Philippines Books

The accolades for this book you find here are extremely well deserved. I will add to the cheerleading only by saying that this book is without a doubt, the single best book I have ever read concerning any aspect of the war in the Pacific. And I've read a LOT of it. It is literally impossible to put this book down once the action starts. Too bad more of naval history isn't written by this author. I have read many books on the Battle of Leyte Gulf that left me scratching my head in frustration as the author utterly fails in his attempt to relate to the reader a complex and disjointed narrative of one of the most complicated battles in U.S. Naval history. Not so with this Last Stand. BTW, I have been trying to plow through Lundstrum's "First Team" for what seems like forever. Talk about a great story ruined by a guy who has no flair for writting. But back on topic and in conclusion I will say that this won't be the last time I read Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. As far as Lundtrum's book, well, I'm really looking forward to finishing it and making a paper weight out of it.

Being a voracious reader of world war ii novels,This is quite simply one of the most exciting and heart rending novels of naval warfare I have ever read.What make's it all the more interesting is my late grandfather served on a destroyer escort and even though he told a few tales himself reading this novel I truly almost felt I could smell the cordite and feel the deck as the Samuel b Robert's charged at the Japanese fleet.Next time you see a vet shake his hand and thank him.They deserve it!

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors chronicles "The Battle off Samar", possibly the most lopsided battle ever fought by the US Navy. Due to an inexplicable decision by the legendary Admiral Halsey, on October 25, 1944 a small flotilla of Escort Carriers and their escorting squadron of "Tin Cans" (Destroyers, and their little cousins, Destroyer Escorts, the smallest ships in the blue water fleet) were the only thing standing between a powerful fleet of Japanese battleships and the US invasion force sent to liberate the Philippines.

For the Americans, trying to stand up against the heavily armed and armored Japanese behemoths with the minimal forces at their disposal was suicidal. Still they were the only ships available to prevent the Japanese steaming into Leyte Gulf and slaughtering the soldiers and Marines still on the beach, so stand up against them is what they did. Incredibly, the Japanese retreated...but only after blasting two Destroyers a Destroyer Escort and one of the Escort Carriers into oblivion.

It was once said (by William Manchester, I believe) that military history often focuses on battles because, once so much blood has been shed we humans seem compelled to justify all the loss and pain by giving the event meaning. By the time the Battle off Samar took place, the Japanese empire was certainly beaten. Win, lose or draw, on that day in October they were not going to significantly alter the course of the war. And yet the willingness of the outnumbered and out gunned American squadron to stand and fight when they should have had no chance of winning does elevate 3 hours of explosive action to that point where stories and poems will be written about it for decades.

James D. Hornfischer's book captures both the events and emotions of the men who made what they knew would be a suicidal last stand vividly. It is well worth reading for anyone interested in World War II history.

This is an incredible story of true courage by the men of the U.S. Navy fighting in the Pacific during World War II. Words are not equal to the valor shown by the Tin Can Sailors who battled the best ships of the Japanese Navy and turned certain destruction into an unbelieveable victory. I dread to think that our nation may one day forget the courage and sacrifice of these men. The Tin Can Sailors are a shining examples of this nation's best. Highly recommend this book.

A couple of years ago, I read "Shattered Sword" (about the Battle of Midway) and proclaimed it the best WWII account of Pacific Theatre Naval history to date. I now have to say THE LAST STAND OF THE TIN CAN SAILORS by James Hornfischer ranks right beside it.

This is a brilliantly presented accounting of Halsey's folly when he let his enormous ego get in the way of following orders. The result is the death of some of the Navy's finest tin can sailors and the birth of legends in Naval history. Had Halsey been in position with the 3rd Fleet to guard San Bernardino Straits, it is quite possible that even more American lives would have been lost in the ensuing battle, but it is also quite probably that the Japanese Center Force would have also been dismantled piecemeal just as the Japanese Southern Force had been destroyed the day before.

But, as history has shown, Halsey couldn't contain his ego and went chasing after his own legacy, leaving the Straits to be guarded by the "little guys" a tiny group of escort carriers and accompanying destroyers and destroyer escorts. Hornfischer deftly tells the tale of the men of these greatly overmatched tin cans who faced down the Imperial giants. Many of them eventually paid the ultimate sacrifice.

This incredibly well researched story will have you glued to every page. The details are accurate to a flaw and riveting like no other account I have ever read. This is superbly written and also includes several pages of photos as well as maps of ship positioning during the battle. This is one of the best Naval warfare history books you will ever read.

