Bergland was born June 4, 1935, in Mapleton, Iowa, the son of Gwendolyn (née McCalman) and Cedores P.

[6] In 1978, Bergland ran for the California state senate district 36, receiving 5.8% of the vote to finish third out of the three candidates on the ballot.

[7] Bergland received the party's vice-presidential nomination in the 1976 presidential election, sharing the ticket with Roger MacBride.

[10] The book explained the libertarian philosophy and touched on issues including the government as a nature of coercion, how libertarianism developed in America and how it is different from both liberalism and conservatism, the contention that taxation is theft, support of a foreign policy of non-intervention, free trade with other countries, gun rights, and criminal justice reform, opposition to drug and alcohol prohibition, public education, and Social Security.

[11] Bergland died on June 3, 2019, in Kennewick, Washington, one day short of his 84th birthday, of prostate cancer.