Ballem, John Bishop

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ballem
  • Wiki Biography:
    • John Bishop Ballem (1925–2010) 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.
    • Although he wrote mystery novels set in exotic locations, such as the Caribbean and the Northwest Territories, Ballem’s best known are his murder mysteries set in Alberta. During his career in the oil industry, he would write his famous Oilpatch Empire Trilogy which consisted of Oilpatch Empire (1985), Death Spiral (1989) and The Barons (1991). The trilogy would highlight the turbulent world of oil, business, power and sex in the Canadian oil industry and was considered Ballem’s greatest work.
  • Second Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=11
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218024186/john_bishop-ballem