Praise for THE EXPAT FILES: My Life in Journalism
Shout-out for The Expat Files
Ken has interviewed me many times in the past and his memoir is a fascinating and often funny look at all the people he’s met, the places he’s been, and the things he’s done as an expat American living and working in Canada. Very well written and very entertaining.
- Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times best-selling novelist
Ken has interviewed me many times in the past and his memoir is a fascinating and often funny look at all the people he’s met, the places he’s been, and the things he’s done as an expat American living and working in Canada. Very well written and very entertaining.
- Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times best-selling novelist
A Hearty Back Pat for the 'Expat'
I hesitate to use the word “literature” in reviewing a memoir — mostly out of fear that my old UPI colleague Ken Becker will cross the border into his native land, track me down, and kill me. But literature it is, in the finest sense.
The stories are interesting, the pace compelling, the writing snappy. There are many phrases I wish I had written and would like to steal — one of my personal measurements of quality “literature.” The central character performs some feats of derring-do, but understands that even brash and bluster sometimes encounter uncrossable lines.
Having recently completed a memoir, I know full well what a slog it can be. Mine took seven years — there is a fine line between braggadocio and clear-eyed self-examination, and Ken Becker has toggled it beautifully. Read this excellent book and take a journey through the mysterious world of journalism that denizens of “The Outside World” rarely are afforded.
- Ronald E. Cohen, author and former managing editor of United Press International
I hesitate to use the word “literature” in reviewing a memoir — mostly out of fear that my old UPI colleague Ken Becker will cross the border into his native land, track me down, and kill me. But literature it is, in the finest sense.
The stories are interesting, the pace compelling, the writing snappy. There are many phrases I wish I had written and would like to steal — one of my personal measurements of quality “literature.” The central character performs some feats of derring-do, but understands that even brash and bluster sometimes encounter uncrossable lines.
Having recently completed a memoir, I know full well what a slog it can be. Mine took seven years — there is a fine line between braggadocio and clear-eyed self-examination, and Ken Becker has toggled it beautifully. Read this excellent book and take a journey through the mysterious world of journalism that denizens of “The Outside World” rarely are afforded.
- Ronald E. Cohen, author and former managing editor of United Press International
Want to know why news can be glorious?
Covering a breaking story has a narcotic effect on the best reporters. Ken Becker mainlined that drug for decades. Then he introduced a couple of generations of soaking-behind-the-ears scribblers to the joys of scrambling, scratching and grasping to spin great yarns out of the news as it was happening. I was one of them.
I was there for a small part of this story. I learned a lot from Ken over the constant clatter of printers spewing out glamorous wire prose from exotic datelines around the world.
I learned about the poignance of a large life lived outside of the rambunctious newsrooms by picking up this book.
Want to know why news can be glorious? Read this. Want to know why it can break your heart? It's all here - in pugnacious New Yorkese - punched out in furious one-finger prose over 450 pages.
- Rob Russo, former Ottawa bureau chief, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Covering a breaking story has a narcotic effect on the best reporters. Ken Becker mainlined that drug for decades. Then he introduced a couple of generations of soaking-behind-the-ears scribblers to the joys of scrambling, scratching and grasping to spin great yarns out of the news as it was happening. I was one of them.
I was there for a small part of this story. I learned a lot from Ken over the constant clatter of printers spewing out glamorous wire prose from exotic datelines around the world.
I learned about the poignance of a large life lived outside of the rambunctious newsrooms by picking up this book.
Want to know why news can be glorious? Read this. Want to know why it can break your heart? It's all here - in pugnacious New Yorkese - punched out in furious one-finger prose over 450 pages.
- Rob Russo, former Ottawa bureau chief, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
This Is a Great Book!
Ken Becker weaves his life story as a disinterested kid and baseball fan growing up in New York, through his first marriage and travels abroad, into journalism with some of its legendary figures. Ken will have you laughing or outraged and yelling at him, probably both at the same time.
