What do jumping cats have to do with Buddhism’s Middle Path? Did Orwell really hate everyone in Burma? How did Myanmar's ruling junta use white elephants to consolidate their power? Will a synagogue caretaker’s improbable dream ever come true? What arrogance drives western travelers to seek the “unknown”? And why should you never disrespect the nat spirits who guard a sacred forest? This is Myanmar as you’ve probably never imagined, full of curious people, startling happenings, and unexpected moments of humanity and introspection, giddiness and solemnity, avarice and ambition.

Curious Encounters of the Human Kind - Myanmar (Burma): True Asian Tales of Folly, Greed, Ambition and Dreams

Travel

Sochaczewski, Paul Spencer

Asia

Explorer's Eye Press

Why do prominent modern Indonesian sultans continue love affairs with the Mermaid Queen? Why is the island of Flores Ground Zero for Hobbit sightings? How does a Papuan hunter juggle the four religions which want a piece of his soul? Why did a now-neglected spice cause historic mayhem among greedy Europeans? Why does it make good business sense to make friends with the dragon princess? Why is discovering a new species almost as good as sex? What is the allure of Waltzing Banana Island? Can an elderly village woman armed with just a broom and gumption kill giant mosquitoes 'til they're dead? This is Indonesia as you've probably never imagined, full of curious people, startling happenings, and unexpected moments of humanity and introspection, giddiness and solemnity, avarice and ambition.

Curious Encounters of the Human Kind - Indonesia: True Asian Tales of Folly, Greed, Ambition and Dreams

What's a woman to do when a Hindu god doesn't return her mountain? Would you risk your life by hugging a tree? How do you find a nameless young girl you first met (for five minutes) twenty-six years earlier? For environmental consciousness, should we trust the international bureaucrats or a Bhutanese farmer? Does the yeti illuminate the dark side of our souls? Why do we have an urge to "rid the land of demons"? How do "often frothy" phalluses protect Bhutanese villagers? This is the Himalayan region as you've probably never imagined, full of memorable people, startling happenings, and unexpected moments of humanity and introspection, giddiness and solemnity, avarice and ambition.

Curious Encounters of the Human Kind - Himalaya: True Asian Tales of Folly, Greed, Ambition and Dreams

How has a town named after a female vampire ghost spawned an entire genre of kitschy horror films? Why did a quiet Swiss man choose to live rough in the rainforest with the semi-nomadic Penans - and what inner spirit drove him to fight a David vs. Goliath rebellion against timber tycoons and corrupt officials who were destroying the Penans's forest home? Has White-Brown colonialism been replaced by Brown-Brown arrogance? What's the story of the grandmother who spits at meddling ghosts (but only because they spit first)? Why did the first White Rajah of Borneo amass a vast harem of concubines? What happened when I tried to ride the tidal bore that almost killed Somerset Maugham? In what way was an illiterate Borneo teenager instrumental in helping Alfred Russel Wallace develop the theory of natural selection? How close are we to orangutans, "our poor cousins who look like they haven't done so well in life." This is Borneo as you've probably never imagined, full of curious people, startling happenings, and unexpected moments of humanity and introspection, giddiness and solemnity, avarice and ambition.

Curious Encounters of the Human Kind - Borneo: True Asian Tales of Folly, Greed, Ambition and Dreams

What's the attraction of coffee that's been digested by a civet? Can 200-million-year-old fossilized freshwater shark dung bring you good luck? Why do boys like to make things go bang - hey, lemme try the AK-47 ? Why is the belching and slovenly widow of Laos's first president so possessive about the animal she considers her white elephant? How did Vietnam's last elephant hunter, at the age of 90, get a lucrative sponsorship deal for a tonic that makes men more powerful? Did a love potion help a Filipino politician become governor? And what role did an absurdly rich, secretive American businessman (who enjoyed deflowering virgins) have in creating Vietnam's golf boom? This is Southeast Asia as you've probably never imagined, full of memorable people, startling happenings, and unexpected moments of humanity and introspection, giddiness and solemnity, avarice and ambition.

Curious Encounters of the Human Kind - Southeast Asia: True Asian Tales of Folly, Greed, Ambition and Dreams

Your hero’s journey can take many forms. Perhaps you met your soulmate at a cooking class in Tuscany and now make fresh pasta every evening — you’re 40 kilos overweight but happy. You took your eight-year-old daughter to the lake where your parents took you as a child — she caught her first fish. Or maybe you want to record your family’s history. How Grandfather Ishmael escaped Lithuania hours before he was to be arrested for horse theft, how Grandma Chen left China penniless, then through hard work and a deft touch at the mahjong table, became one of Singapore’s leading real estate tycoons.  Perhaps you aren’t too sure how to start your story, how to focus, how to make it interesting for other people. The Ten Writing Tips in Share Your Journey will give you the tools and confidence to write more effective blogs, write for online and print publications, and make more effective presentations. LEARN HOW TO: • Recognize the dynamics of your own hero’s journey • Get started by writing just one scene • Avoid the dreaded “info dump” • Create instant intimacy with the reader • Tell the story by following the Little Red Riding Hood Strategy • Create conflict with the Nancy Reagan Principle • Keep ’em hanging on with the Scheherazade Scenario • Invoke the Story of One to represent the Story of Many • Write like Steven Spielberg directs • Eliminate fluff like Michelangelo

