Announcing: Dead, but Still Kicking – a new book about conversations with mediums, shamans, and spirits by Paul Sochaczewski
Posted on 18. Nov, 2023 by Paul Sochaczewski in News and Events
Do you believe in spirits?
Paul Sochaczewski travels to Indonesia, Myanmar, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland to speak with mediums, shamans, and, yes, spirits of dead folks. In this innovative work of personal journalism, Sochaczewski—a self-described Agnostic Spiritualist—creates the Three Tenets of Spiritualism. He gets a personal mandate from Moses, speaks with Alfred Russel Wallace about his relationship with Charles Darwin, gets frustrated by conflicting messages given by Wallace’s assistant Ali, encounters a female vampire ghost who wants to follow him home (it’s his own fault), converses with nature spirits, and is invited on a date with the Mermaid Queen of Java.
Read MoreExceptional Encounters
Posted on 03. Mar, 2024 by Paul Sochaczewski in Books
Can an army of orangutan guerillas save the Indonesian rainforest? Why is China creating a retirement haven in the South China Sea for rich despots? What happened when the descendant of the over-sexed first White Rajah of Borneo returned to claim his throne? Did Filipino “love sorcerers” help swing a U.S. election? Can an American pilgrim find enlightenment through carnal escapades? How can Asia’s first “shaman university” repel attacks by rogue black-magic wizards? And why is Indonesia’s Mermaid Queen really angry and not going to take it anymore?
Read MoreThe search for Ali
Posted on 29. May, 2025 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali
This article is excerpted from a chapter in Dead, But Still Kicking. Part I–The Set-Up contains an extensive review of Ali’s background and how he assisted Wallace, Part II-The Conversation with Spirits reviews my frustrating attempts to “speak” with Ali with the help of various mediums. The Search for AliCan eager shamans solve the […]
Read MoreExceptional Encounters-Announcing launch of new book by Paul Sochaczewski
Posted on 18. Oct, 2020 by Paul Sochaczewski in News and Events
Can an army of orangutan guerillas save the Indonesian rainforest? Why is China creating a retirement haven in the South China Sea for rich despots? What happened when the descendant of the over-sexed first White Rajah of Borneo returned to claim his throne? How did Filipino “love sorcerers” help swing a U.S. election? Can an American pilgrim find enlightenment through carnal escapades? How can Asia’s first “shaman university” repel attacks by rogue black-magic wizards? And why is Indonesia’s Mermaid Queen really angry and not going to take it anymore?
Read MoreSpecial birthday offer — all Kindle (ebooks) for 99 cents
Posted on 18. Oct, 2020 by Paul Sochaczewski in News and Events
To celebrate my birthday I’m offering a special price on Kindle editions of all my books for 99 cents each (with the exception of Share Your Journey, which is $2.99).
Offer valid through August 4.
Share Your Journey wins prestigious global award
Posted on 29. Jul, 2017 by Paul Sochaczewski in News and Events
Share Your Journey – Mastering Personal Writing has been awarded the Gold Medal in the Writing/Publishing category of the U.S.-based eLit Awards. According to the judges, these awards are “dedicated to honoring the best e-books published each year for the North American market.” Click here for the full awards list. Share Your Journey is an easy-to-use […]
Read MoreSummary of major editorial coverage with links
Posted on 29. Dec, 2023 by Paul Sochaczewski in News and Events
An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles: A selection of media coverage, interviews, reviews, and original articles. BBC RADIO SCIENCE CAFÉ Half hour broadcast of interview. June 2017 BBC Radio Wales’s flagship science programme. Weekly audience of 373,000. HUFFINGTON POST Interview. Published April 24, 2017 More than 12 million unique users per month DAILY […]
Read MoreLaunch of An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles – 2nd Edition
Posted on 18. Oct, 2020 by Paul Sochaczewski in News and Events
Announcing a new edition of Paul’s classic “campfire conversations” with Alfred Russel Wallace: An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles Special ebook launch price of 99 cents through May 2, 2017 (paperback also available—see below for ordering information) ISBN: 978-2-940573-25-7 Buy on Kindle US Buy on Kindle UK An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles follows the Victorian-era explorations of […]
Read MoreWhy travel far?
Posted on 11. Apr, 2017 by Paul Sochaczewski in Curious Travel
IN SEARCH OF A “MORE VIRGIN” DESTINATION A traveler’s dream — being the first foreigner to trek in Nagaland. LAHE, Myanmar My travel agent friend in Yangon sent me an itinerary for a trek to Nagaland, with a comment every traveler dreams of: “This place is more virgin; you will be first to visit.” […]
Read MoreOn the yeti trail
Posted on 11. Apr, 2017 by Paul Sochaczewski in Curious Travel
ON THE YETI TRAIL Chasing a wisp, a legend, a key to who we are. OGYEN CHOLING, Tang Valley, Bhutan “If you want to look for a yeti just climb the mountain behind the village. That’s where they’ve been sighted.” I was enjoying a post-dinner whiskey with Kunzang Choden and her husband Walter Roder, […]
Read MoreCivet coffee – do you know where that coffee’s been?
Posted on 15. Sep, 2024 by Paul Sochaczewski in Curious Travel
Paul Spencer Sochaczewski A captive civet in Vietnam. Recently excreted civet-coffee dung, Herry Setiawan at the blind-tasting of kopi luwak in Indonesia. YOU KNOW WHERE THAT COFFEE’S BEEN? Searching for the perfect dung-delicious civet coffee. BUON MA THUOT, Central Highlands, Vietnam Oysters. Termites. Camembert. Snails. Snake blood. Brains. Broccoli. On the long list of strange […]
Read MoreAlmost last shaman
Posted on 11. Apr, 2017 by Paul Sochaczewski in Curious Travel
THE (ALMOST) LAST SHAMAN It’s been a good ride, but Iban healer doesn’t expect many others to follow his path. SERUBAH ULU, Sarawak To the untrained eye he seems an unlikely magician. Frail, but with a hundred-watt smile. He has two wispy whiskers, short grey hair, and holes in his earlobes where he once […]
Read MoreUnusual critters
Posted on 03. Mar, 2024 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali
WALLACE’S CRITTERS Some intriguing Southeast Asian critters inspired by Alfred Russel Wallace’s The Malay Archipelago Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1912) explored Southeast Asia for eight years in the mid-19th century, collecting some 125,000 specimens which included thousands of new species. His observations, compiled in his classic The Malay Archipelago, contributed to the fields of biology, evolutionary […]
Read MoreWhy do boys leave home?
Posted on 11. Apr, 2017 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali
WHY DO BOYS LEAVE HOME? The rite of passage and the teenage imperative BATANG AI, Sarawak, Malaysia I stood on a ridge near the border between Malaysian Sarawak and Indonesian Kalimantan. I had been gone half the day and had not brought food. Time to return to camp, a damp grouping of leaky impromptu […]
Read MoreGolf and Environment – can golf be good for nature?
Posted on 11. Apr, 2017 by Paul Sochaczewski in Golf
CAN GOLF BE GOOD FOR NATURE? Solving the conundrum. BANGKOK, Thailand I play golf. And I am committed to nature conservation. Is this an insolvable conundrum, or can the two passions be reconciled? “Golf development is becoming one of the most unsustainable and damaging activities to people and the environment,” notes Chee Yoke Ling, […]
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