Sorcery is a fact of life in many African societies; the supernatural is taken for granted. In SORCERERS AND ORANGE PEEL, Ian Mathie describes how he came across an elderly couple, sick and abandoned in an inhospitable part of West Africa. Ignoring the warning signs of witchcraft and frightening encounters with an apparition, he coaxed them back to health. Thus began a remarkable association with one small and remote village whose subsistence living Ian was able to help boost with the unlikely intervention of a Paris parfumier, a Poro devil, assorted helpers - and a native soap industry. Along the way, he was initiated by a village sorcerer and adopted by a family whose water supply he cleaned up. During his years in Africa as a water resources specialist, Ian Mathie experienced much that challenges Western beliefs and perceptions. SORCERERS AND ORANGE PEEL - the fifth book in the African Memoir Series - is an eventful journey through the haze where science meets superstition. "To some it may seem fanciful, even impossible," Ian writes, "but having lived through it, I assure you it is all true."