Paul Spencer Sochaczewski

A GREAT MAN AND HIS UNHERALDED ASSISTANT For some 50 years, Paul Sochaczewski has been on the trail of famous naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and his little-known assistant Ali. The result of this quest is an imaginative “enhanced biography” of an illiterate 19th-century teenager from Borneo who helped Wallace become one of history’s most successful explorers of the natural world. This deliciously speculative book, filled with humor and touching scenes of imagined conversations, takes a hard look at “slippery truth,” and, perhaps most important, asks the question: “Is there someone in your life who has quietly helped you, perhaps without adequate recognition, on your journey?” In this innovative approach to biography, you’ll discover: • New clues that expand our knowledge of Ali’s background and career • Why writing the history of a 19th-century teenage boy from Borneo is so challenging • Details about how Ali collected some 5,000 of Wallace’s 8,050 bird specimens • Imagined conversations that explore emotions and perceptions of Wallace and Ali • How each of us has an “Ali” who has helped us along the way Who’s your Ali? Perhaps this book might encourage to reach out to someone forgotten but who eased your path along your journey?

Across Asia, an elephant-headed god flexes his muscles… Ganesha, 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 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. Museum-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. Why does Sochaczewski appreciate (but not worship) the god? “Ganesha isn’t a stern, don’t-touch-my-hair super-god, and therefore artists can flex their creative muscles when portraying him,” he says. “And simply because he’s cool.”