Even though the boys» mother was estranged from Austin and harbored
bitter feelings toward him, he was able to convince her that he indeed had a changed attitude and a renewed commitment to her kids.
His memoir, My Grandfather's Son, you may recall, was a
bitter, intemperate affair, a story of a man whose remarkable professional success had done little to temper the anger he clearly still
feels toward many people, in and out of Washington, whose paths he crossed.