Alfred Russel Wallace – The Hero’s Journey – An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles – September 29, 2014
Posted on 07. Jun, 2014 by Paul Sochaczewski in News and Events
Royal Geographical Society, London Monday September 29, 2014 14.30-16.00 Presentation on Alfred Russel Wallace’s travels, discoveries, challenges in Southeast Asia, based on rarely-exhibited letters, documents and paraphernalia from the RGS archives, and special Wallace-related beetle specimens from the Natural History Museum. Free for RGS members, others UKP 5 Reservations: +44 (0) 20 7591 3044 or […]
Read MoreHappy birthday Alfred
Posted on 11. Jul, 2011 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALFRED Is a man’s most valuable possession his bow and arrow or a butterfly or a memory or simply time? What do you give a guy who lived a hundred and fifty years ago? JIRLAI, Aru, Indonesia What do you give a guy who lived a hundred and fifty years ago? I write […]
Read MoreWilderness in Singapore? Who woulda thought?
Posted on 11. Jul, 2011 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali

WILDERNESS IN SINGAPORE? WHO WOULDA THOUGHT? Singapore proved a Coleoptera paradise for Victorian explorer Alfred Russel Wallace; new creatures still emerge BUKIT TIMAH, Singapore Visitors come to Singapore to shop or to learn about other cultures, to close a business deal or attend a conference. A century and a half ago, though, one of Singapore’s […]
Read MoreShooting Orangutans and Pondering the Universe
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali, Articles

Alfred Russel Wallace spent 18 lonely months in Sarawak, writing the precursor to his theory of evolution. SANTUBONG, Sarawak, Malaysia Different people react to solitude in different ways. Some people converse with demons and angels. Some folks become truly, giggling-at-midnight mad. Some find enlightenment. And once in a while a guy who spends too many […]
Read MoreWhy Travel Far?
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali, Articles

Wallace’s rite of passage and the teenage imperative BATANG AI, Sarawak, Malaysia Why travel far (and treacherously), leaving behind comfort, friends and security? This question turned in my mind as I looked for orangutans while following the trail of Alfred Russel Wallace, who travelled some 22,400 kilometers in the Malay Archipelago from 1854 to 1862. […]
Read MoreThe Literate Orangutan
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali, Articles

Trying to teach a red ape to write SEPILOK, Sabah, Malaysia What if we could communicate with other species? What could an orangutan tell us about her life, about her emotions when her rainforest is chopped down, about the rascally behavior of randy adolescent male orangutans? * * * * * I’ve seen orangutans in […]
Read MoreWho Gets Credit, Who Takes Credit, for Changing the World?
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali, Articles

Did Darwin steal from Wallace? Attributing glory can be a tricky business TERNATE, Indonesia Who gets credit, and who takes credit, for changing the world? July 1, 1858 was a modest news day in mid-19th century London. Thirty-nine year old Queen Victoria went horseback riding, Madame Tussaud announced a wax image of United States President […]
Read MoreDreaming of Malthus
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Paul Sochaczewski in Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali, Articles

During a malarial fit, Alfred Russel Wallace has his eureka moment about natural selection TERNATE, Indonesia The economic theory of Thomas Malthus isn’t what most people suffering a malaria delusion would dream about. But Alfred Russel Wallace, the sweaty patient in question, wasn’t a humdrum guy. * * * * * Here’s what transpired. Alfred […]
Read MoreAuthor
Posted on 07. Apr, 2010 by Paul Sochaczewski in AUTHOR

Paul Sochaczewski has a family history of involvement in the arts, sports and exploration. _______ My great great great grandfather, Josef (The Kalicz Kid) Sochaczewski, played in a regular Friday night poker game with Frédéric Chopin. Josef, who was losing big, had just bet a sackful of zloty on his hand, attempting to draw to […]
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