Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology (P.S.)
by Eric Brende
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 321)
Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
People who loved Walden
I fell in love with the concept of the book and the efforts to live off the grid, so I purchased it. Some of the ideas the author suggested inside were interesting. For example, I carried away the idea that I should have a manual washing machine.
Actually, that was about all I took away from the book.
The author had clearly never been out of academia before, and the book is in consequence full of exciting revelations, such as--it gets dark at night in the country! People who work physicall...more
Actually, that was about all I took away from the book.
The author had clearly never been out of academia before, and the book is in consequence full of exciting revelations, such as--it gets dark at night in the country! People who work physicall...more
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5/18/07- Purchased during a book bender at Powell's a few weeks back. Oddly enough, my profession is in information technology (although I'm more interested in the information side than the technology side when it comes to improving business performance.)
Looking forward to the read.
A review will follow...
6/30/07: I would recommend this book to anyone interested in contemplating their use of (addiction to?) modern "conveniences" and the personal, emotional, spiritual, physic...more
Looking forward to the read.
A review will follow...
6/30/07: I would recommend this book to anyone interested in contemplating their use of (addiction to?) modern "conveniences" and the personal, emotional, spiritual, physic...more
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Brende raises some interesting points about the nature of work and community and how technology can take away our time rather than contributing to it. Overall though, I was disappointed. I had hoped the book would be more of a reflection about the thoughtful incorporation of technology into our lives (which he does get into in the last two chapters). Instead, Brende seems unquestioningly in favor of the "Minimites"'s philosophy and the refusal to use automated machinery. I wish he had ...more
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Read in November, 2007
Brende was a graduate student in Science, Technology, and Society at M.I.T. when he began to feel overwhelmed by the dependency of society on technology. Brende frames technology in terms of machines, motors, and natural resource guzzlers. Determined to find “how much was too much” technology Brende and his wife move to an Amish community and live without electricity for a year. Brende, describing this lifestyle overly utopian and very unhumble terms at times, does give insight to finding a ...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone pondering appropriate uses of technology
Better Off is a well-written and thought-provoking account of one couple's decision to live without most modern technology for a year in an Anabaptist community. Brende writes clearly and with a nice bit of wit. He calls into question the extremes of behavior and belief in his new neighbors while simultaneously questioning his own actions and thoughts.
I don't agree with some of their decisions, such as choosing to have their first child at home ("Home deliveries are for pizzas, not babi...more
I don't agree with some of their decisions, such as choosing to have their first child at home ("Home deliveries are for pizzas, not babi...more
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Read in April, 2008
An interesting read, about a couple that moves to a low-tech Amish type community & documents their experiences there. I liked the detail given of the lifestyle & the backgrounds of the people in this community. It was very informational and gives you a different perpective (from within) of this way of life. I was a bit surprised by the amount of religious discussion in the book- that aspect was not mentioned on the back cover blurb (maybe intentionally left out for sales...?)... althoug...more
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Read in March, 2007
While it had an interesting premise, it didn't come close to living up to my expectations. A naive city boy decides to go "off the grid" for a year, but rather than try it on his own (a la Helen and Scott Nearing), he throws in the kitsch of moving into a community of religious folks akin to the Amish or Mennonites. He drags along some chick he knows (and marries for whatever reason) and spends 200 pages poorly documenting their experience. The style was bland and tedious, though the s...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Steve by:
Dan
Billed as a story of a couple who "flipped the switch" on technology and moved to an Amish community, giving up electricity, running water, and everything else that comes along with it. This book is an interesting look into the Mennonite community and, without question, caused me to stop and think about my day-to-day consumption of technology.