This readable memoir of one of the darkest parts of World War II in the Pacific theater brings Lester Tenney's experiences as a young man, recruit, soldier, prisoner of war and repatriated civilian to life. Mr. Tenney's journey through the hell he describes leads us through pain, despair, hope, bitterness and ultimately to the forgiveness he found. We learn about one man's faith in family and loved ones that led to his determination to survive. Anyone interested in World War II will find this a valuable resource. My book group (women in our fifties and sixties) was moved by this book. Several bought more copies to give to friends and family.

This is a story about a terrible event in history. This is not a fun story to read but it is one that needs to be read to help us appreciate how good our life really is. There are many memorable parts to this book, I am amazed anyone could survive this.

I remember this situation when I was 10 years old during WW2. This is a fascinating read and so well written that I could not put it down. It tells it like it was..

I just finished this book, and I must say I am inspired. Lester Tenney deserves an enormous amount of respect and admiration for what he endured and acomplished during his time as an american POW.

While this is not exactly a full account of the Death March and the surrounding events filled with statistics and data, it is Tenney's first hand account that makes this horrendous event so palpable that the reader feels as though they are enduring the very same hardships.

Do not expect this to be a simple or comfortable read. While the book has some wonderful and very happy moments, namely Tenney's own postive attitude and inner strength, these moments are doubled by nearly unbearable situations that will make you cringe, as any story about one of the most horrifying events of the war should. Tenney describes in extreme detail the atrocities of the Japanese military. While this story is anything but rosy, it is indescribably important, as it tells a story which seems to be forgetten in our society. What these men suffered through was every bit as terrifying as those on the battlefield, and those who suffered during the Holocaust. Tenney does their story justice, and shows us that these harrowing men deserve every bit of respect and admiration as any other serving in an American uniform.

The story of the Bataan survivors is at the same time unbelievable and infuriating. It blows my mind the cruelty these heros were subjected to on an hourly basis and at the same time I'm ashamed to say that part of me feels like Japan got off easy with two nukes dropped on them. That anybody lived at all is in itself no small feat.

The book itself is a great read. It was obviously written by a survivor, so consequently it has that 1st person feel that I like.

I would like to thank you for your great service! I got my products in great shape! I have friends who also own this wonderful product, and they have great comments about this book. The recipes are very authentic and true to what the Philippines would serve. It is great that the recipes are also translated where Filipino-Americans would be able to understand the English equivalent of certain ingredients. This book is also great for portraying the origins of most every Filipino dishes. All I can is...this book is very much worth to own! Buy it!

Simply one of the best books about Filipino cuisine out there. I love the concept of showcasing each region as well as the painstaking research that went into this.

The headnotes in each chapter provide so much color and context to the recipes that follow them. If you ask me, they outshine the recipes themselves.

As someone who grew up in the Philippines and now resides in the US, this 'cookbook' made me so nostalgic for the food that I grew up with, especially the ones I will never find here in the US.

This cookbook, like the restaurant that the authors own in NYC, is amazing. Not only is there beautiful narrative flowing from page to page, but some of the recipes of the best dishes that Cendrillon has to offer, like chicken adobo and black rice paella. My husband and I got married at this restaurant and bought each of our guests a copy of this book as a gift - everyone has raved about how marvelous it is! If you are interested in cooking, Asian cuisine, or Pinoy culture, this is a sure-fire hit!

I'm an Australian Filipino, born in the Phillipines but raised in Australia. Therefore, my knowledge in Filipino food is minimal & somewhat 'westernised'. This book has helped me relearn the essences of filipino cuisine. The authors have their own restaurant Cendrillion in New York, I have been admiring there work from their website [...] since I can't visit just yet.

This book includes many beautiful photographs, more than most cook books I've seen. There are small photos demonstrating the steps in the more complex recipes, photos of filipino food & culture - markets, typical filipino kitchens, methods of cooking, there is also many photographs & indepth stories of the authors family & ancestors through out the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Filipino way of cooking & living. Whether or not you are filipino, this book will certainly stay with you forever, and if your're like me - filipino born but raised elsewhere, everytime you pick this book up it will definately bring back 'memories'.

I bought two books from Amazon MEMORIES OF PHILIPPINE KITCHENS as gifts for my friends in the the Philippines. One day before my trip, your two books arrived with the top partially opened (only one piece of tape) and the Paper covers on both books totally wrinkled. Since I was leaving that evening, I just gave my friends the books without covers. I will think twice before using Amaon again. Book is excellent.

