Alex Michalos is widely recognized as one of the founding figures and a traiblazer in the interdisciplinary study of the quality of life. This autobiography, written on the occasion of his 90th birthday, is a master's unique, reflexive perspective of his own quality of life from the 1990s, in relation to his professional and personal networks, institutional collaborations, health challenges, and the impact of the passage of time. Written in journalistic style and with his customary humor, the memoir includes rich, personal anecdotes and details, like his letters to friends, associates, government officials and the news media, selections of notes and lectures concerning instructions to young scholars, students and other researchers, speeches to convocations when he served as Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia, speeches from his 3 times running for a seat in parliament, on receiving awards like the Gold Medal for research achievement awarded by the Canadian Humanities and Social Sciences Research Council (its highest honor), and major events and publications. The reader will be delighted to find, in addition, many photos of people who shared his life and contributed to its quality, and of important events during the period covered. It is a delightful read for anyone, but particularly interesting to all those in the field of quality of life and well-being research who may or may not be already familiar with Alex's oeuvre.

Alexandros Charles Michalos (born August 1, 1935) is one of the founding figures in the interdisciplinary study of the quality of life. He is professor emeritus of political science and former chancellor at the University of Northern British Columbia, where he served as the founding director of the Institute for Social Research and Evaluation. With a career in teaching and research spanning more than six decades, Michalos is internationally recognized as a trailblazer in quality-of-life studies, philosophy, and social sciences. He began teaching social sciences and philosophy in 1962, spending 28 years at the University of Guelph before joining the University of Northern British Columbia. Over his career, he has published more than 32 books and over 130 refereed articles, two encylopaedias and founded or co-founded 7 scholarly journals, including serving as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Business Ethics. He served as senior research advisor to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, and continues to serve as a member of their Canadian Research Advisory Group. Among the many leadership roles he has held previously, are President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s Sectoral Commission on Natural, Social, and Human Sciences; President of the Academy II (Humanities and Social Sciences) of the Royal Society of Canada; President of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS); and President of the International Society for Philosophy and Technology. Michalos was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2010.