This is an anthology of Asia in the 1980s – of steamy, sexy folk tales mingling with the advent of mass tourism and golf courses, appetites for turtle meat, shark’s fin and skinned birds of paradise, and the irreversible commercialism of remote areas.

To Sochaczewski – who arrived in Sarawak in 1969 as a Peace Corps volunteer – life is perplexing and often bittersweet on the frontlines of conservation. With the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International, he collected supernatural stories of mermaid queens, dragon princesses, ‘lightning teeth’ and ‘antique fishes’ – along with profiles on the unsung heroes of locales stretching from Bhutan to Komodo Island. Though one may not recall Sochaczewski’s 500 articles for the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal and Geographical, a good collection appears here haphazardly, still as fascinating as the day they were written. He relates the political story of Bruno Manser, the ‘Swiss Robin Hood’ who mysteriously disappeared in 2000 while fighting logging concessions in Sarawak; shoots the breeze with village chieftains and fishermen; and seeks out the world’s highest golf course.

This first (and perhaps only) anthology is a treasure trove of three-page articles and ten-page commentaries. A craftier editor would have included a chronological timeline of his travels and experiences though, as well as an epilogue on Sochaczewski himself. These would have done justice to a life lived well, and bravely.

Editions Didier Millet $19.90