In this book, the author interweaves his experience living in Austin for 20+ years with how the city has evolved. He shares early on that he and his family moved from Austin, and that he views the myriad changes that have taken place, transforming it from a sleepy government/college town to the present day incarnation, as a true loss.

I thought this was a compelling read as a blended memoir and municipal history. The book is organized into subjects impacted by Austin’s changes, like environmental hazards, politics, climate change, gentrification, and more. Since I’ve been in Austin, off and on for nearly 20 years, there weren’t any huge surprises, but the book was a fascinating tour of the city’s evolution and many problems.

Most people who approach this book will probably have some ties to Austin like me, but I think it’s a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the effects of very poor urban planning, Its contents can certainly be extrapolated to other growing cities. If there’s a downside to the book, it’s that the book is truly a downer. There isn’t an easy solution here– it’s both a mess of our own making (including folks like me who moved to Austin!) and a deep betrayal on the part of our municipal and state leaders to safeguard the future and the health of their citizens.

Being a born and raised Texan, I didn't agree with everything author Alex Hannaford writes about Austin, the capitol of Texas, but I do think this book was well-researched and for the most part quite interesting. Austin is a very unique city that is endearing to those who love it's quirkiness, it's music, and the many facets of its natural beauty. He tells his story of living there and raising his family there during the decades of growth and change. I do think every city changes as it grows, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I do agree that Austin has not planned well at all for the growth and changes that have come to the city - the biggest being the infrastructure and roads. But Austin still has it's charm and uniqueness the defines it. Overall I enjoyed reading this book.

My thanks to Net Galley and Dey Street Books for an advanced copy of this e-book.

Thank you Alex Hannaford, Dey Street Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Full disclosure, I was a San Marcos girl and not an Austin girl, but I can see how the changes being made to the city of Austin are ebbing into it's surrounding areas. I left Texas about 3 years ago to move to a small town in Western NC, and some of the points Hannaford made definitely influenced my decision. It's hot, it's crowded, it's gentrified, the class disparity is truly astounding, Elon Musk and Joe Rogan are there now, the lakes and rivers are drying up, and our politicians not only don't give a shit but are also actively further limiting our rights (6 week abortion ban anyone?). It makes me sound like an oldhead to complain about how Austin used to be, especially because I wasn't even around to experience it in it's peak of weirdness and culture around art and music. However, I have seen drastic changes and closures of some iconic and unique Austin spots (Barracuda, Lucy in Disguise etc). It's just becoming like every other expensive, boring, and unidentifiable city in the United States. In this way, Hannaford's analysis of Austin could probably be recognized in other cities. It's almost like when you push out people of color, lower income populations, and artists and musicians that can't afford the high rent prices in a city with almost no public transportation- you get a bland city devoid of all culture and character. I think this book is both a love letter and call-out post to Austin that I can relate to a lot. Hannaford's interspersed perspective as a Austenite transplant felt personal to me, almost like I've been waiting for these ideas to be compiled and talked about for a long time. In the end, Hannaford and his family leave Austin, just like I left San Marcos. It was a really hard decision, especially since I still sometimes wore my rose-colored glasses. However, like Hannaford, I'm glad I did it. Austin might just be a lost cause.

Long time Austinite (and Brit) explores the shifts within the vibrant music scene, the impact of rapid urbanization, and the challenges of gentrification in Austin, Texas. I enjoyed the walk down memory lane, and also felt a kinship with the author as he mentioned so much of “the hidden underbelly” of Austin. While Austin maybe be weird but has it ever really been a blue dot in a red satte? It is one of the most segregated cities in the country by design. There is a long history of pushing black and lantino citizens out of homes and to the edges for the city for “progress”. High ways such as 35 and MoPac were toold of this.

As a longtime Texan I appriciated this book and hope more people read it and understand that the “new” Austin isn’t becasue of outsiders coming in its an amplification of what has always been here.

Thank you NetGalley and Dey streey Books for an advanced copy. #LostinAustin #NetGalley.

My love of Austin Texas runs deep. Somehow, in college in Oklahoma, all of my close friends ended up being from Austin. Now, my current best friend and roommate for the last 20 years was also an Austinite. So, my view of Austin is often quite different than the average person. I know about Barton Springs, The King of Austin on 6th Street and his song "Tiger on the Loose", Leslie, Round Rock, etc etc. An outsiders insider look.

Lost in Austin by Alex Hannaford tracks the history of Austin from the 1970s to today. However, this could apply to any medium sized city - Nashville, Portland, hell, even Brooklyn.