Roland Prijoles

This is a marvelous book and makes for fascinating reading. Gave me pause to reflect and wonder if I would have the strength to endure a similar hadrship. WWII was such a long time ago and it shaped the lives of so many people around the world. It is great that there are some really worthy movies available to educate the young people about sacrifices made by their grandparents (I should say great-grandparents) generation.

A child in remote Phillipines at the outbreak of the ware. The author leans heavily on her mother's diary for material.

When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in World War II most American soldiers and civilians surrendered. A few took to the hills and spent the war years as guerillas or simply hiding out from the Japanese. The author was an eight year old child during the war, the daughter of an American couple managing a gold mine on the island of Mindanao. They chose to live in the jungle and evade the Japanese. They didn't have any thrilling adventures, but the description of their day-to-day life is vivid and interesting.

The author doesn't pull any punches about her experiences. Neither of her parents are sympathetic people, nor are many of the other characters. She tells us of being sexually molested by an older boy. She gives us a picture of the stress the fugitives were under from the standpoint of a young girl.

One of the interesting aspects of the book was the almost-total separation of foreigner and Filipino before the war. The foreigners, mostly Americans, were unfamiliar even with Filipino food. Western men who married Filipino women were outcasts and the social and cultural separation of the cultures was almost complete. The automatic assumption by Americans and Europeans of the superiority of their cultures has broken down in part over the last half-century -- and that's a good thing.

As a true and true-to-life story of people uprooted by war, this is one of the best you will find.

Smallchief

I learned about this book from my high school alumni web page and read it mostly out of curiousity. A fascinating book, a coming-of-age tale of a young girl in wartime. I so appreciated the author's skillful melding of her childish observations and her retrospective adult understanding of this difficult period of her life. She unflinchingly, and often humorously, describes the colonial prejudices of her parents and other Americans in their small community, their condescension toward Filipinos and Filipino-American mestizos, the tensions arising from a basic incompatibility between her parents, their strained relations with other fugitives from the war, and even a sexual assault. What makes the book so special, beyond its extraordinary tale, is the author's mature and sensitive handling of the subject matter. She owns up to her own failings and seeks to understand and forgive those of others, without condoning bad behavior. As an expatriate child in the Philippines (more than 20 years ago), I too felt superior to and made fun of the locals and am now heartily ashamed of it. Just as it took age and distance to fully appreciate my family, I can now admit to my love for the Philippines and her peoples. Our situations were so different, nevertheless McKay's words resonated strongly for me and inspire me to seek to develop even a fraction of her graciousness.

I highly recommend this book.

Ms Maynard reaches a long way back into her memory to bring us this absorbing tale of a family forced to hide in the jungle on Mindanao when World War II broke out. The Japanese took over the Philippines, leaving nine-year old Mary McKay, her parents and a brother away at boarding school, stranded. With the American Pacific fleet sunk at Pearl Harbor, General McArthurýs advice that Americans were in no danger turned out to be very wrong. McArthur was a stockholder in Mindanao Mother Lode, a mining operation where the authorýs father worked. From a comfortable existence with servants to cook their meals and wash their clothes, this family had to flee to another inactive mining camp well into the interior of the island, where they were further from the Japanese soldiers now swarming over the coastal areas.

Other families in the same situation lived with them at Gomoco, a gold mining camp that consisted of a few rickety buildings with a little stream flowing by. That stream became a river as it flowed to the coast, but boats could not navigate through the shallow water near the camp. Maryýs father was in charge of the collection of people who came and went over a two year period, and he presided over numerous arguments, often over whether to use more of the canned food or (as Mr. McKay thought) to preserve it for the even tougher times that might come.

In the end, the family is rescued by an American submarine that took them aboard to share the tight quarters with sailors, dodging Japanese ships as they made their way to Darwin, Australia. Maryýs brother Bob spent the years in internment camps and was rescued from a prison in Manila when the Americans finally came and took back the Philippines. General McArthur kept his promise to come back.

The book includes snatches of Maryýs motherýs diary which she kept during the years of hiding. I suspect this was the main source of information from so long ago, although surely a girl who lived through so much peril and fear would not forget these events. But research and that diary must have supplied many of the details. Mary gives us interesting glimpses into the complicated relationship of her parents -- a father who could not understand his wifeýs need for comfort and reassurance, and a mother who begged her Filipino suppliers to find lipstick, believing that putting on a good face could hide her fears. The author also is willing to deal with the lopsided relationship between the Americans and the hard-working and loyal Filipinos, who did most of the work of keeping the foreigners fed and safe. That did not keep the Americans from feeling superior or making fun of the ýpigeon Englishý spoken by the natives. It took many more years of living for the author to see how insensitive and ungrateful were these actions.

