Michael Bernard was born in Kenya and was still a small child when his father was shot there. His mother married three times and moved to Zimbabwe where he grew up on a farm. His brother was taken by a crocodile, and his aunt ran off with a white hunter, but otherwise his life and family were pretty normal. After gaining agricultural qualifications he became a farmer for a few years before changing to engineering. He graduated as a professional engineer from an engineering college in England while in his thirties and then returned to the research institute in Zimbabwe, where he also served as a part time policeman. He moved on to one of the UN organisations and spent ten years with them as a technical expert elsewhere in Africa. He has carried out crop drying consultancies in about twenty different countries around the world and now lives in England. You can read his blog at http://mikebernarddotorg.wordpress.com/ or contact him at galafactor@gmail.com