Randall Baker was born in Wales in 1944 and spent his life living and working in many countries around the world. He first came to Bulgaria in 1990 as part of an effort to help develop the New Bulgarian University, and has been coming back to this country ever since. In December 2008, he retired from his post as a professor at Indiana University and moved to Sofia where he holds the post of Distinguished Professor at NBU.

Over the last 24 years he has come to know Bulgaria through personal experience and via the eyes of his many Bulgarian friends. He has the observers eye for the little, often unnoticed, things that make life in Bulgaria different, as it definitely is. He has published several books in Bulgarian, including this one, which first appeared in the Bulgarian language. He continues to teach, and provide consultancy work for the World Bank and other organizations. He believes that humor has its place in explaining all situations, even in text books, and he brings that humor to bear on this corner of the Balkans.