tossed about but which needed further definition in your mind. Like moraine, for example. Which is a deceptively simple concept, but turns out to have tremendous explanatory power when it comes to the geophysics of landscape formation. In this regard, I had once been told that Long Island was a terminal moraine. Reading Glacier Ice rendered that nugget of information viable. I now have a picture in my mind's eye of just how the one-hundred mile-long land mass came into being.

One of the most visually dramatic surface features of glaciers is the multiple median moraines that form like layer cake when several ice flow tributaries converge into an ice field of gigantic proportion. Glacier Ice includes a number of photographs of this phenomena and an explanation for its occurrence. As with other aspects of glacier morphology taken up in this monograph, after a few moments time you can begin to picture vividly the way in which the forces at work between ice and rock would produce the effect you are studying.

One thing I particularly liked about Glacier Ice is that it was written with the mountain climber in mind. Thus descriptions of various glacier features are often accompanied by comments on the type of challenge the feature in question poses to the adventurer attempting to traverse it. This brought a topic of vastness down to human dimensions and I thought it a nice touch in what is essentially a textbook about the intersection of the force of gravity as it meets up with frozen water and rock.