I found the story pulled me in as I read, and I wanted to find out what new problems would appear and to learn how this family would finally found their way back home, whatever ýhomeý had come to mean to them. Once Mindanao ýfellý they had to decide whether to give themselves up (as the Japanese demanded of all Americans) or to continue to try to evade notice. Eventually enough servicemen and civilians who did not surrender themselves were able to put together an organized guerilla action to provide mutual support, harass the Japanese and keep in contact with American military forces fighting the war. That led to the submarine rescue and the end of the book, an interesting story from a time soon to be relegated to history books as memories fade completely and the story tellers are with us no more. This book is a rare opportunity to see the war from a new perspective, through the eyes of a child who experienced the disruption and terror of war up close and personal.

You see all the reviews having 5 stars out of 5 stars--I couldn't bring myself to agree. This book starts being really quite good--it drew me in--but then it started to dddddddrrrrrraaaaaaaaggggggggg. I put it down for a while and tried again (I did this 3 times) when I decided to give it up for good. I think it could have been better. :(

Louise Steinman has hit it out of the park with this wonderful, moving memoir about her father, Norman Steinman, his war experiences, and the way those experiences shaped his life--and his relationships with his family. It is also about Ms. Steinman's own odyssey in experiencing her father's war, through reading hundreds of her father's war-time letters discovered after her parents' deaths, talking to other Pacific War veterans, and visiting long-forgotten battlefields in the Philippines. Ms. Steinman eventually makes a special journey to Japan to visit the family of a long-dead Japanese soldier. It involves a simple errand: she needs to give something back...

Ms. Steinman shows that the scars of war run deep and the impacts are felt through succeeding generations. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

A page turner, I could hardly put it down. Moving and poignant. Through reading about "the war" of the author's father, I learned a lot about my own father and "his war". He too faught with the 25th Division at Balete Pass in 1945, earning a combat intantryman badge and purple heart. He has rarely spoke of his experience and after reading this book, I better understand why. The Souvenir is a must read for anyone whose father fought in "The Pacific War". Thank you Ms. Steinman, The Souvenir is truly a gift.

I have just finished reading Ms. Steinman's THE SOUVENIR, and through her skill and persuasion, her souvenir has now become "my" souvenir too. I find myself thinking about her journey as a daughter as well as the unspeakable journeys our fathers, brothers, and sons (now daughters too) have made in times of war.

Like so many in my generation, the author, like the rest of us, really had no clue as to what made her father tick. These men, and women, of the "Greatest Generation" were a different breed. I had to blink twice when the author described her father, his attitudes, work ethic, treatment of his family and on and on. She could have well been describing my own father.

The author, after her father's death, discovers a box of letters written to his wife (the author's mother) during the war. Her father fought in the Pacific, taking part in some of its most brutal of battles. Amongst the letters, in an envelope, was a Japanese Flag, a "souvenir flag" which her father had sent home. The flag was of the type carried by many Japanese soldiers, which was a sort of good luck piece. The story is basically Ms. Steinman's search for the family of the soldier whose body it was taken from and a story of Ms. Steinman's search for her father, i.e. who really was her father, and how had the war changed him?

Now I will be honest, there were parts of the book that disturbed me. I am not all that certain if the author ever did have a clue as to what made her father the man he was and how the war truly affected him. The author never actually says it, but after reading her description of her father, which gave us some idea of the kind of man he was, there is really no doubt where he got the flag, and how he got it. He did not seem the type of man who would simply pick up a flag off any old dead body and keep it. While this falls into the realm of speculation, I think it probably would have been better if the author had faced reality. Be that as it may, the author did quite a good job with her research and I certainly admire her objectives.

The book is well written, easy to read, and quite informative. Like another reviewer here, I have the feeling the author actually found out more about herself than she did of her father, and that is actually a very good thing. I do recommend this one highly. You certainly will be richer for having read it.

D. Blankenship

Have not read the book as yet but pleased with prompt delivery.

This book is both Gripping AND Complete. It may not be conventional in the way it is written, but it certainly carries you every step of the way. It will grip your soul and force you to see the depths of humanity. Both the good and bad. This is a must read for anyone who is even slightly contemplating reading it. My heart goes out to all servicemen and servicewomen past, present, and future. As well as thier families. Thank you for your sacrifices!