He is a blunt, no-nonsense character -- yeah, they once made movies about this kind of guy -- who writes news leads that will grab you by the throat. He's been insulted by at least one prime minister. And he's made enemies all over the place, but also lifelong friends.
The section about how he taught journalism to university kids who couldn't write has so much good advice about writing, news gathering, and life it could be a textbook, but no textbook was ever so entertaining. It helps if you know something about journalism, but you do not need to be a reporter to like this book. Breathing will suffice.
- Ken Ernhofer, producer, CNN International, Atlanta
Ken Becker weaves his life story as a disinterested kid and baseball fan growing up in New York, through his first marriage and travels abroad, into journalism with some of its legendary figures. Ken will have you laughing or outraged and yelling at him, probably both at the same time.
He is a blunt, no-nonsense character -- yeah, they once made movies about this kind of guy -- who writes news leads that will grab you by the throat. He's been insulted by at least one prime minister. And he's made enemies all over the place, but also lifelong friends.
The section about how he taught journalism to university kids who couldn't write has so much good advice about writing, news gathering, and life it could be a textbook, but no textbook was ever so entertaining. It helps if you know something about journalism, but you do not need to be a reporter to like this book. Breathing will suffice.
- Ken Ernhofer, producer, CNN International, Atlanta
A toast to The Expat Files
Ken Becker tells it like it is in The Expat Files, a funny and touching tale of love, loss and the life of a journalist. Over the course of five decades, he crisscrossed North America and Europe in search of captivating stories and interesting characters — some inspiring, others despicable. It’s a joy to meet them all in this memoir, which reads like a late-night conversation over beer with an old friend.
- Teri Pecoskie, newspaper reporter, Hamilton, Ontario
Ken Becker tells it like it is in The Expat Files, a funny and touching tale of love, loss and the life of a journalist. Over the course of five decades, he crisscrossed North America and Europe in search of captivating stories and interesting characters — some inspiring, others despicable. It’s a joy to meet them all in this memoir, which reads like a late-night conversation over beer with an old friend.
- Teri Pecoskie, newspaper reporter, Hamilton, Ontario
Reads Like a Novel
In these disturbing times of The Liar in Chief tweeting in the middle of the night about so-called ‘fake news,’ there could not be a better time for a book about real news, real journalism, and real journalists. Even those who read the Washington Post rather than tweets, watch PBS not FOX, most know little of how journalism works and what the life of a journalist is like.
For that vast majority, The Expat Files makes for very instructive reading (it should be on the reading list of the college where Becks, as I call him, taught and at every Journalism School) and as importantly, it is so well crafted that it reads like a novel not an autobiography as it relates most of the historical signposts of a generation from a front row seat. Becks' life and our times are told with a reporter’s attention to detail and accuracy, and a novelist’s style and pacing. At times, it is also funny – and funny is the hardest to write.
Becks and I have been friends since we first met decades ago as he mentions in the book. I thought I’d get a bit more than a mention, maybe a chapter, but this isn’t about me. I enjoyed every page of it anyway.
- Hal Quinn, writer, North Vancouver
In these disturbing times of The Liar in Chief tweeting in the middle of the night about so-called ‘fake news,’ there could not be a better time for a book about real news, real journalism, and real journalists. Even those who read the Washington Post rather than tweets, watch PBS not FOX, most know little of how journalism works and what the life of a journalist is like.
For that vast majority, The Expat Files makes for very instructive reading (it should be on the reading list of the college where Becks, as I call him, taught and at every Journalism School) and as importantly, it is so well crafted that it reads like a novel not an autobiography as it relates most of the historical signposts of a generation from a front row seat. Becks' life and our times are told with a reporter’s attention to detail and accuracy, and a novelist’s style and pacing. At times, it is also funny – and funny is the hardest to write.
