Austin Reviews

Finally, a book that captures stories in the from of "treasures" to be passed down for generations to come. I have yet to see a book like this in which writers, some well known and others not, share their grandmother story. It is a window to days past, filled with life instructions and wisdom that we can use in our lives today to nuture our own soul. The editor, Jane Austin Bruckner, shows us how influenced we are by our grandmothers, even after they are long gone. What I found personally inspiring is the section on how to write your own grandmother story. I hadn't considered that before. Thank you!

Being born and bred in the area detailed in this history, I naturally enjoyed it. I have referred to it countless times, both recreationally and in times when I needed to secure certain facts. It has a layout unlike those found in today's reference books, but one not unusual for the time in which it was written. Included are several wonderful pictures of life in the 1800's of Xenia, Beavercreek, Spring Valley, etc. The pictures range from storefronts, main streets, grain elevators, trains, schools, and churches to historical markers and countryside scenes. Descriptions and dates are given for nearly all the illustrations, which adds to the value of this historical book. Anyone interested in Greene County, Ohio for personal and/or research reasons would benefit greatly from the reading of Greene County, 1803-1908.

"When I got to the end of St. Matthias Gap, I would stand for a while and watch the drug store. The large bottles of glass that contained 'sweets' medicines and pills of all sorts of toughness and strength and sweetness."

Nobody does it better than Mr. Austin 'Tom' Clarke. Nobody can
take us back into those long ago times with literature so touching, so real, so magical, so painful, so peaceful and picturesque, and yet so lovely.

For Austin 'Tom' Clarke is a man for all seasons and beneath his humour and fun-poking there is a depth and intensity that makes his story so very arresting and captivating. I must say this book stimulated my mind to such an extent that it was not always easy to put it down just for a few moments. Giving an autobiographical account of his life as a youngster, we venture with him into his life at Combermere and how the school system worked at the time. Latin was a favourite with Clarke and his friends but unfortunately not having the money for the text books the information had to be handwritten from the textbooks of one of the privileged boys. Even for Scripture lessons when one would have thought that there would have been so many Bibles in the island, some guys had to write out Acts Of the Apostles in long hand. It was during wartime and things were terrible scarce and jobs hard to come by. Most of the people in the village worked for the Whites doing domestic work or at the Marine hotel in the same capacity. So it was the norm to emulate everything English.....studying English history, society and manners. After all the country was under Colonial control and Barbadians would have it no other way. They knew no other way.

Mr. Clarke doesn't fail to humour us as he recounts his days in the St. Michael's Cathedral or throw us into a fit of nostalgia as he reminisces of the Brilliantine shining on his hair the first day at Combermere......so real you can actually feel the broiling hot sun and smell the sweet hairdressing grease running down his youthful neck.

One of the things I loved about Austin Clarke's book came towards the end. He describes in detail his many walks on sunny afternoons along Hastings main road when the sun scorched the bottom of his feet leaving tar marks on the surface. He describes how quiet the area was in those days, with hardly anyone walking the streets or any vehicular traffic. He would always walk slowly as he approached the drug store for that was one of his favourite places where he stood outside and surveyed the place, looking at the sweets on display and inhaling the various potent medicines and of course the Lysol. The ever-faithful Lysol would always be wafting in the atmosphere; then as you extended your eyes towards the back of the store, there would be the druggist in white, and the sea gleaming in the background. Clarke embraced a kind of peace in these surroundings.....a peace real tangible to my mind.

I would encourage all literature lovers to read this book and compare those old time days to the times we're living in now. The diversity in the culture and the innocence of what it was really like living under British rule.

In fact, this is a book for everyone.

Reviewed by Heather P. Marshall 11-03-03

Hector Visits His Country Cousin is a cleverly written and presented children's story about a city bat who learns more about life in the country from his experienced cousin. Charming, humorous black-and-white illustrations bring to life an entertaining and engaging story filled throughout with tidbits about bat life and survival. A superb storybook for young folks, Hector Visits His Country Cousin is enthusiastically recommended for family, school, and community library collections.

This is a very handy, useful, and well-chosen representative selection of original sources on the Hellenistic World translated into English. The sources effectively illustrate various aspects of political history, the nature and range of institutions, characteristics of society, and facets of the economy in the period from Alexander the Great to the accession of Rome as a Mediterranean power (end of the second century BC.). The book's scope is widespread not only in the subjects chosen and the lengthy era covered, but also in the very inclusive representation of locations: Sources from Greece, the Aegean, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and even Bactria are included in this volume. The extensive array of sources includes literary evidence, inscriptions, and papyri. The book includes well-written and cogent commentaries and bibliography for each source, a general bibliography, maps, tables of rulers, chronological tables, an index to sources, and a general index. There is cross-referencing to specific literature relating both to the texts, and the subjects. The general introduction is helpful and enlightening. I liked this book because it is valuable source both for instructors and students providing comprehensive access to material not readily available to the non-specialist reader.

This book was so good!! Mostly because it keeps the reader pinned to the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens. I have read it at least four times and it never dulls me! A defenite page turner!

Gail Donovan has brought new wit and verve to the Rainbow Fish
series with this delightful book! My young son and I both
enjoyed the humor and drama of this undersea glimpse into a
'school' of fish and other sea creatures who reveal their
personalities-- familiar to anyone who's ever been to any
sort of school!-- through a wittily rendered session of
Show and Tell. Donovan's gentle humor and perfect ear for
both 'teacher-speak' and genuine kid voices make this book
one that can truly be enjoyed by both young readers and their
parents. I hope Donovan will continue to make Rainbow Fish
shine!

Alfredo López Austin is one of the best historians of the ancient prehispanic Mexico. Human Body and Ideology represents the highest level of the understanding of the cosmogonic concepts of the mexicas. The method used by López Austin is extremely complex and well developed, it goes between history, anthropology, sociology and philosopy.

Being new to the life and times of Mary Austin, I found this book captivating. Credit goes to Augusta Fink for one of the finest biographies I have ever read.