If careers are checkered, Jim Becker's is a chessboard. From Hawaii to Brooklyn, Bayreuth, Babylon and Botswana (Hawaii's Antipode) this multi-faceted newsman has crisscrossed every square on the board, collecting along the way fascinating stories about heroes, saints, sinners and celebrities. Jim Becker's stories are the stuff of a grand life well lived. His sense of humor is to be envied. His depth of perception is extraordinary. His sense of adventure is tempered by a great sense of what makes life worth living. I have been privileged to hear many of these stories told live and they are no less enthralling on the page.