In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines
by Stanley Karnow
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stanley KarnowEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1990-03-03
ISBN: 0345328167
Number of pages: 536
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780345328168
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines
Book Review: US Engagement in the Philippines
Summary: 5 Stars
Stanley Karnow has written an engaging and exhaustive narrative of U.S. engagement in the Philippines. Karnow ends where he starts, with Cory Aquino. Cory spoke to a joint session of Congress with an entreaty for desperately needed aid and foreign investment. Karnow then deftly gives us a synopsis of incidents culminating in to Cory Aquino's appearance in Washington. Karnow later delves into the martyrdom of Ninoy Aquino. He describes the licentious reign of the Marcoses. Karnow explains Marcos' loss in the presidential election to Ninoy's widow Cory Aquino. Karnow also delves into the Marcoses' eventual exile to Hawaii and Reagan's vacillation regarding the removal. Finally, Karnow sensitively explores President Aquino's eroding popularity and its impact on the Philippines. Karnow articulates the long history of the Philippines, of which he writes that it was, "Three centuries in a Catholic convent and fifty years in Hollywood." Karnow writes at the conclusion of this first chapter: "Few countries ... have been more heavily shackled by the past than the Philippines" (Karnow 3-25).
I will not deny Karnow's place as a great writer and his amazing insight into the Philippine situation. However, as much as he is an insider, he has to temper his writing that is heavily influenced by his personal friendship and sentiment for the Aquinos. To Karnow's credit, the project is vast. The scope of the book starts from Ferdinand Magellan's accidental arrival in the Philippines in 1521 and ends in Aquino's appeal to the US Congress in 1986. Karnow's rendition of the history of the Philippines is both resplendent and sensational. Karnow appropriately provides a cast of pivotal characters at the end of the book. The motley crew of notables includes such diverse personalities as William McKinley, Emilio Aguinaldo, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Edward Lansdale and Ramon Magsaysay. Also included are notables like Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmena, Sr., Carlos P. Romulo and Douglas MacArthur -- the self-created redeemer of the Philippines. Karnow posits that the egregious corruption and uncontrolled plunder that bewilder the Philippines can only be grasped within its unique historical context. Karnow takes great pains to elucidate this points by continually going back to the extensive archive of historical links to the US. In the end, he will write, "Yet the critics who derided her (Cory Aquino) for relying on America for salvation had either forgotten or deliberately ignored reality. If only to serve its own interests, America had repeatedly rescued the Philippines -- just as, out of gratitude for relatively benign tutelage, Filipinos had sacrificed themselves for the US. So both Americans and Filipinos implicitly understood that, however, lopsided, thorny and at times frustrating their `special relationship" might be, it reflected a century of shared experience."
Karnow writes that owing to the fact that the US has consistently supported the oligarchy as the fount for political leaders, the status quo was reinforced. Owing to this, reforms that were promised during election campaigns were never instituted. Karnow contends that the US placed its stamp of approval on the corruption the plagues the Philippines. Corruption in the Philippines, according to Karnow, can be traced all the way back to Spanish rule in the islands. Thus, the anomaly of Ferdinand Marcos" reign is his perseverance, not his rapacity. Peter Tarr outlined in the National that, "This is a peculiar and misleading book... Karnow is one of America's sentimental imperialists. He laments the errors of those who intervened, but not the act of intervention itself. Rather than criticize or condemn American colonialists, he emphasizes that they intended to help... [Karnow] is well placed to dispel some of the myths that have been passed down over the years. Rather than demystify, he has given new life to some of the most pernicious of these... Karnow's claim of ethical neutrality is preposterous; In Our Image is full of ethical judgment, and in the main they indicate the author's inclination to explain away the American colonial impulse."
Karnow is far from neutral -- the almost romantic notions he has of the Aquinos -- particularly Cory, cloud him. However, he does redeem himself when he takes step back to try to be objective about her administration. In the end, Karnow's history is an elucidation rather than a prescription. Karnow argues that the Philippines has many "issues" to which there are no easy answers, no shortcuts. I concur with Karnow on this point and add that perhaps a re-evaluation of our values may shed some light into this almost chronic situation. Karnow's Pulitzer Prize is well deserved as he has accomplished what few writers have been able to do, he has simplified (without essentializing) a complex history. Karnow's use of a mix personal reflection as well as historical record, he has made "In Our Image" is both engrossing and educational. A must read for novice historians like myself. For those interested in the special topics of Asian studies -- this is a must-have and must be widely discussed.
Summary of In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines
/Stanley Karnow Karnow goes back 500 years to paint a fascinating portrait of Philippine history, ultimately focusing on the U.S.'s imperial experience in the islands. Here is the truth about America's attempt to remake the Philippines "in our image"--complete with American political, educational, and cultural institutions. "Authority and great insight."--Time. 16 pages of photographs.United States Books
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