Becks and I have been friends since we first met decades ago as he mentions in the book. I thought I’d get a bit more than a mention, maybe a chapter, but this isn’t about me. I enjoyed every page of it anyway.
- Hal Quinn, writer, North Vancouver
A reporter's reporter
Ken Becker and I crossed paths at a daily newspaper in Maine, one of his many stops in a remarkable journey. His memoir confirms what I knew then, as a cub reporter. Becker was the real deal. His remarkable story is proof positive that you don't learn this craft and trade. You are born with it in your DNA. A great read that took me back to what were, indeed, the good old days. You don't have to be a reporter to appreciate that this was a remarkable time to be an ink-stained wretch. Becker does us proud.
- Gerry Boyle, author of the Jack McMorrow mystery series and other novels, China, Maine
Ken Becker and I crossed paths at a daily newspaper in Maine, one of his many stops in a remarkable journey. His memoir confirms what I knew then, as a cub reporter. Becker was the real deal. His remarkable story is proof positive that you don't learn this craft and trade. You are born with it in your DNA. A great read that took me back to what were, indeed, the good old days. You don't have to be a reporter to appreciate that this was a remarkable time to be an ink-stained wretch. Becker does us proud.
- Gerry Boyle, author of the Jack McMorrow mystery series and other novels, China, Maine
A fun ride through a life in journalism
Picture a journalist from a movie or TV show and what do you see? Maybe a fedora-wearing wise guy with his ear to a phone, demanding to talk to rewrite. Perhaps a gruff but wise Lou Grant dispensing grudging praise to a young reporter. Or a globetrotting adrenaline junkie, rushing to the scene of the latest disaster, notebook at the ready.
Ken Becker has been all of these things during a long career in print and television journalism. And that’s part of the reason his memoir, The Expat Files, is so darn entertaining. He’s the real thing; a blunt but caring journalist with a nose for news and the moxie to ferret it out.
The Expat Files traces Becker’s professional life from the early days when he fell for the journalist lifestyle before he was even sure what the job actually entailed. It’s life as an adventure; never making the safe career choice when taking a chance could lead to something more interesting. Along the way, we meet a world of the famous and infamous who cross Becker’s path, from mafia thugs to movie starlets. Becker recounts getting drunk with Ed Asner (who brought Lou Grant to life), being told to fuck off by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and calling Desmond Tutu “a jerk” after a lunch appointment with the famous South African bishop.
But there are personal stories here too. Becker’s restless spirit wasn’t always healthy for his relationships and he covers his own weaknesses with the same unflinching way he covered the news.
There’s plenty here for anyone in the business. Becker talks about the self-important yet marginally talented managers and reporters that are part of the business, and he names names. But even if you’ve never been inside a newsroom, you’ll enjoy this book. Becker has seen and done so much that his life story reads like a novel. It’s funny and touching and like the author himself, anything but dull.
- John Keating, writer, Toronto
Picture a journalist from a movie or TV show and what do you see? Maybe a fedora-wearing wise guy with his ear to a phone, demanding to talk to rewrite. Perhaps a gruff but wise Lou Grant dispensing grudging praise to a young reporter. Or a globetrotting adrenaline junkie, rushing to the scene of the latest disaster, notebook at the ready.
Ken Becker has been all of these things during a long career in print and television journalism. And that’s part of the reason his memoir, The Expat Files, is so darn entertaining. He’s the real thing; a blunt but caring journalist with a nose for news and the moxie to ferret it out.
The Expat Files traces Becker’s professional life from the early days when he fell for the journalist lifestyle before he was even sure what the job actually entailed. It’s life as an adventure; never making the safe career choice when taking a chance could lead to something more interesting. Along the way, we meet a world of the famous and infamous who cross Becker’s path, from mafia thugs to movie starlets. Becker recounts getting drunk with Ed Asner (who brought Lou Grant to life), being told to fuck off by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and calling Desmond Tutu “a jerk” after a lunch appointment with the famous South African bishop.
