Featured Book
Curious Encounters of the Human Kind – Indonesia
This is the second book in a five-book series of unusual (and true) personal travel tales.
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 preachers and other do-gooders who 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?
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Featured Articles
The Real First White Rajah of Borneo
I belong to a small group of people curious about the life and times of Alexander Hare. When we get together, we ponder an improbable question: How did an ambitious 19th-century slave-owner, harem-builder, and political arriviste become the First White Rajah of Borneo?
The bigger question: How does one become king or queen numero uno? More specifically, how might I become the first Supreme Leader With Wisdom Like Solomon Whose Eyes Spot Prey Like an Eagle and Whose Courage Rivals That of a Tiger of my own country?
News & Events
10 November — Opening of COP 30 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Ah, yet another international gathering to discuss progress in addressing the problem of climate change. This year it will be held in Belém, Brazil, and the participants will also focus on nature conservation in the country, including the vast Amazon region. I’ve been following Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace for some 50 years, including a […]
Intro to a speculative biography of Ali
My speculative biography of Ali, Alfred Russel Wallace’s assistant, was honored as the Best Historical Book of 2024 by the United States Peace Corps Writers. Here’s an excerpt from the book’s introduction. Look Here, Sir, What a Curious Bird Intro to a speculative biography of Ali, Alfred Russel Wallace’s assistant in the Malay Archipelago […]
Alfred Russel Wallace and Things That Go Bump in the Night
Alfred Russel Wallace is best known for his scientific achievements — collecting and documenting hundreds of new species of “natural productions,” major insights into biogeography, island endemism, and cultural anthropology, and notably, his development of a theory of evolution by natural selection independently of and prior to that of Charles Darwin. But Wallace was also […]