Paul Spencer Sochaczewski

Paul Spencer Sochaczewski (born August 1, 1947) is an American writer, writing coach, conservationist and communications advisor to international non-governmental organizations. He lives in Geneva, Switzerland, and has lived and worked in more than 70 countries, including long stints in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

In 1992 Sochacazewski changed his name from Paul Spencer Wachtel to Paul Spencer Sochaczewski; he wrote about the name change for an article in the International Herald Tribune.

Career

Paul Sochaczewski graduated in 1969 from George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. with a degree in psychology.

He served in the United States Peace Corps, 1969-1971, working as an education advisor in Sarawak, Malaysia. This exposure to Asia informed his writing and as a result most of his work has a Southeast Asian theme.

He was a freelance journalist and creative director of J. Walter Thompson in Indonesia.

He is chairman of IGOLF-International Golf and Life Foundation, an international NGO which promotes environmental and social responsibility in the sport.

As head of creative services at WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature , 1981-1994, he created international public awareness campaigns to protect rainforests, wetlands, plants and biological diversity; and managed the WWF Faith and Environment Network. From mid-1992 to mid-1993 he took a leave of absence from WWF to write articles on environmental problems in the Pacific for the Environment Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu. He then worked for ten years as global communications director of the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

He has lived and worked in some 80 countries, speaks Bahasa Indonesia and French, and basic Thai. Affiliations: Fellow, Royal Geographic Society, member PEN International, member American Society of Journalists and Authors, IUCN-World Conservation Union commissions on protected areas and education.

Writing

Themes and style

Several themes recur in Sochaczewski’s work. How arrogance and greed of power brokers in the capital cities of Asia leads to environmental destruction and cultural disruption. The process by which isolated communities adapt to life in a modern world. Our need/fear relationship with nature. The romance of the “hero’s journey.”

Sochaczewski is particularly interested in Asian stories that defy western Cartesian logic. He writes about the love affair between the Sultan of Yogyakarta (Java) and the mystical Mermaid Queen. He explains why isolated Indian villagers are angry at the Monkey God Hanuman for not returning their sacred mountain. He investigates why Burmese generals use the perceived power of the white elephant to solidify their hold on power, and how a rural woman in the Himalayas changed government conservation policy by hugging a tree.

His books have exposed the cultural genocide of the Penan peopleof Sarawak, Malaysia, helped to generate a renaissance of appreciation for British naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallaceand identified Eco-Cultural Revolutions which have had major impacts on our relationship with nature.

Reviewers have noted his innovative style and approach; Jeffrey Sayer, founding director general of the Centre for International Forestry Research in Bogor and professor of conservation and development at James Cook University says: “This book [An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles] occupies a new category of non-fiction – part personal travelogue, part incisive biography of Wallace, part unexpected traveler’s tales.”

Articles and personal essays

Sochaczewski has published more than 600 by-lined articles in the International Herald Tribune, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Travel and Leisure, Bangkok Post and other publications.

Books

He has written or co-authored books of non-fiction, personal travel and fiction.

They include: An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles: Campfire Conversations with Alfred Russel Wallace on People and Nature Based on Common Travel in the Malay Archipelago, The Land of the Orangutan and the Bird of Paradise, about which Peter H. Raven president emeritus at the Missouri Botanical Garden says: “A fascinating journey through the tropics of Southeast Asia, Sochaczewski not only follows in the footsteps of Alfred Russel Wallace but engages in a dialog with him for the whole journey. Thought-provoking about change and constancy, and a delight to read.”

The Sultan and the Mermaid Queen: Extraordinary Asian People and Places, and Things that Go Bump in the Night. Gary Braver, bestselling author of Skin Deep, said “Paul’s writing in The Sultan and the Mermaid Queen has the humanity of Somerset Maugham, the adventure of Joseph Conrad, the perception of Paul Theroux, and a self-effacing voice uniquely his own.”

Distant Greens, about which Rick Lipsey of Sports Illustrated wrote: “Distant Greens is an intimate golfing tour that travels to all corners of the planet and brings us into the heart, mind and soul of the game that we all love.”

Redheads. Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael, said “Redheads does for the struggle to save the rain forests of Borneo what Catch 22 did for the struggle to stay alive in World War II.”

Soul of the Tiger: Searching for Nature’s Answers in Southeast Asia. (co-author: Jeffrey A. McNeely). George Schaller, director of Wildlife Conservation International, said this was “a marvelous book, unique, intelligent, attuned to cultures and filled with stimulating ideas.”

Bibliography

An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles: Campfire Conversations with Alfred Russel Wallace on People and Nature Based on Common Travel in the Malay Archipelago, The Land of the Orangutan and the Bird of Paradise. Editions Didier Millet. 2012. ISBN 978-981-4385-20-6.

The Sultan and the Mermaid Queen: Extraordinary Asian People and Places, and Things that Go Bump in the Night. Editions Didier Millet. 2008. ISBN 978-981-4217-74-3.

Distant Greens. Editions Didier Millet. 2011. ISBN 978-981-4260-69-5.

Redheads. Siddharta. 2000. ISBN 0-9587448-9-0. Lontar. 2012. ISBN 978-979-25-1004-1.

Soul of the Tiger: Searching for Nature’s Answers in Southeast Asia (co-author: Jeffrey A. McNeely) Doubleday. 1988. ISBN 0-385-24225-5. Paragon. New York. 1988. 1-55778-280-6. Oxford University Press. 1991. ISBN 0 19 588573 2. Sho Koh Na. Japan. 1993. ISBN 4-88302-143-2. University of Hawai’i Press. 1995. ISBN 0-82481-669-2.

Eco Bluff Your Way to Greenism: The Guide to Instant Environmental Credibility Bonus Books, Inc. 1991. ISBN 0-929387-22-8. (co-author: Jeffrey A. McNeely)

Tanah Air: Celebrating Indonesia’s Biodiversity. Archipelago Press. ISBN 981-3018-36-4. (book concept initiator)

Indonesian Heritage Series (15 volumes). Archipelago Press. 1996. (editorial advisory board). ISBN- 981-3018-58-5.

Malaysia: Heart of Southeast Asia. Archipelago Press. 1991. Singapore. ISBN 981-002733-8 (writing as Paul Wachtel)

Writing workshops

He has developed writing workshops which have been run in more than twenty countries.

• Exploring Your Personal Odyssey
• Sharing the Journey
• Almost Famous
• Breaking Through
• Wake-Up Writing

Lectures

Sochaczewski lectures widely; three of his most-requested presentations:

• Alfred Russel Wallace - Hero’s Journey in Southeast Asia
• Travels in Search of Eco-Dharma
• Things That Go Bump in the Night

He has given his Alfred Russel Wallace presentation to groups worldwide including: Royal Society for Asian Affairs (UK), Royal Geographical Society (UK, Singapore, Hong Kong), Anglo-Indonesian Society (UK), Travellers Club (UK), Asian Civilizations Museum (Singapore) University of Singapore, University of Malaysia, Siam Society (Thailand), Indonesian Heritage Society.