Bradford Angier

Bradford Angier (May 13, 1910 – March 3, 1997) was an American wilderness survivalist and proponent of back-to-earth living. He authored more than 35 books on how to survive in the wild and how to live minimalisticly off the land.

In 1947 Angier and his new wife, Vena (Elvena, 1914-2011), were living in Boston, Massachusetts. They had long romanticized the life of Henry David Thoreau and decided to move to Hudson's Hope, a small town in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, to live off the land. Once there, they found an old prospector's cabin. With the few tools and how-to books they brought with them, they were able to repair the cabin. Bradford Angier then set about learning to hunt and gather wild food.[1]

He eventually started writing survival books. Vena Angier was artistic and hand-illustrated several of his books. The couple lived in Canada until the building of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River near their home forced them to move. They moved to Cambria, California and built a house that was less than 1,000 square feet (93 m²).[2] For decades Bradford Angier and Calvin Rutstrum were the two most prominent "how to" authors on living in the wilderness.

In the 1970s the Angiers returned to Hudson's Hope. In 1972 Bradford wrote the book One Acre & Security in which he discussed how to live organically on only 1-acre (4,000 m²) of land. At this time he had become popular with the back-to-earth movement and was sought out by many people wishing to emulate his lifestyle. He was sometimes referred to as "Mr. Outdoors"[3]

Bradford Angier died in 1997, a few months short of his 50th wedding anniversary.