Austin Reviews

Before commenting on the stories themselves, I want to say that Donald Hoffman's prose is in itself a pleasure to read. It has a leisurely, discursive quality, a little like Old World courtesy, which invites you into the stories. In fact, the first one, "The Prisoner," is framed as a traveler's tale, and this style is perfectly suited to the narrator's voice. It's a good introductory story; the narrator ends with a wink at his audience, refusing to commit to the truth or falsehood of his tale. The reader, who is left feeling 'well, if it wasn't true, it should have been,' is nicely set up for the rest of the book. There's a lot of variety in this collection, which includes satire, fable, and what might be called a children's story (though like all fine children's literature it speaks equally to adults). My two favorites are the title story, about a father's grief at his infant daughter's death, and "The Man in a Tree," a fable. I was fascinated with the title story because whenever I read about the death of a child, I wonder how a parent goes on living afterwards. I was quite moved when I understood that music and poetry bring the father to a deep acceptance of his loss and help him say good-bye. "The Man in a Tree," which reminded me of Kipling's Just So Stories, is a lovely tale of unquestioning devotion. I thought of Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment as I was reading Hoffman's book. In three of the five tales, art or imagination saves the characters, helps them to heal. I felt Hoffman is showing how we tap into the wellspring of cultural wisdom as we navigate our lives.

This book is extremelly informative on the issues of organized crime. Having a degree in criminology allows me to say for a fact that this book gives the reader an excellent over view of famous cases, theories regarding organized crime and insight into the individuals who commit them. It also allows us to look at how these crimes effect our lives and society as a whole.

This book covered children's health from birth to teenagers. It was able to easily clarify whether or not to bring a child to a doctor. There were good descriptions and illustrations of ailments, as well as an easy-to-use index. I would recommend it to any new parent as a reference manual.

If you are a chemist or working for the chemistry related field & know little of german then it is the best book to translate your reference papers from german to english by your self than exposing your field of work by giving some agencies for translating the papers.

Beautifully illustrated, tenderly told stories about a soft-hearted, near sighted, sleepwalking parson, a Churchmouse (not rat!), church kitten and (puppy) dog all learning to live with, and despite, each other. The stories will teach tolerance to young children, and are amusing and witty, too, for older readers, including adults. I read these stories to my daughter 30 years after my mother read them to me and I suspect my daughter will be reading them to her children as well. Highly recommended!

If you have dreams "getting back to the land" and becoming a small-scale farmer, this book is an excellent primer for what you'll be getting into, with plenty of solid information about what to do if you make the big leap. Although some might say this is a bit dated in the era of corporate mega-farms--and it could use more emphasis on organic farming--there is plenty of timeless information presented in a simple, succinct format that will definitely be worth many times the small amount you need to buy this book. It's all presented in a common-sense, practical and bright style--it's a classic. Subjects covered include: How to raise dairy beef and cattle, sheep, hogs and chickens; cash crops and truck farming; grassland farming; orchard, woodlot and fencecrows; and beekeeping. Also includes how to choose your land and how to get the money to get started.

This book, really opened a new world of love and bateral, a classic, i've read it millions of time, i find it a soothing book, and i highly sujest reading it, if u ever have the time. It teachs leasons that are no longer taught and shows the charm of a proud man, whose not as he seems, it goes behing the love of the two oldest sisters out of five. Jane and Elizabeth,both learn to love and both learn to hate with a pasion that no book could possably beat in any way.

This little book is a wonderful series of meditations from a serious and intelligent Christian. All of the pieces are worth thinking about at length.

Written in a simple language, this book is accessible to readers who are not specifically familiar with oilwell drilling. Numerous photographs and drawings make it a very accurate description of the equipment and activities on and around a land rig floor. Easy, enjoyable and very informative to read throughout.
Does not tackle offshore rigs or directional drilling.

i have been reading this book on and off for the past eight years and its now practically my bible. austin stevens speaks to children well because he has a very vivid memory of his own child hood experiances. i have built many tree houses, made many sling shots and have a club with my friends. this book inspires me to think back to the time when mothers told their boys to go outside and play. to a time whn a boy could rome freely through the country side and forests bare foot and swing out into a man made lake. this book is filled with very nice pictures to describe those experiaces. if any one knows of a website where i can purchase a new copy of this book can they please contact me a rustyboy42@aol.com