Author Donald Knox has taken personal narratives from over sixty survivors of the Bataan death march and combined them into this gripping story of the struggle to survive. On April 9, 1942, the penninsula of Bataan fell into Japanese hands. The surrendering Americans were then subjected to a ninety mile march without adequate food or water. Men were shot and bayonetted for sport by the Japanese. Once the Americans reached their prison camp, they were herded into a tiny area with only two water spigots. Hundreds of men died each day from dysentery, malaria, and starvation. Many healthy men were soon reduced to skeletons. Others simply refused to go on any further. Still others found that the only way they could survive was to find a friend to help them get through.

After two to three years of living in this nightmare, the American forces returned to liberate the Philippines. Fearing that the prisoners would be liberated by the returning Americans, the Japanese loaded the surviving POWs into "Hell Ships"; massively overcrowded freighters to be transferred to the Japanese home islands. Some of the men went mad, while others drowned when their ships were sunk by American submarines. Once in Japan, the men were forced to work long hours in Japanese factories and mines while still receiving little in the way of food or medical care. The conditions in the Japanese labor camps were as unimaginable as they were in the Philippines; little food and water and constant beatings by the Japanese guards.

I've read several oral history books about World War II, and this book is one of the best. Knox lets the survivors' stories create this book. I was in awe of the horrible conditions that these men were forced to survive under. It is a true testament to the human spirit that these men were able to overcome the merciless beatings and the extermely meager food and water rations they received to survive and return home. Anyone who questions why the Americans used the atomic bomb should read about the Bataan prisoners and what they were forced to endure. I highly recommend this fine piece of oral history. Read it and understand what some of the true heroes of World War II did for their country.

As a descendant of soldiers who were in the Philippine Scouts (they survived the March by escaping into the jungle), I found the first hand accounts of Americans who were there fascinating. It gave me a feeling of being there. It's a story about survival and the indomitable spirit of man.It's amazing what men will do to survive in stressful conditions and adversity. It separates the men from the boys, the strong from the weak.
I'm not accustomed to reading books in the first hand account style, but I found it more interesting to read the text as opposed to the typical factual style that a history book would have.
This a great read for you military history buffs out there! It's almost as good as sitting down with the vets and hearing them telling you their experiences.

I am a college student and I originally picked this book up to due research for a project of the Japanese atrocities of WWII. While I specifically picked up for the accounts on the Death March, I ended up reading it cover to cover. The more I read more it became useful for information on the Hell Ships and the conditions of the labor camps. It's a shame that while the stories of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany are told and retold the horrors in the Pacific Theater are barely talked about. The stories that the soldiers tell of struggle and hardship show the true heroism. I often find myself with them hoping them on. I completely recommend this book for anyway with any interest.

This IS A FANTASTIC BOOK. Not only as a autobiography, BUT AS A RECORD of HISTORY. Ed Ramsey tells the story of his experiences in the 26th Calvary in the Philippines during World War II. He was the man who lead the last Horse Calvary Charge against the Japanese. Ed tells his story in glorious detail. He shares his inner most thoughts and emotions. Teaching us how a young Lt. learned how to become the leader of an army of secret agents, jungle fighters and saboteurs. Something he had never come in contact with before. He made it up as he went. Some of his decisions had to be harsh if he was to survive. This book opens up to us a world which little was known about before, and because of that heros went unacknownledged and villians undespised. But we will not forget them now because of you Col. Ramsey. Thank you for what you did then and thank you for what you have written now. You are an American Hero in the true sense of the word.

Too self aggrandizing -- not objective and contradicts some of what other guerillas have written.

This book describes what barely can be described. The hardships, the fear, the exhaustion, the hunger, the brutality, the uncertainty of ones fate. It's all right here, and all are apt descriptions of the life of Lt. Ramsey from the fall of Bataan until the time in 1945 that Gen MacArthur returned to liberate the Phillipines.

Lt. Ramsey (who was promotoed to Lt. Colonel over the course of his service in the jungle) was a very important leader of the resistance. He personally exchanged a few messages over the radio with MacArthur himself, and it was years before Ramsey even knew that MacArthur was getting his messages, as he went without radio contact for the first two years of the war.

Many of Ramsey's fellow resistance leaders, some of them officers he served with, or under, prior to the war, were captured, tortured, and beheaded. Informants were everywhere, and every move was a risk. Yet Ramsey never sat still, and his years were spent traveling, at great risk, throughout the Phillipines and organizing the resistance. Many close calls with the Kempa-tei, the Japanese secret police, followed. Ramsey eventually became the most wanted man on the island, after many of his fellow leaders were captured. He eventually went on to command a force of 40,000 resistance fighters.

