Ben Sperer is a retired pharmaceutical executive and publisher of medical books living in Canada, his second home after having left his native Turkey in 1960.
Born into a small colony of Ashkenazi Jews who had emigrated to a friendly Ottoman Empire, Ben began his studies first in a German college in Istanbul and subsequently pursued medical studies at university. He was forced to abandon medical school in order to support his family.
The rest of his life in Turkey spans years of involvement in the British Embassies in Ankara and Istanbul, followed by a brief stay in England and, finally as an executive in a prominent Turkish mining company.
Ben was married and widowed twice in his life. He has a married son and two grandchildren, all living in Montreal.
Ben spends his time writing short stories, lecturing at various Canadian universities and social gatherings on history and he is Honorary President at the Montreal branch of the Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University.
