Austin Reviews

I love you Austin Wright. I read very few books of fiction a year, you are the real thing. But this book is just a disappointment. I couldn't wait to get it and I tore through it immediately. There's nothing to it. An interesting set up and then it completely crumbles and falls apart. I wanted to love this book (as I usually do Austin, I do) but there is little to like here. Write another hurry.

Shawn Fallot Book Review
Senior English #4
18 February 2003

Daniel E. Harmon wrote The FBI; in it he describes how the FBI works. The book begins by describing in great detail what happened in the Oklahoma bombing. I was really engrossed in the book while it was giving details about the events that happened but when he started talking about how the FBI was formed I got board.
The FBI was mainly used to enforce the laws of the government. The FBI helped stopped the "bootlegging" of alcohol and enforce prohibition. He went into some details about what the FBI does now and how they help police officers. It could have been very interesting when he talked about people on the most wanted list and the highly publicized crimes but he really didn't give enough details.
Over all I really didn't like this book and felt he could have done a better job of keeping the reader in suspense.

The FBI's Most Wanted is a graphic book explaining in detail how some crimes were committed which is written by Laura D'Angelo about the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), how it was started by Edgar J. Hoover, and how the top ten most wanted list was started in the fifties in part by an news reporter. There are also many short stories on some of the popular or more known criminal in the last half century that have made the top ten most wanted list. You should not buy this book unless you are really in to the FBI. If you don't believe me and still are considering buying this book don't borrow it from a library or a friend because you'll be wasting your money. When reading The FBI's Most Wanted you can expect to be bored with many stupid facts and the only thing I found interesting was how the top ten list was started. It was started partially by a news reporter asking the director who the top ten most dangerous people in the country were?

This book is great if you are post-graduate, but the title Amazon lists isn't a complete book title. The front of the book reads: _The Grants Register, 1999, The Complete Guide to Postgraduate Funding Worldwide_ In a way, misleading...

Wow, how disappointing. I am a grower/lover of bearded irises and automatically purchase any newly published book on the subject. This book is just set up poorly to read, the varieties depicted are from the author's garden(I assume) are bland, boring, and non representative of some of the finest varieties of bearded irises out there. I really didn't appreciate most of the photography either...a lot of that artsy "looking into the center of the flower" stuff. The only reason it got even two stars is that I appreciate the author's text in some areas and that she's endeavored to create a book to showcase and promote the iris. Unfortunately, the overall effort seems to fall short.

Karate Warrior is a beginners guide geared more towards a young audience, after all look who wrote it, Austin St. John the former "Red Ranger" on the kid TV series Power Rangers. It has sections that tell about the philosophies of martial arts, physical conditioning, mental outlook, etc. There are many color photos on each page that illustrate what is being talked about. It shows how to do a few martial arts moves in the back of the book, which is one of the few good points of the book. 12 year olds and younger might want to read this book, but I don't recommend it to anyone above that age. Like it suggests in the book, if you are really interested in martial arts, try to join one of the many martial arts training groups.

Lots of speculation and innuendo; very short on facts.

This book offered nothing new on any of the cases featured. In fact, most of the information appeared to come from old newspaper clippings. If you're looking for "who-dun-it-and -why," this is not the book for you.

For anyone who knows absolutely nothing about "old" Hollywood and its stars, you might find it interesting.

HELLO INEED TO SEE SOME BAGES IF IT POSEP

As a follow-up to "Don't Call Me Brother," this book falls far short of its predecessor. While the first was a very well written, thought-provoking read, "Setting the Captives Free" does nothing to add to his case therein. It is largely a series of responses Austin Miles received since the publishing of "Brother." At the end of that one, he reports that he is on "R&R" from God after what he went through in the Pentecostal AOG church. But STCF crosses the line of irreverence and disrespect, and displays a more antagonistic attitude not only toward AOG's but also Christians in general, and he even uses examples of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses to show how manipulative a church could be. Some of the letters makes sense, but others at times border on ridiculous, and there are plenty of grammatical errors in the book, which especially with the occasional "[sic]" in the letters themselves look silly.

The first sentence of the back flap is a quote saying "he... began to squeeze my breasts and crotch." This alone is a tip off that the sequel would be more of a tabloidal nature. He blames Christians for introducing sexual sin into his circus community. How can one blame the Christian faith when those who claim to be followers do something they are told specifically by God in His word not to do? The last few pages, and the quote "the Christian church has no defense against this book," is at once sad and laughable. He pulls out all the stops including abortion and Catholicism in a desperate attempt to discredit the church. Early in the book he tells of one Pentecostal preacher who asked his congregation to write their concerns and prayer requests on a card, as, he claimed, he would be able to know through spiritual means what was written. Miles asks why, if he "knew" this information already, did it need to be written down? "The truth should stand on its own." Granted there is a point here, but begs me to ask, why did this series of mostly positive letters he'd received need to be published in a book? The first one stood on its own.

The first book seems to plead with the reader, "look to God, not to people." After reading this sequel, I find myself wanting to ask the same of the author.

A collection of 12 short stoires and 4 essays originally published in British boys magazines in the early 20th century. Their intended audience limits their interest to present-day readers, but Wodehouse's trademark use of language and story-telling skills remain in evidence.

The stories invariably feature noble boys learning valuable lessons about life. It's interesting that the only story where villainy actually triumphs (A Shocking Affair) was the only one which was not accepted for prior publication--it didn't fit the required mold. Yet, that story is most reminescent of the mature Wodehouse.

This moralistic emphasis infects such characters as Charteris. A delightfully unorthodox character in the Pothunters, he appears here as a typical schoolboy athlete who learns his lesson after breaking school rules and reforms.

The stories are still worth reading for Wodehouse fans, and who else could dream up the frauds connected with the European, African, and Asiatic Pork Pie and Ham Sandwich Supply Company? However, readers are likely to be baffled by the contemporary slang, especially in the description of school sports.