Austin Reviews

Brady Stoner makes me cry when I think of his manly sensitivity to the women in his life. The characters are so real and inspiring, yet great fun too. I'd love to be like Lynda Austin. I understand there's two more books in the series and definitely will be looking for those too!

The Lost Manuscript of Martin Taylor Harrison is one of my favorite books. The other two books in this series are my other favorites. I like this book because it is real. It is about real people with real problems which is a quality sometimes hard to find in books. Love it!

Love it! Love it love it loveit!!!!!!!!!!:

Great book. The book contains some great ideas which are presented in an easy to read manner. The central idea is actually quit simple, but you'd never think of it. This book changed the way I approached performance management systems.

This book provides an amazingly convincing explanation for why employee incentive programs often do more harm than good. It's often because knowledge work is too complicated to benefit from any simple measures.

The core argument of the book uses some mathematical reasoning that will be accessible to anyone who stayed awake through Economics 101. This is illuminating enough, but then Austin continues to add on additional insights.

I've placed this book on my shelf next to The Logic of Failure (Doerner) and Normal Accidents (Perrow). All of these books provide solid scientific arguments for the limits of management.

As a software tester, the most obvious application of the book is as an explanation of exactly when counting defects (found by testers, or introduced by programmers) is likely to lead to trouble.

This book is not - a light read - long - mathematical - about software specific issues and the arcana of that discipline - a cookbook for deciding what to measure, how to measure, how to analyze, how to report

This book describes - the uses of measurement, informational vs motivational - a (increasingly elaborated) measurement model - an objective definition of dysfunction and how it arises because of measurement - a model of "supervision" and how measurement supports (or interferes with) various kinds of supervision - a suggestion about organizational incentives - some strengths & weaknesses of well known assessement systems; e.g., ISO, SEI - the interview method and answers applying the model with 8 well-known writers on software and software management issues.

The messages I got - setting up measurement systems is not easy. There are many pitfalls - picking the goal(s) that the measures will support is critical - picking the measures. Some things are too expensive to measure - deciding how much to spend - deciding what to report to whom - (to my own chagrin) that I had personnally and fully encountered most pitfalls - it's easy for those measured to subvert the measuring - partial measurement may make things worse - informational measurement (measuring and results stay with those measured) is less likely to be subverted - purely economic models are not fully adequate explanations of employee-employer relationships.

Compiled by the collaborative efforts of The Junior League of Austin, Necessities And Temptations offers some 600 recipes designed to be "kitchen friendly" regardless of the family cook's level of culinary experience or expertise. Enhanced with a 45 page section of "Basics", Necessities And Temptations offers solid "how to" information on such basic issues as measuring, serving, substitutions, storing, freezing, herbs and spices, as well as a glossary of cooking terms. From Crunchy German Sandwiches; Flemish Beef Ragout; Crab with Gruyere Sauce; and Rich Sweet Potato Pudding; to Molasses Rye Bread; Butterscotch Custard Pie; Holiday Cranberry Jam; and Instant Russian Tea, Necessities And Temptations is a superbly presented compendium and meal planning reference for any and all occasions.

I stumbled upon this book while looking for a gift for a friend. It has a wealth of information and the recipes are the best. So easy to make and yummy. My husband and my very picky son love everything I make from this cookbook. Please reprint this book quickly. I want to get one for my sister-in-law.

Whether I am giving a large party or just cooking for one or two, I find myself turning to this cookbook first - all the recipes are excellent. Glad this Austin secret is now avaiable to a larger audience!!

If you can get your hands on this book, by all means, do so. It is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. Here it is 10 years since it first came out and the characters and story stick with me like I finished it yesterday. As the other reviewers have said, it's a novel within a novel, the pace and storyline of one so terrifying and harrowing, comforted by the quiet thoughfulness of the other. You look for and draw parallels between the stories. It's impossible to put down, but sometimes you must because the manuscript is so intense you sometimes need a break. Austin Wright is an incredible writer. I can't recommend this highly enough.

I agree with the reviewer who said this book should be read not just once, but again -- and I intend to do exactly that. What amazes me about Austin Wright is how different his writing is from book to book. I love the power of his words, his story-telling skill, his characters. Wright's brain must be an amazing place.

I couldn't put it down. I found myself reading at red lights. Austin Wright has written a suspenseful thriller within a domestic tale, both equally spellbinding. This novel-within-a-novel propels you forward then makes you stop to consider the relationships between reality and imagination, reader and writer, civility and violence, husband and wife, perpetrator and victim. And when the roller coaster ride ends, you still feel its thrusts for days. Austin has marvelously crafted a multi-layered, literary experience. A+ professor!