The leader of the Kempa-tei, General Baba, personally conducted many of the raids and had a picture of Ramsey on his desk. Many times Ramsey was only yards from Japanese troops.

Of course, when this all started, Ramsey had no clue how to wage guerrilla war. But he learned, through trial and error, and it is amazing that he even survived the war. If that isn't enough, this is a man who survived having his appendix removed in the jungle by a doctor who had no morphine to numb the pain!

This is the kind of stuff Hollywood needs to make movies about. Instead we are stuck with the same dumbed down, recycled nonsense that apparently someone finds entertaining. And sadly the exploits of this true American hero go largely unknown by the majority of this country. I'm glad I am no longer one of them.

Col. Ramsey, on foot in the junlges of the Philippines, with only the help of the kind Philippine people----puts war in human terms and visions I can relate to. People suffer with death, starvation, torn off body parts, and disease. Horrible. As a teacher I may use this book to tap into my student's 'schema,' or mental map, to help them visulize the realities of war as being the dreadful scarifice it is, rather that some sort of unreal view of war as a "star wars" game.

From 1960-64 I worked with Ramsay almost daily as a member of the US Embassy in Tokyo while he was VP for Hughes Aircraft in Tokyo. Hughes and two other US companies were bidding on a large joint US/Japan air weapons control project that Hughes in 1963 won. During this time he never once mentioned his guerrila activites during WW II except except a for small clue when he got for my wife and me a Visa during a visit by him to the PI Embassy to visit Clark after the PI govt had refused them through regular channels. During the visit to Clark I asked a number of citizens if they had heard of Ed Ramsay and with little exception they said he was a National Hero. After reading a summary of Lt Ramsay's War in the Readeer's Digest I obtained the un-abridged version and agree with the comments of others about his disclipine and dedication to his country he exhibited in setting up and operating a highly effective guerilla force in the Philippines at great risk to himself and those that worked with him. The book has now been republished and is well worth reading.
Bill Millis

"Dawn of a Thousand Nights" intrigued me about the WWII time period of our American history. This is a story about two pilots in Hawaii. Libby and Dan met in Hawaii before America was attacked. They fell in love and then Dan was sent out to the Philippines. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Libby joined the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, a civil service unit. The WAFS were used to ferry planes inside of the country. The Philippines was also attacked with thousands of troops being captured. Libby didn't hear from Dan but she never gave up hope on being with her beloved. Will their love survive Dan's captivity and their separation? Read "Dawn of a Thousand Nights" and you won't be disappointed. ~Shelly of Chadron MOPS

"Dawn of a Thousand Nights" is a touching story of new love and the war that threatens to tear that love appart. The main characters, both pilots, are separated by the war just as they decide to give their hearts to each other. The book follows the trials and truimphs of each person as they struggle to find their way back to each other and end up finding a part of themselves in the process. I found "Dawn..." a fantastic story of love, heartache, dedication and finding the way back to God.

This is a wonderful book. I couldn't put it down. The story woven in with the history was perfect. It couldn't have been better. I loved it so much I ordered a copy for my husband's grandfather who was in the pacific during WWII.

Tricia Goyer touches the heart of every reader who was in WWII or had a family member involved. I read this with my heart remembering my uncle who was a POW, and what he gave for each one of us to have the freedoms we enjoy today. This is a precious book that is exciting and breathtaking at the same time.

I've always been fascinated by stories about World War II, and this one is great. Libby Conners, pilot trainer and Don Luken, hotshot pursuit pilot, meet on a beach outside of Honolulu. Although it's June, 1941, and the U.S. is sending scores of pilots to Hawaii and the Phillippines, they are young and unafraid. They're in love and for them nothing can change. Then Don is transferred to the Phillipines, leaving Libby behind. On December 7, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and launched a similar attack on the Phillipines, and now nothing will ever be the same. This book is an honest, gripping portrayal of one of our country's darkest times. The research is accurate and incredible. The reader has a strong sense of place, whether in a plane, on a beach, or in a prison camp. You'll come away with a greater appreciation of the men and women in the military who risk their lives daily in the service of their country. I had never read anything by Tricia Goyer before, but I'm looking forward to the next one. She's an excellent writer.

I am in agreement with the other reviewers that this is a very good history of the US/Philippine War that should be more broadly read. Parallels with Vietnam and the present oily Iraqi War are eerie: attacks on the patriotism of war critics to silence them, support of the wide spread use of various tortures against the adversary including "The Chinese Water Treatment" (aka "Chinese Water Torture"--from which "Waterboarding" is only a variation), the excusing of massacres of civilians by American soldiers, etc. There truly is nothing new under the sun when it comes to these dirty little 3rd world wars. I'm reminded of the poet Robinson Jeffers' poem "Blood Lakes." So many blood lakes and we always fall in--with apologies to Jeffers' spirit if I've essentially misquoted him.

