Sundays in Manila

"Bob Boyer offers affectionate-often intimate-portraits of Filipino life and culture, formed over many visits to a country that many, if not most, Americans know only in the broadest terms: as a staunch ally in the Pacific and its other wars, as the rack of Imelda's shoes, and as the home of Manny Pacquiao.  Bob sharpens that picture with factual detail.  Whether he's riding a jeepney, sipping iced tea at the Chocolate Kiss, exploring the mysteries of Quiapo, or marching up Bataan and Corregidor, Dr. Boyer invariably delights and inevitably instructs; sometimes-like all good teachers do, but ever so gently-Bob disturbs and critiques us with his observations.  It's hard to imagine how a visitor from the snowbound American Midwest could connect so well with sun-baked Pinoys, but Bob Boyer did-and does again, through this eminently enjoyable book." --Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., PhD, Professor, University of the Philippines Diliman.  "I have not met Prof. Boyer.  Yet, I feel that I know him quite well.  His style of writing for Sundays in Manila is not only easy to read, it is also personal.  During my four decades of travel to the Philippines I walked many of the paths Prof. Boyer writes about.  The scenes are described so vividly and with such clarity that I feel I am at his side.  The book also served as a learning experience for me.  While I visited many of the same sites, the book describes them in so much additional detail that I now know the sites better.  The Philippines is blessed by a number of historic sites as well as those associated with the American period and World War II.  Professor Boyer serves both as a personal historian and a guide as he brings historic events to life.  The book serves as an excellent reference for persons interested in Philippine history as well as for those who plan to visit the country." --John A. Ballweg PhD, Professor Emeritus, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Read more