How did a young man who couldn’t type and couldn’t spell become an award-winning journalist? How did a college dropout become a college teacher? How did a nonconformist New Yorker wind up producing news shows at the most politically correct and anti-American TV network in Canada? In this memoir, Ken Becker recounts his rocky road in life and journalism, burning bridges across the United States and Canada. He pulls no punches on those who crossed his path, or his own missteps along the way. His view, as a reporter and editor, is from the front lines of international and national news operations that delivered the stories of his time – from the 1960s into the 21st century – to newspaper readers and TV viewers throughout North America. There are memorable encounters with a potty-mouthed prime minister and an impolite Nobel Peace laureate, as well as sports and entertainment stars, cops and gangsters, authors and other notable characters. As a journalism teacher, he told his students that all the best stories start with death or sex – or both – and include elements of conflict, adventure and humour. It’s all here.