Austin and it's "Keep Austin Weird" was a way of life. A blip of blue in a sea of red. But once one tech company starts to grow (ahem, Dell), other start to see the potential - land, tax laws, cost of living, and want to move headquarters. Then other people see the changes and want to move. One of the biggest examples is East Austin. East Austin was once a highly dangerous neighborhood, one where my best friend's grandmother was murdered in a drive-by. Now, it's full of coffee shops, salons and boutiques.

While I agree with everything that Hannaford said, I do feel that he is someone who might think that 'old way' was better for everything, and will talk about it to death. Still, I think this is a good study in how time and technology change one city.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

I'm an Austin-based writer who writes about urban issues on my Substack, so I was really excited to read this book. Unfortunately, having now read the galley, I will not be recommending it.

There are a few problems with the book as written. One, the author’s thesis that Austin has been ruined by growth-at-any-cost drops a lot of context about how the city actually grew and its full history of land use regulation. For instance, the author discusses the 1928 Master Plan, but he completely omits the 1984 code rewrite that codified into law auto-centric suburban sprawl and is responsible for the city’s poor transit, low density, and high home prices. He talks about Austin’s attempt to fix the code, CodeNEXT, as if it passed and is somehow responsible for the state of things, when in fact it failed. Nor does he discuss the slate of reforms that the City Council began to undertake in 2023, nor the change in voter sentiment that led to a pro-housing City Council getting elected in 2022.

Second, the author interviews several people who support his thesis, but he only sketches caricatures of those he disagrees with. One would not know that there were many people on both sides of these debates, or that they had any human characteristics, so the author’s presentation is stridently one-sided and lacking in empathy. There is not an argument so much as repeated appeals to authority, and an unearned moralizing tone occasionally breaks through the otherwise amiable prose.

Finally, “Austin” is presented as some monolithic thing, as if it’s not the sum of 1 million people, many of whom have worked earnestly and diligently to make the city a better place—yet they go unrecognized for not supporting the central thesis. What really seems to be the problem is that the author belatedly realized, after 17 years, that Austin is in Texas, a state out of step with his values; that Austin continues to exist in Texas is somehow evidence that the city is becoming more like Texas, which is not supported by any poll or any recent election. A much more interesting book could have been written about how the culture and values of Texas are throttling its blue cities and preventing them from solving some of the real challenges that the author raises. But that's not the book he wrote.

Reading this book is kind of like having that friend with Trump Derangement Syndrome. This friend is a very smart guy who schooled himself well on the facts and can express himself well. Nevertheless, you've stopped seeing this friend so often because, whenever you see him, he cannot control himself. You agree with this friend: Trump is terrible. You've already made an effort to inform yourself on the important matters of the day, so you already know all the stuff your friend is talking about. Perhaps you know it just as well or better than your friend does. But the friend has lost the ability to check whether the people who are in his presence are actually listening to him or not. He's just too angry to care.

Reading this book is kind of like having that friend who, again, is a good person whose heart is in the right place, but he can't stop talking about his ex. Even though he was completely right to break up with her, he can't quite get her out of his head. You already know about the bad, crazy, toxic things that the ex did. You don't need to hear it again. Yet, here it comes, the litany of grievances so familiar that you can finish his sentences for him.

It took me months and several false starts to read this book because it just didn't hold my attention. I live in Austin. I try to stay informed. I’d love to see Austin turn into a better place. Hannaford's criticisms are completely legitimate. They just are not presented in a compelling manner. Reading this book was a chore.

As someone who has lived in Austin (and other small cities that had growth explosions) I found myself nodding in agreement with every point that Alex Hannaford made. I too miss the weirdness of old Austin, the constant and accessible music and the myriad of unique little joys. This is not to put down all the positive changes that have happened in Austin but at what cost. A must read for those long time lovers of all things ATX as well as a handbook for emerging cities to get ahead of exponential growth. Progress and popularity for some mean problems for others - gentrification , a growing homeless population, affordability and endless traffic on I-35 to name a few. A well thought out walk down memory lane and insight. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Delving into the many factors that created the culture of Austin, as well as the many ways that it seems to be falling apart because of its very nature was interesting. I am usually not a fan of non-fiction where the author really injects themselves into it, however, this was less noticeable. I loved the mix of personal, stats, facts, data, and what seems like oral history from someone who isn't a native of the city and can have really interesting perspectives on things. Overall, I enjoyed it. It's a completely edible and manageable conversation about Austin from about the 1970s to today and I appreciate that.