Share Your Journey: Mastering Personal Writing: The (Surprisingly Easy) Techniques Professional Writers Use to Write Personal Memoirs and Travel Stories That Connect with Editors and Readers

Reference

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles follows the Victorian-era explorations of Alfred Russel Wallace through Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. While Wallace is recognized as co-discoverer of the theory of natural selection (and was perhaps deliberately sidelined by Darwin), he was also an edgy social commentator and a voracious collector of "natural productions"--he caught, skinned, and pickled 125,660 specimens, including 212 new species of birds and 900 new species of beetles. Sochaczewski has created an innovative form of storytelling, combining incisive biography and personal travelogue. He examines themes about which Wallace cared deeply--women's power, why boys leave home, the need to collect, our relationship with other species, humanity's need to control nature and how this leads to nature destruction, arrogance, the role of ego and greed, white-brown and brown-brown colonialism, serendipity, passion, mysticism--and interprets them through his own filter with layers of humor, history, social commentary, and sometimes outrageous personal tales.

An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles: Campfire Conversations with Alfred Russel Wallace on People and Nature Based on Common Travel in the Malay ... of the Orangutan, and the Bird of Paradise

Biographies & Memoirs

Travelers & Explorers

Can an army of orangutan guerrillas save the Indonesian rainforest? Why is China creating a retirement haven in the South China Sea for rich despots? What happened when the British descendant of the oversexed first White Rajah of Borneo returned to claim his throne? Did Filipino “love sorcerers” help swing a US election? Can an American pilgrim find enlightenment through carnal escapades? How can Asia’s first “shaman university” repel an attack by rogue black-magic wizards? And why is Indonesia’s Mermaid Queen really angry and not going to take it anymore? Exceptional Encounters takes the seeds of true stories and applies the classic fiction writer’s aerobic exercise by asking: What if? These enhanced-reality fabulations draw the reader into tales of just-over-the-rainbow Asian kindness, greed, ambition, passion, and dreams. “Once again, Sochaczewski has pushed the frontier of travel literature in a thought-provoking new direction.” —Simon Lyster, chairman, World Land Trust “Sochaczewski at his very best – sharp, witty, energetic, and unafraid to be irreverent. Reminds me of the satire of Catch-22 combined with the insight travel memoirs of Bill Bryson and Mark Twain.” —Benedict Allen, BBC presenter, author of Into the Crocodile’s Nest “A collection of stories you can savor on many levels. The Asian storytelling of Somerset Maugham, the satire of Jonathan Swift and George Orwell, the reality check of Foreign Affairs, and the dark humor of Roald Dahl.” —Valmiki, author of the Ramayana

Exceptional Encounters: Enhanced Reality Tales from Southeast Asia

Literature & Fiction

Humor & Satire

Dead, but Still Kicking: Encounters with Mediums, Shamans, and Spirits

Religion & Spirituality

Occult & Paranormal

Filled with countless gorgeous photos and interesting stories regarding Sochaczewski’s travels, Searching for Ganesha is a charming, unusual, read. Even readers who are unfamiliar with Ganesha will find the author's enthusiasm to be contagious. Rated 9.5 out of 10. —BookLife Prize\nAcross Asia, An Elephant-Headed God Flexes His Muscles…\nGanesha, the Hindu elephant-headed god, is among the most-appreciated of all deities. In this innovative book, Paul Spencer Sochaczewski: Explores why he collects Ganesha images, Examines the psychology of collecting, and Recounts enchanting, playful personal adventures in his 40-year quest for just one more (but it’s gotta be special) Ganesha statue. 
He provides enough iconography to give the reader a grounding in Ganesha’s obstacle-removing prowess, but this is neither an academic nor a religious tome.\nMuseum-quality photographs of some 80 statues, carvings, and amulets from his 150-piece collection illustrate: How Hindu public relations experts retrofitted Ganesha into the Mahabharata, Under what circumstances benevolent Ganesha can be an aggressive crusader, Why he loves sweets, What inspiration Hindu branding experts took from nature, and Why his “vehicle” is a humble mouse. 
“Be prepared to accompany Sochaczewski down any alley no matter where it leads, and you’ll be astonished by the bizarre facts you'll discover, by the fascinating people you’ll encounter, and by Ganesha in every shape, medium, and guise.” —Ron Graham, author, honorary trustee of Royal Ontario Museum, former president PEN Canada

Searching for Ganesha: Collecting Images of the Sweet-Loving, Elephant-Headed Hindu Deity Everybody Admires

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

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