Joe Nick Patoski is the author of Willie Nelson: An Epic Life; Generations on the Land: A Conservation Legacy; The Dallas Cowboys: The Outrageous History of the Biggest, Loudest, Most Hated, Best Loved Football Team in America; and other titles and director of Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove, a documentary film about Texas musician Doug Sahm that premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival. After living twenty-two years in Austin, Patoski now resides in Wimberley, Texas.

Fans of the place where 'anybody who's a little different runs . . . as fast as they can' will find much to like here." - Kirkus Reviews"How did this city, one that has such an ineffable but palpable personality and spirit, become what it is - for better and worse? Joe Nick Patoski's recent book, Austin to ATX: The Hippies, Pickers, Slackers and Geeks Who Transformed the Capital of Texas, answers the question both empirically and spiritually, tracing the many people and the many places they built along the way toward establishing this weird, idiosyncratic, flat little planet. - NPR"In Austin to ATX: The Hippies, Pickers, Slackers and Geeks Who Transformed the Capital of Texas, author Joe Nick Patoski digs into what made Austin the city we live in today. With everything included - from Amy's Ice Creams to ZZ Top - Patoski covers its rich history with a candor and keen eye that keeps Austin weird without becoming maudlin." - Austin Monthly