James's life work consisted of protesting, pranking, and poking fun at the Establishment. Rejecting capitalism, he avoided jobs as much as possible, learning how to live cheaply in urban environments through communal living, walking, riding a bike, using buses and trains, dumpster diving for food and other cast-off resources, and trading in treasures he found at yard sales. He was celebrated among his friends for the heavy unleavened bread that he loaded with nuts and dried fruit, baked and carried everywhere in his pockets, along with fresh fruit, so he was constantly snacking for sustained energy instead of binging on expensive meals at long intervals like most urbanites. When he needed extra money, he took temporary clerical jobs, and during brief stints in the corporate world, he often arranged to qualify for unemployment benefits so he could exploit his corporate overlords long after escaping the office.

In the 1990s and 2000s, at the urging of his friend Holly, James wrote and self-published two books on subjects he was passionate about. His book on bird names was praised by Roger Tory Peterson, the dean of American birders, and became a standard reference in libraries across the country. His exhaustive compendium on herbs included a searchable CD-ROM.

Amazon author page for James, with links to buy books ->