It is, however, predominately from the perspective of a man, with little mention of his wife's experience. I really would like to have hear...more
It is, however, predominately from the perspective of a man, with little mention of his wife's experience. I really would like to have hear...more
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Read in December, 2007
A good concept - one of those silly experiment for a year, back to nature books - that was pretty frustrating in the end. Very little about the actual work involved in living on an off-the-grid farm, and a terrible relationship with his wife where she was essentially disregarded throughout the book, made it much less good than I would like it to be. Sure, it made me more interested in living off the grid and growing my own food and not having a car - but I don't think I'd want to live in the s...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
Everyone who wants to know about a different way of life
This book makes me want to throw off the shackles of the technological rat race and go back to a simpler, more agrarian existance. It is part memoir, part case study of Brende, a student looking to live out his graduate thesis, picking up with his wife to live among a community of people who are like the Amish (but not). The eighteen months he spends there is chronicled brilliantly, and I came away feeling as though something in my own life was missing...even though he never digressed into sou...more
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Read in August, 2008
I was not madly in love with this book like I'd hoped I would be. It was on the verge of smug, and made it sound oh-so-easy to just up and get rid of everything and join a Minimite community. There was no real complaint about the manual labor, lack of contact with family on the outside, or other difficulties that surely must have happened as a part of Brende's experience. While I can certain sympathize with his complaints about the modern world allowing us to forget simple things, and the los...more
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okay, so i really loved this book. i thought it was a fascinating concept and experiment to go without electricity and many if not all of the modern conveniences that i couldn't live without. the thing that sticks out in mind from the book is the idea that working side-by-side creates a kind of comeradery that transcends the monotony of the work. or something like that.
i doubt everyone will like this book as much as i did, but you might want to give it a shot. as a warning, his writing...more
i doubt everyone will like this book as much as i did, but you might want to give it a shot. as a warning, his writing...more
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Read in January, 2006
As a full disclosure--Eric is a good friend so I upped my star rating from a 4 to a 5--mostly because he is a truly amazing friend. The book, easily worth 4 stars, is a steady seller and I think that is because Eric has a great mind and writes so damn well--and using only as much technology as is needed is an important topic for our times. Eric is a good story-teller, making this an enjoyable read--from M.I.T. to an Amish-like community.
Brende's second book is in the works and being looked a...more
Brende's second book is in the works and being looked a...more
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recommended to Desiree by:
Joel Walberg
Interesting story of a couple who chooses to live in a community similar to the amish - no electricity, automobiles, etc. for a year. They discover the simple pleasures and enjoy tasks that one might initially think of as "chores". They also begin to value community more and more, especially when the community rallies together to help one another. An interesting, thought-provoking narrative that may make you re-think if we're better off living in today's 'automated' world or if we'd be...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
ecologically responsible readers
I have only just begun this book. As a crunchy granola mamma at heart, I will probably want to move to a commune in Amish country after reading this..! I believe this book is about not depending on so much technology, but learning how to be enviornmentally responsible, resourceful, healthier and building quality family and community relationships. I don't know anyone who would want to do this except me. Maybe Scott Miller. I hope Sarah will put up a review about this book since she gave it to me...more
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Read in January, 2005
We tend not to think about how technology is part of our everyday existence, but this MIT student does. He quits technology cold-turkey for one year and learns that most of our products are excessive and wasteful. Moreover, he finds value in working for a living: he and his wife together with their community labor intensely to provide food, clothing, and suitable shelter for each other. His journey began as a result of worldly questions and results in an intimate story of personal discovery.
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Read in December, 2007
Guy from MIT arguing that technology is primarily meant to save time and work... however, working to maintain computers, cars, televisions... etc is all we do all day. This is his post-graduate work in book form, which finds him cataloging time and work saved or spent on any given piece of technology, adjusting usage accordingly until achieving the most leisure and personal time possible. You'll have to read it to find out what few pieces of technology he deems actually helpful to mankind.
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Terrible.
I didn't finish it. The author took a potentially interesting subject and ruined it with trite, cloying, overwriting. His descriptions of his girlfriend/wife are totally ridiculous/insulting/annoying. Dude sounds like a boring jerk, the worst kind.
I didn't finish it. The author took a potentially interesting subject and ruined it with trite, cloying, overwriting. His descriptions of his girlfriend/wife are totally ridiculous/insulting/annoying. Dude sounds like a boring jerk, the worst kind.
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This book gives such an interesting glimpse into the world of people who happily live in the 21st century without depending on technology. The author lives as a menonite (?) for over a year and then remarkably takes the lessons he learns and applies them to life in the "real world." Although I will probably never live on a farm and grow most things that i eat, i really like his ideas about the importance of using technology consciously and carefully.
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Read in January, 2008
The subtitle of this book is "two people, one year, zero watts." This book isn't really about the process of escaping modern technology (though it definately covers it). It talks more about the comraderie involved in living in a "minimite" community. This lifestyle isn't a hardship at all, but more like freedom than being a slave to your belongings.
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