John M. Braden was born (in 1942), raised and educated in Ontario, Canada. For several years in the1960s and 1970s, he lived and worked outside of North America. Since then, he has...view moreJohn M. Braden was born (in 1942), raised and educated in Ontario, Canada. For several years in the1960s and 1970s, he lived and worked outside of North America. Since then, he has been living back inCanada, mostly in rural eastern Ontario. He has worked at various jobs and on various projects over theyears. In addition, since at least the 1970s, he has been thinking about and reading about the ideas putforward in this book.Although the book deals mostly with what he calls Intelligent National Frugality, Braden and his wife,Judith Wolfe, have also tried to incorporate a fair amount of personal frugality into their private lives.The results have been uneven. In and around their small rural home, they keep their consumption ofenergy quite low in a variety of ways. But as regards transportation, they still cover considerabledistances by private car every year, not to mention the odd trip by commercial airliner.In general, Braden feels, rural living has provided him with a setting (peace, quiet, nature, availabletime) conducive to the writing of a book such as this.view less