Early career Paul Perry went on to become Executive Editor at
American Health magazine. In 1981, Perry went to China with author
Ken Kesey to cover the First International
Beijing Marathon for ''
Runner's World magazine, for which he was an editor. Perry collaborated with Ken Babbs to produce On the Bus: The Complete Guide to the Legendary Bus Trip of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and the Birth of the Counterculture''. The book is a photo documentary of the Acid Trip that tells the story of the birth of the psychedelic era through interviews with
Allen Ginsberg,
Timothy Leary, members of the
Grateful Dead, and others. Perry followed with
Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson, a biography of the famous
Gonzo journalist. Much of the biography was based on several months spent together working on
The Curse of Lono, a book that sprang from an article on the Honolulu Marathon published in
Running, a magazine edited by Perry.
Near-death studies and further writing In 1986, Perry's interest in the effects and meaning of near-death experiences led him to a professional involvement with
Raymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D., The two have written seven books together (
Paranormal,
Glimpses of Eternity,
The Light Beyond,
Coming Back,
Reunions,
Paranormal, and
Proof of Life After Life: 7 Reasons to Believe There Is an Afterlife.) He co-authored with Jeffrey Long, MD
Evidence of the Afterlife and
God And The Afterlife. In total, he has written or co-written 16 books on the subject of near-death experiences. In 2001, only weeks after the
9/11 attack on the
World Trade Center in New York, Perry went to
Egypt to follow
the trail of Jesus in Egypt. This is a trail that follows ancient sites and artifacts and is believed by Christians and Muslims alike to be the route followed by the
Holy Family as they fled from the soldiers of
King Herod. Perry wrote
Jesus in Egypt upon his return
Documentary films When his book
Jesus in Egypt was published, a television producer approached Perry and offered to fund a documentary film of the Egypt journey. Perry returned to Egypt with a camera crew in 2004 and followed the trail a second time to make a documentary film. The film,
Jesus, the Lost Years was premiered at the
Cairo Opera House in 2005 to members of the
Mubarak family and more than 1500 others, including Egyptian cabinet members, ambassadors, and Saudi princes. The film was released in the Middle East under the alternative title:
The Holy Family in Egypt. The making of
Jesus, the Lost Years led Perry to start a documentary film production company, Sakkara Productions, which is named after the first stone pyramid. He also started a second film production company, Paul Perry Productions. == Filmography ==