America's Boy: A Century of United States Colonialism in the Philippines [Hardcover]

James Hamilton-Paterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1999

A narrative history of the U.S.-supported dictatorship that came to define the Philippines.

Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos presented themselves as the reincarnation of a primal couple from Filipino mythology. Ferdinand reinvented himself as a matchless fighter against the Japanese, and Time magazine hailed him as a hero. He was the strongman, the dictator, welcomed at the White House by Lyndon B. Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and the C.I.A..-America's Boy. For twenty-one years he and Imelda dominated the Philippines. In the , a "democratic revolution" replaced them with Corazon Aquino, who, in turn, was followed by Fidel Ramos, Imelda's cousin. Nothing changed: the world applauded, the shadow play went on.

James Hamilton-Paterson has gathered astonishing information from senators, cronies, rivals, and Marcos family members, including Imelda. Covering the entire one-hundred-year history of U. S. involvement in the Philippines, he offers a devastating vision of the price Filipinos paid for dictatorship. Perhaps no other couple is as emblematic of American Imperialism as the Marcoses; America's Boy is their story. Passionate, deeply researched, and haunting, it is "a riveting read" (The Guardian [London]) by one of the language's best stylists.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

James Hamilton-Paterson shares a dirty little secret with the world: "Many ordinary Filipinos missed the Marcoses (although few would admit it to foreigners)." He is referring, of course, to the Philippines' "famously exotic ruling couple" of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. For years, says Hamilton-Paterson, the Philippines were simply ignored in the West, and when the island nation wasn't ignored it was poorly understood. As the only officially Christian state in Asia, it never seemed a part of Asian politics. Following the 1983 assassination of Benigno Aquino, however, the world started to pay attention to the Philippines. What followed was "a Manichean casting of the Marcoses as an evil needing to be purged from the country by the forces of good, as represented by Aquino's widow Cory and her Church-backed followers." Most journalists bought into this "simplistic polarization," and the result was a distorted view of the Philippines. In this surprisingly absorbing book, the author aims to provide a more nuanced portrait of the country he has lived in for much of the last 20 years. He is no apologist for Marcos, but he has a deep sympathy for ordinary Filipinos. The result is a fascinating mix of personalities and politics in a land few Westerners even begin to understand. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Having lived in the Philippines for 18 years, Hamilton-Paterson has acquired a sophisticated understanding of Philippine history and culture. He witnessed the zenith and then the downfall of the Marcos regime. Yet he has observed a persistent nostalgia for the Marcos years among Filipinos. This book, his explanation of these historical crosscurrents, is exceptional for the grace of its writing and for the range and nuance of the author's judgment. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos emerge not simply as the caricature despots of the popular press but as products of a culture that for centuries had functioned through strong tribal personalities who wielded power and dispensed favors. Imelda's bravura shopping expeditions and Ferdinand's crony capitalism become more understandable, if not justifiable, in this cultural context. As a novelist (Griefwork, etc.), Hamilton-Paterson has a keen eye for the absurd (such as Ferdinand's compulsive falsification of his war record) and for the cynical (such as U.S. complicity in the fraud). He also makes clear that not just Filipino culture but also U.S. Cold War geopolitics were responsible for the Marcoses' long-lived kleptocracy (which is perhaps the best example of Jean Kirkpatrick's famous distinction between authoritarian regimes, which could be supported if they stood firm against communism, and totalitarian regimes). Every page displays Hamilton-Paterson's mastery of his material, and this book will be required reading for anyone interested in the enduring impact of U.S. policy in the Philippines. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (September 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805061185
• ISBN-13: 978-0805061185
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #977,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must!, March 5, 2000

By 

John G. Fischeer (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Boy: A Century of United States Colonialism in the Philippines (Hardcover)

Generally, books offering an insight to Filipino culture are difficult to come by. This book mixes history and sociology, and, indeed, a bit of comedy and brings it all together. Lots of little stories and anecdotes which help one understand how a corrupt, virtual royal couple ammassed perhaps one of the world's largest fortunes, with the backing of successive American governments. Filled with dark humor and even a bit of sarcasm, this book would actually be humorous if it wasn't based on the story of one of the 20th Century's true tragedies. This is the story of how a rich, fantastically varied and beautiful tropical country, a country populated by a good but largely simple and powerless populace, was plundered by it's ruling family--with Washington's aid--while the world barely took notice.

Read it!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supeb study of Marcoses in context of their unique country, June 12, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (SE Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Boy: A Century of United States Colonialism in the Philippines (Hardcover)

For the first time Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos and Philippine-American relations are examined with accuracy and skill by an author who understands their country as few outsiders ever can, combining insights of a poet who knows both people of a remote fishing village and Manila intellectuals. This is not an anti-US diatribe by a jealous Briton but as accurate a picture of how Filipinos really are as opposed to the impressions they create as I have read in a lifetime of interest in the archipelago. Marcos, while looting the nation on a grand scale, established the first real rapport with country people of any of its rulers. The title is misleading: far from being a puppet, Marcos often used Washington. The author believes Imelda "was the logical culmination of centuries of inspired subversion" against repression by foreigners and fellow countrymen. He deftly demolishes myths like Marcos' wartime heroism and General Yamashita's treasure hoard. He succinctly describes the antecedents and continuation of Philippine history after Marcos was forced into exile. Maps of East Asia, the Philippines and Metro Manila identify places cited in the text, which is well documented and superbly written.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author wins 1999 Philippine National Book Award, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: America's Boy: A Century of United States Colonialism in the Philippines (Hardcover)

Hamilton-Paterson's AMERICA'S BOY won the 1999 Philippine National Book Award in the social sciences on Sept. 12 from the Manila Critics Circle during the annual Philippine Bookfair.