If I have one complaint about Eric Brende's account of his time among the "Minimites"--a quasi-Amish group that eschews much of the technology we find essential--it's that it was too short. I wanted to know even more than he tells us. The thing reads like a novel, and draws you into the vibrant life of this (carefully guarded) community fully. So when the ending comes, it feels rushed. I wanted to know more, about the people and about the Brendes.

Brende and his wife found that as they stripped technology from their lives, their time expanded. Supposedly they were living a subsistence lifestyle, but their lives were infinitely more than what "subsistence" implies. And though they no longer live a homesteading life they carried much of what they learned back into the larger world and still live more simply than most of us would think is practical in this day and age.

"Better Off" has inspired us to once again step back and examine our lives and see what further we can do without. We already divested ourselves of a second car and a microwave some time ago and are now looking at going further.

This is not a how-to book. It won't tell you how to break the technology habit. It is instead food for the soul in the truest sense; you'll think about this book for a long time after you've put it down.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor