The Contested State is the best kind of history book: lucidly written, reads like a thriller, full of surprising (and shocking) revelations about a little-known side of American foreign policy. A real page-turner.
James Burke, author of The Day the Universe Changed A comprehensive historical survey of the Filipinos' struggle to obtain and assert their independence amidst external pressures ... Read morefrom Spain and later from the United States.
Pilipinas
Amy Blitz has done a masterful job of reconstructing nearly a century of struggle by Filipinos to gain independence and build democratic political institutions. Placing its narrative in the historical context of Spanish and American colonial rule, The Contested State presents a gripping and well-documented account of U.S. policy-making during the Reagan administration as officials and congressmen sought to encourage the 'people power' revolution of Cory Aquino that finally consolidated democracy. This is a readable work for both policy makers and academics who would understand the dramatic striving for self-rule of America's only colony.
Richard H. Solomon, former U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines and president of the United States Institute of Peace Show Less