But there are personal stories here too. Becker’s restless spirit wasn’t always healthy for his relationships and he covers his own weaknesses with the same unflinching way he covered the news.
There’s plenty here for anyone in the business. Becker talks about the self-important yet marginally talented managers and reporters that are part of the business, and he names names. But even if you’ve never been inside a newsroom, you’ll enjoy this book. Becker has seen and done so much that his life story reads like a novel. It’s funny and touching and like the author himself, anything but dull.
- John Keating, writer, Toronto
Great read
A little Hemingway, a little Hunter S. Thompson, a dash of Jack Kerouac, goes into a martini shaker, shake well and pour into your Kindle.
- Steve Bloom, Missoula, Montana
A little Hemingway, a little Hunter S. Thompson, a dash of Jack Kerouac, goes into a martini shaker, shake well and pour into your Kindle.
- Steve Bloom, Missoula, Montana
He's Got It
Ken Becker's got it and it's a great read. He takes you right into it and makes you believe that news gathering is a special life assignment that brings its own special rewards.
Ken writes like the newsman he is; he's a punchy, engaging storyteller, takes you through from first jobs to final trajectory.
This book brings back the clatter of midnight teletype machines and the chaos of newsrooms and chasing ongoing stories for all who loved them.
- Peter Thurling, documentary filmmaker, Toronto
Ken Becker's got it and it's a great read. He takes you right into it and makes you believe that news gathering is a special life assignment that brings its own special rewards.
Ken writes like the newsman he is; he's a punchy, engaging storyteller, takes you through from first jobs to final trajectory.
This book brings back the clatter of midnight teletype machines and the chaos of newsrooms and chasing ongoing stories for all who loved them.
- Peter Thurling, documentary filmmaker, Toronto
Newspapers used to be much more fun to read because people like Ken Becker wrote for them
The title of Ken Becker's book tells just half the story. He was an expat in almost all of his native country as well as a naturalized outsider in ours but it didn't hurt.
This was journalism with a small 'j.' It was supposed to be fun and exciting and vaguely anti-social. A (New York) upbringing helped a lot and a curiosity laced with natural irreverence and an acerbic wit took him the rest of the way.
In return he learned the craft and tried to be at least as interesting as the people he wrote about. The only thing he didn't learn was how to work down to the level of the people in charge. Too bad for them.
- Arden Ostrander, TV journalist, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The title of Ken Becker's book tells just half the story. He was an expat in almost all of his native country as well as a naturalized outsider in ours but it didn't hurt.
This was journalism with a small 'j.' It was supposed to be fun and exciting and vaguely anti-social. A (New York) upbringing helped a lot and a curiosity laced with natural irreverence and an acerbic wit took him the rest of the way.
In return he learned the craft and tried to be at least as interesting as the people he wrote about. The only thing he didn't learn was how to work down to the level of the people in charge. Too bad for them.
- Arden Ostrander, TV journalist, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
A must for past, present and future journalists
I got sucked into this book. I was there as Ken rumbled and ranted his way from New York to Switzerland, San Fran to Vancouver and Montreal to Maine. His writing - simple, sharp and clean - took me into the confrontations, triumphs, fresh starts and heartbreaks.
I was also there when he taught journalism to bunch of wannabes in Toronto. Literally, I was there. He was my teacher and ten years later, his voice is still in my head.
I read The Expat Files a few months ago. Ken’s stories have found a place alongside his lessons.
This is recommended reading for past, present and future journalists … or anyone looking for a Beat Generation take on journalism.
-Graeme Steel, Toronto
I got sucked into this book. I was there as Ken rumbled and ranted his way from New York to Switzerland, San Fran to Vancouver and Montreal to Maine. His writing - simple, sharp and clean - took me into the confrontations, triumphs, fresh starts and heartbreaks.
I was also there when he taught journalism to bunch of wannabes in Toronto. Literally, I was there. He was my teacher and ten years later, his voice is still in my head.