Perhaps we can overcome our national "Altzheimer's" on the issue of these 3rd world colonial/neo-colonial wars and stay out of them when the next opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, I would settle for our exit from the present Iraqi mess with all due and reasonable speed. America's moral force and image in the world is not improved by our involvement in such bloody horrors.

A very interesting story about the American armies attempt to end the Phillipine insurgency that broke out in the wake of the Spanish-American war. Originally allied with the Americans the Phillipinoes were angry that the U.S had promised indpedendence and from their point of view, reneged on the promise. An insurgency broke out and the American army used classic anti-insurgency methods to break it, including creating institutions and providing incentives for the people not to back it, as well as combatting it. Famous figures such as Roosevelt, Taft, Pershing and Macarthur's father were involved. This is an important part of American history that is often forgotten.

Seth J. Frantzman

This book reviews the politics and media surrounding the actions by the US in the Philippines following the Spanish-American war. It gives great insight into the propaganda used to sell the war to the American pubic and to obfuscate the atrocities that American soldiers committed there. Miller paints a fascinating picture of egocentric American political and military commands steeped in duplicity and self-delusion; these patterns will be interesting and familiar to any student of the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.

The material is sourced mainly from newspaper editorials, political speeches, congressional inquiries and the letters of politicians and high ranking military figures.
This book will not tell you anything about what the war was like for the soldiers on the ground, American or Philippino. It won't tell you much about tactics. It won't teach you anything about Philippine culture of the time, either.

This book is an excellent general history of the American invasion and conquest of The Philippines in 1898-1902. The author immersed himself in private letters, official hearings, and newspaper editorials from the era. The result of this research is a compelling picture of a sleazy and violent episode in American history, when Republican politicians launched a war to boost their prospects in the 1898 midterm elections. The book is timelier than ever after 9/11, since imperialism has come back into vogue in the guise of anti-terrorism -- anyone who has illusions about America's "innocence" today should read Miller's accounts of atrocities and racism circa 1900.

I gave the book four stars instead of five only because the narrative is based almost exclusively on U.S. sources. In particular, Miller's endless rehashing of imperialist and anti-imperialist newspaper editorials gets quite old at times.

This book was originally from 1982, written in a time of post-Vietnam regret. However, this book may have picked up on themes, very much in the U.S. press in the period of the Philippines war of a century ago, that are suddenly current in fall 2005: systematic use of torture by American forces (particularly the "water cure"); carelessness with the lives of civilians in the battle zones; denunciation of Americans with doubts about the war as unpatriotic or traitorous; the denial of normal legal due process to an enemy deemed too savage and inferior to be worthy of it; considerable confusion on the events where U.S. forces transpose one war (i.e., Spain 1898 or War on Terror 2001) into a new one (the Philippines in 1899 or Iraq today) more by act of U.S. will than enemy action. The author does stretch some comparisons between the Philippines war and Tonkin Gulf and My Lai, but given the events of Operation Iraqi Freedom the book seems eerily more relevant now.

Another reviewer has noted that Mr. Miller's research was almost entirely from U.S. sources. That does take it down from five stars but we should remember that this book, as with the Iraq war, is more about the U.S. mind-set than about the other side. Thus the book's tone is a bit as lurid as the press of that day but it is startling how the U.S. public read this news coverage year after year and then -- as Mr. Miller notes -- forgot. We might wind up putting Iraq out of mind as well, its veterans and victims as forgotten and neglected as those of 1902, a point Mr. Miller does us a favor by raising. Scary.

Sionil Jose is one of many favorite fiction writers. The book on the Rosales' family saga as impacted by the Spanish-American war, politics, military duty, the clash of religion, asian and european culture are masterfully told in this book and series. It is at once a bittersweet yet glorious story of the depravity of humanity and strength-of-will to also rise above sorrow and hardship. Since the Philippines (named after King Felipe--aka anglicized Philip--of Spain)was discovered by Europe by Magellan in 1521, the european influence was rooted in the east Asian country for nearly nearly 380 years then almost 60 years by the U.S. The Rosales series is a fascinating look into the impact of societal/political/military changes upon the common people as seen through these complex fictional characters.

