Reading About the Philippines

I am happy to get back to the topic of "Reading About the Philippines" (nonfiction and non-military) now that Philippine Independence Day (June 12) is past and the Goodreads book giveaway (ten copies of Sundays in Manila for which there were 1010 requests) has ended and the books are en route.  I have come across two books recently that could be of some interest.

Home Bound, by Yen Le Espiritu (2003) is about the immigration of Filipinos to the U.S.  Just from reading the few chapters available on line, I learned quite a bit of new and interesting information.  For examplde, since 1986, Filipinos have been second only to Mexicans in the numbers of immigrants coming to the U.S.  What happened in 1986?  The U.S. lifted many of its limiting restrictions on Filipino immigration becaue of the need for doctors and nurses in the U.S. and the supply of well-trained medical personnel, English-speaking of course, from the Philippines.  I have put this book on my 'to-read' list. 

Another discovery is History of the Filipino People by Teodoro A. Agoncillo (1960).  I am indebted to a Filipino student who recdently signed up on Goodreads to read Sundays in Manila.  She had given five stars to this book, as had several of her friends.  Even though it was a required text for a course, she and her friends commented on how readable it is and how muich it focuses on Filipino culture and society.  Unfortunately its availability is limited in the U.S.  Amazon lists just two booksellers, where it is fairly expensive (around $32).  The other caution comes from a Goodreads review.  It states that the author is one of the three or four most important Filipino historians after World War II, but it also says that he does not use original (primary) sources enough.

Anyone else have a contribution?  Please click on 'No Comments' to comment.  Thank you.