Waltzing with a Dictator

Well done and includes information not found in publications authored and printed in the Philippines.

I first read it when I was about to enter college. One of the first serious book I’ve read about the Marcos regime. Very informative and it corroborated most of the stories I heard from my grandparents and parents, but the eye opener was what Marcos did to the National Mentality and Behavior of the Filipino people that until now, we go from worse to worst as time goes by. For each step forward, we followed it by about six steps backward. Not sure if our nation still is capable of reaching even half or a quarter of our potential, thats how bad we’ve become, and thanks to our corrupt political dynasties that until now are adored and admired by the willing victims.

Okay, since the end of the Cold War nobody's terribly interesting in reading accounts of America cozing up to reprehensible slimeball dictators like Ferdinand Marcos anymore, right? Too bad, since Raymond Bonner's account of American involvement in the Phillippines is one of the best examples of the genre. Bonner follows Uncle Sam's footprints on the archipelago from the granting of independence after World War II until the inglorious fall of Ferdinand and his revolting wife Imelda. Bonner raises the legitimate question as to if such support was necessary for American security. Such questions may be moot now, but they still make for fascinating reading.

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