Author Description

"Burnt out after years of doing development and conservation work around the world, William Powers spent a season in a 12-foot by 12-foot cabin off the grid in North Carolina. Could he live a similarly minimalist way in the belly of the go-go beast - New York City? To find out, Powers and his wife jettisoned 80 percent of their stuff, left their 2,000-square-foot Queens townhouse, and moved into a 350-square-foot micro apartment in Greenwich Village. Downshifting to a 20-hour work week, Powers explores the viability of Slow Food and Slow Money, technology fasts and urban sanctuaries, rooftop gardening and beekeeping, and Glassphemy! recycling. Discovering a colorful cast of New Yorkers attempting to resist the culture of Total Work, Powers offers practical inspiration to anyone trying to make urban life more people- and planet-friendly"-- "Memoir of a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity in New York City, exploring micro-apartments, rooftop gardens, and the slow food movement, and seeking an alternative to overwork and consumerism, by an environmental writer, professor, and fellow of the World Policy Institute"--