I read The Expat Files a few months ago. Ken’s stories have found a place alongside his lessons.
This is recommended reading for past, present and future journalists … or anyone looking for a Beat Generation take on journalism.
-Graeme Steel, Toronto
Buy this book, please!
There are many good reasons you should buy Ken Becker’s memoir. Among them: It will encourage Mr. Becker to write more books and you will ensure any journalism student who reads it will instead pursue a more fruitful career, such as speleology or studying to be a Sherpa on Mount Everest, a noble profession.
For me, there was also the spotlight shined on the time Mr. B and I were reporters on the daily newspaper in Livermore, Calif. – and the day the police radio in the office blasted news there had been a triple murder and suicide in town.
Mr. B. was out the door before you could say SHAZAM, probably racing through the quiet streets of the verdant little hamlet at 60 mph. He did not endear himself to the then-police chief by walking through the active crime scene. It was, Mr. B. said, "A bloody mess." I was on the road shortly after him and got an exciting photo of the apartment’s mailboxes, showing the name of the murdered family. If you want the details, you will have to buy the book, which I have already suggested you do.
We worked that story for days, sharing the byline on the front page of the Herald & News. I recall having the final rewrite on most of our copy because Ken’s spelling – a college dropout, it was his first newspaper job – would put the UCLA Marching Band to shame.
But it was obvious to me, serving in the ranks of newspaperdom with this guy, that he was going to be great some day. He had guts (spilkus, we call them in Yiddish). This fellow would chase a story to the ends of the planet.
- Ron Iscoff, writer/editor, Manteca, California
There are many good reasons you should buy Ken Becker’s memoir. Among them: It will encourage Mr. Becker to write more books and you will ensure any journalism student who reads it will instead pursue a more fruitful career, such as speleology or studying to be a Sherpa on Mount Everest, a noble profession.
For me, there was also the spotlight shined on the time Mr. B and I were reporters on the daily newspaper in Livermore, Calif. – and the day the police radio in the office blasted news there had been a triple murder and suicide in town.
Mr. B. was out the door before you could say SHAZAM, probably racing through the quiet streets of the verdant little hamlet at 60 mph. He did not endear himself to the then-police chief by walking through the active crime scene. It was, Mr. B. said, "A bloody mess." I was on the road shortly after him and got an exciting photo of the apartment’s mailboxes, showing the name of the murdered family. If you want the details, you will have to buy the book, which I have already suggested you do.
We worked that story for days, sharing the byline on the front page of the Herald & News. I recall having the final rewrite on most of our copy because Ken’s spelling – a college dropout, it was his first newspaper job – would put the UCLA Marching Band to shame.
But it was obvious to me, serving in the ranks of newspaperdom with this guy, that he was going to be great some day. He had guts (spilkus, we call them in Yiddish). This fellow would chase a story to the ends of the planet.
- Ron Iscoff, writer/editor, Manteca, California
Through his painting of wonderful word pictures
An absolutely fascinating read - the author, through his painting of wonderful word pictures, brings back into focus so many memorable events which I had thought were long forgotten.
- Ylain G. Mayer, New York
An absolutely fascinating read - the author, through his painting of wonderful word pictures, brings back into focus so many memorable events which I had thought were long forgotten.
- Ylain G. Mayer, New York
Great read!
More like a fireside chat with an extremely interesting journalist than reading a book. Candid and a great storyteller. I strongly recommend (this) book.
- Gordon Shank, San Francisco
More like a fireside chat with an extremely interesting journalist than reading a book. Candid and a great storyteller. I strongly recommend (this) book.
- Gordon Shank, San Francisco
Great story
Since I am about the same age as the author, I related to many of his experiences growing up. Well written and easy to read.
- Peter Newhouse, Oakville, Ontario
Since I am about the same age as the author, I related to many of his experiences growing up. Well written and easy to read.
- Peter Newhouse, Oakville, Ontario