Exciting and Insightful - The Vortex is a karmic excursion through the trials of time, perception, understanding, life and love. The author chronicles the implications of his personal modern relationships as independent psychic revelations untangle past karmic turmoil. The Vortex shaves the threads of perception, leaving the reader pondering the relevance of reality. Who are we? What are we? Why are we? For one man, the answers to such philosophical quandaries are partially unveiled as he spirals through this metaphysical adventure - The Vortex. Can't wait for the sequel.

Trying to figure out where all these relationships, strange sexual encounters and the resulting angst are going will make it difficult to put this book down. You just want to keep reading until you get to the conclusion. Once you're there, there's still more to ponder -- like, could this possibly be happening to me and everyone else, and we just don't know it? Definitely the most fascinating story, and amazingly -- it's all TRUE!!

After reading The Vortex, I am left with the nagging question of, "Is there something more to our lives than we know?" That is to say, what about this thing called 'karma' and how does it affect our daily lives? OK, that is several questions, but the fact remains, The Vortex travels down a long road as it exposes one man's life and how it is affected by his own personal karma. Can we learn something from Austin's journey? I think the answer is yes, to that question.

Throughout the book we, the reader, are faced with numerous examples of karmic events and how they play themselves out in Austin's life. At times, it truly feels like a ride on a tornado as he attempts to deal with each of these situations. With the help of other guides and his own training, he is finally able to put the pieces of the puzzle together to create a whole picture of his life.

Is this a book worth reading? The simple answer is YES! Can you find parallels in your own life? Again, the answer is YES! I would recommend to anyone interested in the answers to their life's questions - read the book!

1812 is a compilation of Austin's three earlier books on Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Austin's work is deservedly a classic, but due to its complexity is not for novices to Napoleonic history. Nor should this work be read by the faint-hearted, given some of the rather gory and explicit details of a rather savage chapter in the history of warfare. This book is not a comprehensive history of the campaign, since the main focus is on those units that marched to and then retreated from Moscow. Austin uses 100+ eyewitness accounts as the basic material to stitch together a portrait of the campaign as seen by the participants. Readers who seek discussions of grand strategy, the causes of the war or detailed orders of battle will be disappointed by this approach (they should instead turn to Chandler's and Riehn's excellent accounts), but those who want to gain a birds-eye view of the campaign will be very pleased.

Although the account starts with the invasion in June 1812 and covers the battles of Smolensk and Borodino, the most gripping part of Austin's work is the last 400 pages on the retreat from Moscow. The reader will find this account both agonizing and spellbinding, due to the appalling suffering and courage in adversity. This book is about real soldiering, when the chips are down, you are starving and the temperature is sub-zero. Although destroyed by the retreat, the bravery and ability of the soldiers of the Grande Armée shine in these pages. On the other hand, the battle accounts, such as Borodino, are good but a bit confusing and not particularly unique. Better maps with annotations where the major characters were located on the battlefield would have been very helpful.

Unfortunately, this very well researched and written book tends to fall apart a bit in the last few chapters (perhaps due to writer fatigue, after 1100 pages). Austin's account of the campaign ends once Marshal Ney leads the French rearguard across the Niemen River on 12 December. However, the retreat lasted two more weeks across a Prussia that was about to declare war on France. Austin provides no accounts of the final tally of survivors at Konigsberg. After following many of these characters for 1100 pages, Austin only informs the reader of the final fate of a few eye-witnesses, and then only in footnotes. A solid epilogue with notes on each character is missing.

