What happens when a graduate of MIT, the bastion of technological advancement, and his bride move to a community so primitive in its technology that even Amish groups consider it antiquated?
Eric Brende conceives a real-life experiment: to see if, in fact, all our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier and better -- or whether life would be preferable without them. By turns, the query narrows down to a single question: What is the least we need to achieve the most? With this in mind, the Brendes ditch their car, electric stove, refrigerator, running water, and everything else motorized or "hooked to the grid" and begin an eighteen-month trial run -- one that dramatically changes the way they live, and proves entertaining and surprising to readers.
Better OFF is a smart, often comedic, and always riveting book that also mingles scientific analysis with the human story, demonstrating how a world free of technological excess can shrink stress -- and waistlines -- and expand happiness, health, and leisure. Our notion that technophobes are backward gets turned on its head as the Brendes realize that the crucial technological decisions of their adopted Minimite community are made more soberly and deliberately than in the surrounding culture, and the result is greater -- not lesser -- mastery over the conditions of human existence.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Eric Brende has degrees from Yale, Washburn University, and MIT, and has received a Citation of Excellence from the National Science Foundation and a graduate fellowship from the Mellon Foundation in the Humanities. At the insistence of his editor, he now has an e-mail account at the local library but continues to minimize modern technology for himself and his family. Eric and Mary Brende have recently relocated to an old-town section in St. Louis, where Eric makes his living as a rickshaw driver and a soap maker.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 5.00
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. 1st Edition. Seller Inventory # 3011yy1
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0060570040
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0060570040
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0060570040
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0060570040
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0060570040
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # RCT1--0185
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0060570040
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks85885
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.05. Seller Inventory # Q-0060570040