John Bishop Ballem was a Canadian murder mystery/thriller novelist. While best known for his novels about the oil industry and private law, Ballem was also a naval air force pilot, assistant professor, specialist in the oil industry and private law lawyer. He was an acknowledged legal authority on oil and gas and winner of the Petroleum Law Foundation Prize in 1973. He was a member of the Crime Writers of Canada, the Probus Club of Calgary and the Air Crew Association of Alberta: Southern Alberta Branch. In 2009, the Law Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association of Alberta awarded John the Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship. He was also a Calgary Herald world travels reporter and visited many exotic locations such as both poles. Ballem's most important and well known work is the internationally recognized authoritative text,The Oil and Gas Lease in Canada, a standard legal reference that went to four editions, the final being 2008. [More at Wikipedia]

February 2nd, 1925 in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia  /  Died:   Jan 9th, 2010