These eyewitness accounts are the heart and soul of Austin's monumental work. However, certain facts should be made clear. First, they are not representative accounts; staff officers and inner-circle types make up 50% of the accounts, with only a handful of enlisted soldiers, NCOs or junior officers included. This is for the obvious reason that very few of the later made it back to publish accounts, but the staff officers had a better chance for survival. The second fact relates to the subjectivity of some accounts. There are cases of exaggeration, distortion and lies in the accounts, which Austin does his best to correct. One eyewitness for example, claims that the Grande Armée lost all its artillery in Russia which Austin corrects in a footnote (the French brought back at least 50 artillery pieces). Thus it is critical for readers to glance frequently at the footnotes to see where accounts are misleading. Nevertheless, Austin cannot eliminate the subjective factor in these accounts. One glaring case I found that goes without notice by Austin involves one of the principle accounts, by Colonel Lubin Griois, commanding the light artillery in the 3rd Cavalry Corps. Griois constantly complains about General Armand Lahoussaye, who took over the corps after the Battle of Borodino in September 1812. According to Griois, Lahoussaye is new to the corps and is an "imbecile". Austin repeats this every time he refers to Lahoussaye. Unfortunately, this does not mesh well with the facts. According to the authoritative dictionary on French generals by Georges Six, Lahoussaye had been a division commander in the corps for nine months so he was not a newcomer as Griois claims. Furthermore, Griois fails to mention that Lahoussaye had 20 years of combat experience in the cavalry, including the 1805-1807 campaigns in central Europe and 1808-1811 in Spain. Nor does Griois mention that Lahoussaye was seriously wounded at Borodino, which probably interfered with his command ability. Austin fails to mention that Lahoussaye was a baron in the Legion of Honor and that his name is inscribed on the Arc d'Triomphe. Napoleon did not allow "imbeciles" to command for 20 years and thus, Griois' account is probably a case of axe grinding against a former superior. Austin should have provided the background on Lahoussaye to provide balance.

Finally, a critical factor is how Austin uses the accounts, which are often missing crucial pieces. Based upon the pieces of the accounts he offers for example, it seems that almost nobody made it back from Russia. Colonel Chlapowski, commander of the Polish Lancers in the Guard, figures prominently in Austin's account, as do the Lancers themselves. Austin infers that almost all of the Lancers died escorting Napoleon out of Russia. Actually, in Chlapowski's full account, he states that the Lancer's went into Russia with 915 men and came out with 422. Austin uses partial accounts to suggest that the Old Guard came out with only a handful of men. While the Old Guard suffered very heavy losses, it went in with 5,286 infantrymen and came out with 1,430.

Nevertheless, 1812 is an excellent account of the Russian campaign. Reading it will certainly give one an excellent "feel" for the events, if not for all the facts. Therefore, this book should be used in conjunction with other standard campaign histories for balance.

The author did a wonderful job of stringing together a diverse canvas of first person accounts into a coherent narrative. A must read if you are interested in what "actually" happened in 1812. You'll not find strategic analysis or detailed orders of battle info here. But if you want a unique and first rate narrative on the subject, this is it.

The book is a combination of Austin's 3 previous works: The March on Moscow (out of print), Napoleon is Moscow, and The Great Retreat. Previous reviewers have correctly described these books as providing an atmospheric mood of the unfolding catastrophic events. The descriptions are mainly from army officers observing the campaign and Napoleon. The book is better at providing insights into human nature and reactions to chaos than as an detailed analysis of battlefield strategy.

This should not be the first book one reads on Napoleon. The style assumes a knowledge of generals and familiarity with military vocabulary that I lacked when I started it. A reading of Elting's introduction to his Military Atlas of Napoleon would be helpful to neophytes before starting Austin's book to prevent bewilderment over terms such as voltigeur, hussar, cuiassier, etc.

Nonetheless, the images of these first hand accounts are haunting.

Charming and innovative are probably the best words to describe Chick Austin, the subject of this biography. It is rare that a mere museum director is the subject of a biography, particularly one as entertaining as this one, but Chick Austin was not the average museum director.

He was schooled early on in European culture by his geneologically ambitious mother, who seemed to spend a great deal of her later years seeking family links, often specious, to European Royalty. He also developed an interest in magic which stayed with him for the majority of his life.

Chick Austin went from indifferent Harvard Student to the director of the Wadsworth Athenium in Hartford in something like 5 years. He brought a great deal of vigor to this, staging the first Baroque (when this art period was unpopular), Picasso, and Dali shows. He also staged Gertrude Stein's opera, Four Saints in Three Acts." All of this was a bit too much for dear old Hartford, who were alternately charmed and shocked by their young art director. Previously the museum had been noted for its collection of colonial furniture, after such an abrupt change it is not too difficult to imagine why. In the process, Austin managed to acquire a large number of Old Masters and Modern works. One of the five Caravaggios in the United States was bought for the museum by Austin toward the end of his tenure.

Austin's other great achievement was the Ringling Museum in Florida. The former Circus tycoon had amassed a large collection of Baroque Art in Florida. Austin not only managed to save many of the paintings from exposure to the elements, but add significantly to the hopdings of the museum by acquiring an 18th century Italian theatre.

Predictably, Austin's efforts brought him into conflict with a variety of old fuddie duddies, from trustees, state legislatures and hack journalists. The unique artistic vision of these cretins is unlikely to be celebrated anytime soon.

