In A Man's Grasp Should Exceed His Reach, author Leonard Cain delivers a biographical study of Austin Porterfield, a noted sociologist from a small university. This erudite work traces the life of Porterfield from his meager upbringing in an impoverished region of the Ozarks to his influential tenure as a Professor of Sociology at Texas Christian University. Cain's incorporation of reminiscences from Professor Porterfield's graduate students, colleagues, and grandchildren, provides vivid assessments of Porterfield as scholar, teacher, mentor, family member, and public citizen. Emphasis is given to Porterfield's roles as founder and first editor of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, as recruiter of graduate students who subsequently became professors themselves, and as pioneer in several fields of sociology.