In this work, F. Sionil Jose writes a kind of folk tale, describing the long history of what could be his family. Istak, the main character is clearly styled to be the hero of the story, undergoing a development from self-centered scholar, then father of a family and barrio to becoming a true Filipino patriot who is willing to give his life for the nation. During this development, Jose shows the suffering of the poor people, from various oppressors, but much more intense than Rizal did. Where Rizal mentions an injustice that happens, Jose shows ist in all details. And he also shows the heroism of the poor people, and he makes clear that it is the poor people that matters when it comes to building a nation that deserves this name.
A must for every reader who wantsto know more about history and psychology of the Philippines, or respectively, all ex-colonized people.

I just couldn't get interested in the subject of this book or any of the characters. Reading it was like swimming in molasses. Perhaps it was the foreign setting that turned me off. The language was unremarkable. Obviously, I did not find in this book what the other reviewers did.

Dusk is a book about many things. Mainly, Dusk is about walking fine lines, choices, and a country founded on disunity.

Dusk is foisted as the opening novel of the Rosales Saga. The saga is a celebration of a sense of resilience against all kinds of adversity - mostly external. F. Sionil Jose starts as well as ends the saga with Eustaquio. The story begins with Eustaquio's meeting with Dalin - the enigmatic visitor. From outside research I am led to believe that the Rosales Saga is a story of 4 generations of a Filipino family - an Ilocano family. The lives of these "little people" become intertwined with the pantheon of heroes - in this book Eustaquio meets Apolinario Mabini and Gregorio H. Del Pilar. That may not mean much to non-Filipinos, however, to a farmer from Po-on that would mean a great leap in status. Although Emilio Aguinaldo is often mentioned he is never really seen or heard from.

Eustaquio and his progeny are entangled in the tumultuous history of the Philippines. The Philippines is a country that has seen no respite from the horrors of colonial incursion. With the initial salvo by Ba-ac (Eustaquio's father) the brood of tenant farmers is compelled to leave the village of Cabugaw. Seeking refuge from the "guardia civil" a local gendarmerie organized under the auspices of the Spanish colonial with a contingent of local soldiers. Eustaquio and his ilk find solaces in a small town called Rosales - under the protection of a landowner called Jacinto. Jacinto reminds Eustaquio of a kindly priest who served as his Svengali - a Padre Jose. However, Eustaquio never really gets to reconcile the two. The group settles and works hard - somewhat romantizing the legendary Ilocano work ethic. The group has a chance at a new start. Inevitably, they are once again dragged in to the ravages of war.

Contrary to what the publisher and other critics have suggested - Dusk is no place near Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude." It could be argued that the Saga may be more akin to Victor Hugo's Les Miserables - where the main characters perform an criminal act but it is assumed with just intent and a hand forced. Jose is wonderful about the pastoral depictions of an innocent group of people just trying to get away from all the hustle and chaos of the colonial ear. As much as I too was attracted to the pastoral, well wishful thinking does not really breed results. I was drawn in by the personal nature of the descriptions - we even become intimately acquainted with Kimat - Eustaquio's horse (actually Jacinto's horse). Jose treats the subject with as much deft and sensitivity that a person with regional loyalties has.

Despite the call for a unified Philippines, the Tagalog hegemony is questioned (and this is a good thing). However, the constant references to the differences between the regions - about Ilocano discipline juxtaposed against "self-indulgent and lazy" (265) folks from Pangasinan. Well, yes, Jose becomes self reflective that this kind of generalizations are detrimental: "It is not right-attributing inborn faults and virtues to people" (265) - the problem is the stigma sticks. Best not to valorize nor vilify any group in particular, I argue. Although it is a problem with us Filipinos - we do this sort of petty stuff - we will never be able to "trust our own people, their judgment, if we are to build a nation." (289). Even Jose and I are on the same page on this one - by waxing sentimental (sometimes overly) about alleged Ilocano discipline - he effectively "outs" the rest. Mind you, I don't have the final say on this - you the reader will have to make up your own mind. No matter what, I highly recommend this read to anyone who wishes to get a grip on the Filipino angst.

Miguel Llora

What a wonderful book! As soon as I read the opening pages of the novel, I was hooked, couldn't put it down. I sometimes forgot I was turning pages. The vivid characters, the sceneries, the events, the history, Filipiniana..I was awestruck with to learn about my roots. Growing up in the US, I rarely had the chance to read about Philippine history. This book opened up so much for me. All my five senses were in use at almost every page. F. Sionil Jose can really weave a tale, a writer par exellance. I quickly bought the sequels to this opening "Rosales" saga and am looking forward to reading them. I am sure they are just as captivating. Maraming salamat po (thank you very much) to Mr. Jose and to the publishers.