Synopses & Reviews
U.S. intervention in the Philippines began with the little-known 1899 Philippine-American War. Using the war as its departure point in analyzing U.S.-Philippine relations,
Vestiges of War retrieves this willfully forgotten event and places it where it properly belongs—as the catalyst that led to increasing U.S. interventionism and expansionism in the Asia Pacific region. This seminal, multidisciplinary anthology examines the official American nationalist story of "benevolent assimilation" and fraternal tutelage in its half century of colonial occupation of the Philippines.
Integrating critical and visual art essays, archival and contemporary photographs, dramatic plays, and poetry to address the complex Philippine and U.S. perspectives and experiences, the essayists compellingly recount the consequences of American colonialism in the Philippines. Vestiges of War will force readers to reshape their views on what has been a deliberately obscure but significant phase in the histories of both countries, one which continues to haunt the present.
Contributors include: Genara Banzon, Santiago Bose, Ben Cabrera, Renato Constantino, Doreen Fernandez, Eric Gamalinda, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Jessica Hagedorn, Reynaldo Ileto, Yong Soon Min, Manuel Ocampo, Paul Pfeiffer, Christina Quisumbing, Vicente Rafael, Daniel Boone Schirmer, Kidlat Tahimik, Mark Twain, and Jim Zwick.
Review
"An extraordinary collection of literary, artistic, and historical work which fills the huge gap in what Americans know about their nation's relationship to the Philippines, in war and peace."-Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States
Review
"It is the rich variety of sources, the many ways of expressing the dilemma and duality of the "special relationship," that is the strength in this volume."-H-Net,
Review
"Through forceful poems, archival phots, art, visual essays, plays and memoirs, three dozen contributors. . .weigh in against the glossed over or repressed history of the war and its aftermath in the Philippines. . . . If more textbooks were written like this, there might be fewer wars." -The Japan Times,
Review
"An extraordinary collection of literary, artistic, and historical work which fills the huge gap in what Americans know about their nation's relationship to the Philippines, in war and peace."
"[An] undercurrent of urgency is still true today and it runs through the pages of this anthology, brilliantly organized by Shaw and Francia. It is truly an anthology that "breathes." And I too hope that Vestiges of War will inspire others to engage in similar projects and expand on what the editors have initiated."
"Through forceful poems, archival phots, art, visual essays, plays and memoirs, three dozen contributors. . .weigh in against the glossed over or repressed history of the war and its aftermath in the Philippines. . . . If more textbooks were written like this, there might be fewer wars."
"It is the rich variety of sources, the many ways of expressing the dilemma and duality of the "special relationship," that is the strength in this volume."
"The collection illuminates Filipinos' long and complicated relationship with the United States through the successive tragedies of paleo-, neo-, and postcolonialism."
Review
"[An] undercurrent of urgency is still true today and it runs through the pages of this anthology, brilliantly organized by Shaw and Francia. It is truly an anthology that "breathes." And I too hope that Vestiges of War will inspire others to engage in similar projects and expand on what the editors have initiated."-American Studies International,
Review
"The collection illuminates Filipinos' long and complicated relationship with the United States through the successive tragedies of paleo-, neo-, and postcolonialism."-The Journal of American History ,
Review
“The books line up on my shelf like bright Bodhisattvas ready to take tough questions or keep quiet company. They stake out a vast territory, with works from two millennia in multiple genres: aphorism, lyric, epic, theater, and romance.”
-Willis G. Regier,The Chronicle Review
Review
“No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers: the paper is of high quality, the typesetting immaculate. The founders of the series are John and Jennifer Clay, and Sanskritists can only thank them for an initiative intended to make the classics of an ancient Indian language accessible to a modern international audience.”
-The Times Higher Education Supplement,
Review
“The Clay Sanskrit Library represents one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot. . . . Anyone who loves the look and feel and heft of books will delight in these elegant little volumes.”
-New Criterion,
Review
“Published in the geek-chic format.”
-BookForum,
Review
“Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs.”
-Tricycle,
Synopsis
A Compelling Account Of The Consequences Of American Colonialism In The Philippines Through Critical And Visual Art Essays
Synopsis
The Book of Viráta details the Pándavas 13th year in exile, when they live disguised in King Viráta's court. They suffer the humiliation of becoming servants; a topic explored both through comedy and pathos. Having maintained their disguise until the very end of the year, then their troubles really begin. Bhima is forced to come to Dráupadi's rescue when King Viráta's general, Kíchaka, sets his sights on her. Duryódhana and the Tri·gartas decide to invade the defeated Viráta's kingdom, unaware the Pándavas are hidden there. In the ensuing battles the Pándavas play a crucial role, save Viráta and reveal their true identities. The book ends in celebration, with the Pándavas ready to return from exile and reclaim their kingdom. However, the battles in “Viráta” foreshadow the war to come, proving it will not be easy.
Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation
For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
About the Author
Angel Velasco Shaw is a film and video maker and teaches in the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program at New York University.
Luis H. Francia's many books include Flippin': Filipinos on America, Eye of the Fish and Brown River, White Ocean.