The Centennial Countdown

by Ambeth R. Ocampo

"I don't know that Ambeth's stories are the best example of it, but I should think that the concept of storytelling itself as an approach to history is a vastly important one. It's a mistake to think that anything that is not written in the turgid, analytical style of dissertations, or does not argue aggressively for an interpretation, is not important or does not strike the core of life. If anything, I would argue the opposite. Stories are more important thatn analyses. Or so for the historical demands of our time and place. Stories inspire, stories light fires. And they do offer concepts and interpretations, without violently yanking the heads of people and saying 'Look, this is the way it happened!'"

"No stories, no history. Without Ambeth's stories, we might as well be, well, history."

There's the Rub
Philippines Daily Inquirer April 21, 1998
Conrado de Quiros

Genres: History, Essays

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Lamberto R. Ocampo better known as Ambeth R. Ocampo (b. 1961) is Filipino historian, academic, journalist, cultural administrator and author best known for his writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal, and for his bi-weekly editorial page column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Looking Back." He became the Chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2002 until 2010, and was appointed as Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2005 until 2007.

Reviews

[Michael Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book to help mark the centennial of Philippine independence in 1998. It is fascinating to read of the events related to the event and of the lives of notable figures and common people in those times, like the actual reading of the Declaration of Independence and the activites of the Malolos Congress, the First Philippine Republic.