Austin Reviews

I wish I had had this book when my son was young and we were living in Oman. Most of the stories are set in Turkey, and are animal fables about three friends. In their sweetness and wisdom they reminded me of classic animal fables like Wind in the Willows, Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad stories, and also of William Steig's books, especially Amos and Boris (in the way that creatures of enormously different sizes and origins become friends). When I first read the stories, I thought they were translations from the Turkish of traditional folktales because of the natural way they deal with eternal themes of friendship, death, the outsider, and the warmth of home. But to Hoffman's credit, they are actually original stories. The narrative constantly returns to the idea that education is essential to overcome hatred and misunderstanding. The exotic (to us) setting of the stories would have been wonderful for my son when we were living abroad -- both because it is fascinating in itself and because it brings home that these themes are at home everywhere. It's a lovely book for adults too.

This book documents the fact that the USA has deliberately killed more unarmed innocent civilians than any other country in history (including more than Nazi Germany). It also shows that the USA capitalist system is less efficient and far more cruel than other systems such as communism (the latter of which is shown to be unjustly vilified by the USA capitalist press), although the book also provides an alternative to both. It is written by someone who has experienced both communist and capitalist systems/repression (and who has a PhD in Finance).

Against the backdrop of the approaching Christmas holiday, her role in the church play, and her family's wonderful holiday traditions, young Vicky Austin experiences feelings of rivalry for a sibling not yet born, and whose impending birth threatens to disrupt the holiday. This is a warm, loving book. It is an excellent story for older children, and I would recommend making the reading of it, chapter by chapter, part of a family's preparation for Christmas, like a literary advent calendar

This is a phenomenal book! It is not a "how to" book per say but do you ever learn a lot about children and what makes them tick. I learned so much from these true stories that I know it will help me tremendously as a childcare provider and as a parent. I read a library copy but am going to purchase this book - more than a few times I wanted to highlight some things. Very good and highly reccommended.

I felt that the book was very imaginative. The dealings with the vampire were unique. The pace was well written. The book held my intrest until the very end. I would recommend this book to all vampire romance fans.

An amazing novel. I couldn't put it down. Austin Walker takes you on a headlong mad dash through the nightmare streets of an alternate future. The pacing sets you on edge as you see the future of a world where technology has made one man the new Messiah. A must-read for any sci-fi fan!!

A balanced analysis of renewed Balkan conflicts that began and ended the twentieth century in war. Kosovo is a Muslim populated region in the former Yugoslav Republic that the Serbian Republic wished to dominate. To conquer the region, the Serbs initiated a genocide that they called "ethnic cleansing."

Presents the history of the war from the dissolution of the Yugoslav Republic through the rise of the Serbian state under the leadership of Milosevic. Juxtaposes accounts of NATO's efforts to bring peace to the region with press photographs of atrocites and interviews of refugees. Includes a chronology of important events, a glossary identifying people, places and political groups, index and sources for further information.

The poem really touched me, especially the one titled "Traffic Jam"

Recommend the book to anyone who can appreciate real life situations.

The essays selected by Beard ( from the 1930s) are timeless. Emil Ludwig's analysis of the fallacies and ironies of war ('victory makes the winner poorer'), Bertrand Russell's explanation for the decline of lyric love poetry (in a civilization domionated by the machine, serious treatment of mere passion is impossible') and his prescription for the future ('we must learn to use the machine without worshipping it'), Heindrik van Loon's case demonstrating that slavery is more disasterous for the slave-holder than for the poor serf and destroys the states sponsoring it, along with perceptive insights into labor, science, business, family, religion, war and peace by leading thinkers and doers of the Machine Age help explain the modern world of the Information Age.

This is the book that my parents handed to me to learn where babies come from. The important part is that it relays the "why" behind our births...God chose each one of us to be born. We are therefore very special. The book uses specific terms for body parts but in a very matter-of-fact and loving way. It emphasizes that the parents are acting in a partnership with God when the baby ("you") is created. Adoption is also well explained. The book jacket of my very old copy (1963)lists the age appropriateness as "7 to 97." It's a wonderful book to read with your children and is part of "The Little Me and the Great Me" series.