While Hartford and the steate of Florida haved physical evidence of Austin's efforts, the entire museum going public has cause to likewise be grateful. With Chick Austin's museums became far less stuffy places,at least in the right hands.

This book is written by the director of the Austin House in Hartford and as such it is likely to the be the most authoritative for years to come.

Chick Austin is a national treasure and what he did for the art scene is truly remarkable. I enjoyed the entire book and reading about how he developed his collection. I am not much of an art history buff and picked this book up during the holidays while visiting my family...I was hooked from the beginning. I am glad I read this.

The author weaves a very interesting and well-organized tale about a fascinating person and an exciting time to be involved in the art world in the United States. Although the substantial footnote section validates the author's detailed and thorough research, I never felt as if the text itself were bogged down with unnecessary or uninteresting detail. I suspect that some readers will note similarities between many of the struggles that Chick Austin faced and similar situations in the contemporary art scene today. This is an excellent book with a great story - I highly recommend it.

This is a great starter book for people who are interested in natural remedies for common ailments. It is very easy to use, easy to read, and unintimidating. For every ailment or illness, it gives the usual natural remedies I have found in other books. And it has a pretty good list of vitamins, herbs and homeopathic remedies. However, it isn't the most comprehensive book I've seen. There are some herbs that I couldn't find. But overall, if you want a basic guide, this is a good one to start with.

Wonderful book that explains all those pills you hear about on the news and in magazines. No hype - just great information. This book ROCKS for people who want info on what the heck all those vitamin/pill things are at the grocery store.

Walk into a bookstore and you can be overwhelmed with the HEALTH information thrown at you . . . particularly if you are interested in understanding how you can play a more active role in your own prevention, treatment and cure of disease. The Natural Pharmacy gives you just the right balance of useful information without insulting your intelligence or burying you in biochemistry. The book is organized around health concerns - in English, not medical-ese, the authors provide you with dietary & lifestyle changes that maybe helpful before they tell you about other approaches - including nutritional supplements and herbs. They cover side effects and interactions as well. They also provide a tremendous resource for insomniacs by listing more than 3,500 references! You can also look up specific nutritional supplements, herbs and homeopathic remedies as well. A nicely done work!

Funny and well written. Wish I could find out when his next book will be out.

i just wanted to say this is one of the better books that i have read. i am an avid louis lamour fan and this one ranks right up there with old louis. i particularly enjoyed the sense of humor that the main caracter has. i really appreciate the lack of profanity and sex. this is a book for a family library. i recomend this book to anyone that is in for a good story and a good laugh.

I was hooked into reading this book from the very first page. The main character was real and the action scenes were handled differently than one usually reads in a western. The love story is handled well and how the hero finally solves the mystery of the three men out to get him is a hoot. Put this book on your list to read.

Homesick for Texas, and all those good eats? This is the book for you. It is much more than a cookbook, it is a piece of Texas to be read and savored. Having eaten at all the locations of Threadgill's and having spent many (too many, according to my college transcript) at Armadillo World Headquarters, opening this book was like a trip back home. Sure, there are the receipes for all the Threadgill's classics, including all the vegetable dishes. Sure you can try to make the wonderful chicken fried steak, but intertwined in all those recepies is the history of Threadgills, and the people who were there. You learn the thinking behind the place many called home, you remember the brand names of products that made Texas cooking great. You also get a bird's eye view of the Texas music scene and all the colorful people who inhabited that time and place. Threadgill's kept me from getting too homesick when I left Dallas, and moved to Austin. This book keeps me from getting too homesick for home.

Hands down, the greatest cookbook ever written (take that, Better Homes & Gardens!). If you've never been to Threadgill's, you've never truly experienced the bounty of God's green earth - but you can get a fantastic taste of it with this book. I cook something from this book almost every day, which may not mean I'm the healthiest soul alive, but I sure get my veggies! If you thought a down-home cookbook was just a bunch of artery-clogging recipes for fried vegetables, you're only 10% right. In addition to fabulous recipes, this cookbook is actually an entertaining book to sit down and read! Trust me, it will find its way to that revered shelf in your bookcase that's reserved for the family Bible and the baby books. Yee hah!

As someone who moved from Austin to Washington, DC years back---and whose friends still ask me why, I don't have an answer. But I can tell you one of the things I miss is Eddie Wilson and Threadgill's. It's not fancy, it's not meant to be, but as Eddie says "This is not a lobster taco". This isn't fancy food, this is just good food, something you could eat every day, something that doesn't require an engineering degree to assemble and a degree in civil engineering to balance on the plate.