Ward K. (koalabearkid) reviewed America's Boy: A Century of Colonialism in the Philippines on + 215 more book reviews
This is a book that is chock-full of prose, vignettes of Filipino village life and personal reflections from the author, who has lived in a remote Phillippines village for many years. You won't be disappointed taking a tour through this author's eyes. He understands the political and historical background.
The author tells of the Phillipine struggle for independence, and it mentions historical accounts of the "freedom fighters." It is surprising to note that except for the 3 year Japanese occupation, Phillipine policy largely followed the dictates of Washington. Of the chosen 'America's Boys' selected, none rivaled the high-profile glamour of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Thought the couple usually did America's bidding, they could not survive the savage media blitz that accompannied their decline. The narrative voice deals with the context of the wider Asian tragedies of the Marcos era, the vast cruelties of the war in Vietnam, the rise of the Subarto dictatorship in Indonesia, and the transformation of every local issue into a drama of the Cold War. His tales of peasants and fisherman brought to life movingly and unsentimentally, offer startling truths about the high cost of dictatorship and American strategic arrogance. The writer has lived half of each year in teh Philippines for twenty years.
The author tells of the Phillipine struggle for independence, and it mentions historical accounts of the "freedom fighters." It is surprising to note that except for the 3 year Japanese occupation, Phillipine policy largely followed the dictates of Washington. Of the chosen 'America's Boys' selected, none rivaled the high-profile glamour of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Thought the couple usually did America's bidding, they could not survive the savage media blitz that accompannied their decline. The narrative voice deals with the context of the wider Asian tragedies of the Marcos era, the vast cruelties of the war in Vietnam, the rise of the Subarto dictatorship in Indonesia, and the transformation of every local issue into a drama of the Cold War. His tales of peasants and fisherman brought to life movingly and unsentimentally, offer startling truths about the high cost of dictatorship and American strategic arrogance. The writer has lived half of each year in teh Philippines for twenty years.
