America's Boy: A Century of Colonialism in the Philippines

by James Hamilton-Paterson

A narrative history of the USA-supported dictatorship that came to define the Philippines. Ferdinand & Imelda Marcos presented themselves as the reincarnation of a primal couple from Filipino mythology. Ferdinand reinvented himself as a matchless fighter against the Japanese. Time magazine hailed him as a hero. He was the strongman, the dictator, welcomed at the White House by Lyndon B. Johnson, Nixon, Reagan & the CIA--America's Boy. For 21 years he & Imelda dominated the Philippines. A "democratic revolution" replaced them with Corazon Aquino, who, in turn, was followed by Fidel Ramos, Imelda's cousin. Nothing changed: the world applauded, the shadow play went on. James Hamilton-Paterson has gathered astonishing information from senators, cronies, rivals & Marcos family members, including Imelda. Covering the entire 100-year history of US involvement in the Philippines, he offers a devastating vision of the price Filipinos paid for dictatorship. Perhaps no other couple is as emblematic of American imperialism as the Marcoses; America's Boy is their story. Passionate, deeply researched & haunting, it is "a riveting read" (The Guardian London) by one of the language's best stylists.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Biography

490 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

James Hamilton-Paterson is a British poet, novelist, and one of the most private literary figures of his generation. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford, he began his career as a journalist before emerging as a novelist with a distinctive lyrical style. He gained early recognition for Gerontius, a Whitbread Award-winning novel, and went on to write Ghosts of Manila and America’s Boy, incisive works reflecting his deep engagement with the Philippines. His interests range widely, from history and science to aviation, as seen in Seven-Tenths and Empire of the Clouds. He also received praise for his darkly comic Gerald Samper trilogy. Hamilton-Paterson divides his time between Austria, Italy, and the Philippines and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023.

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are old enough to have sported a 'Solidarność' badge and watched communism implode in Poland by 1989 then the its predecessor, the 1986 'People Power Revolution' in Manila, with tanks halted by nuns and civilians and electoral officials refusing to rubber stamp electoral fraud, will be as memorable because they were of an era, if you were young, if not quite 'The Bliss' Wordsworth felt on the outbreak of the French Revolution it was a time when the sclerotic dinosaurs were falling everywhere and a new world post West post East might be about to be born.

Of course half a century later it is apparent that no new world, at least as we thought of it, was in the process of being born rather it was old world rebuilding itself free of concepts like good or bad, east or west, red or white.

But what is all that to do with a biography of not simply Marcos but of his wife Imelda but of the Philippines post its time as a colonial of Spain? Well everything because for a very long time Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were inescapable on the nightly news attacking the Beatles to partying with George Hamilton (who he you ask? use google it would take too long to explain) and, most importantly, as America's staunchest Pacific ally. Didn't Marcos wear the American Congressional medal of honour, the highest honour that country could bestow? That Ferdinand was a dictator and his wife even worse (look up the Manila Cultural Centre disaster) was also known. They were grotesques, but they emerged from America's complicated and mendacious involvement in the Philippines. How many Americans know that Mark Twain at the end of his life was denouncing American atrocities in the Phillippines or that when Japan attacked the USA in WWII it was America's colonies they bombed?

Mr. Hamilton-Paterson sees Marcos as America's tool, how could it be otherwise when president after president turned a blind eye to his totally bogus claim to that Medal of Honour? How could Marcos not feel invulnerable with that level of support. Of course the relationship symbiotic rather than crassly directional dictatorship of the more powerful over the weaker. All of America's relationships with its clients, Samosa, Trujillo, Papa Doc, etc., were similar but Marcos is the exemplar because of its deep colonial penetration of Phillippine elites and culture.

So this is essential reading to understand a once vital American outpost and of events and people that, if only briefly, seemed to offer hope of change for the better in an ugly world. None of us ever imagined that the son of Ferdinand and Imelda, the ridiculously named Bongbong, would become president of the Phillippines was unimaginable.

The Phillippines may have no place in most readers mental or emotional makeup but that doesn't mean this is a book you should ignore. First there is a great deal of recent history that should be known and which is forgotten at our peril. But mostly because James Hamilton-Paterson is one of the English languages last professional writers and a man who has written uniquely intelligent fictions in books like 'Loving Monsters' and 'Ghosts of Manilla' that are better then non fiction for revealling truths.

This is a must read.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Hamilton-Paterson, a long-time British resident of the Philippines, presents biographies of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos nested within a 'biography' of the nation from Spanish colonization until the time of publication. Contrasting with the world-historical he offers occasional forays into the lifeways of a representative Philippino village, reminding the reader that most citizens do not live in Manilla and have little materially in common with their 'betters' in this third-world client of the United States.

Personally, I'd only once before read a book about the country, and that in terms of its wars of independence from Spain and the U.S.A. Otherwise I've mostly read about it in the context of World War Two or heard about it from family, friends and acquaintances. Still, despite my ignorance, I was able to follow the well-written and often quite entertaining text with understanding.

Like most books I like, this one exploded a lot of what I thought I knew about the Marcos family and the revolution and the governments which followed them.

[Donmakles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Donald Trump coined the term: "Make America Great Again!", Ferdinand Marcos had already used that term on his first inauguration as president: "This nation can be great again!"

This book is a biography of one of the longest serving leaders in the Asian region - Ferdinand Marcos. To some a national hero, a great leader, and the greatest president in the Philippine history but to others, he was a thief, a mass killer, a dictator. Marcos was more than just a President, more than just a Dictator, he was America's Boy! Only three other Filipino presidents that can claim such distinction: Manuel Quezon, Ramon Magsaysay, and West Point graduate Fidel Ramos.

The Marcoses like to emulate the Camelot legend of the Kennedys and had prided themselves as "mythological" Filipino characters that were reincarnated to save the Filipino people (Maharlika legend). The Marcos fantasies or legends did not start nor stop there: From the Yamashita Treasure to the United States Congressional Medal of Honor that fooled even the President of the United States.

Anyway, this book is more than just the history of Ferdinand Marcos, more than just the history of the Marcoses and the Aquinos, this book is also a History of the Philippines.

[David Prichard · Rating 4 out of 5]

One doesn't have to agree with James Hamilton Paterson's thesis that Ferdinand Marcos was, ultimately, a hapless stooge of the Americans (I, for one, am yet to learn enough to form a strong opinion) to enjoy this rich account of several decades of Philippines social and political history. Paterson writes from the novel perspective of a highly erudite foreigner who has lived for over thirty years in the Philippines, with deep emersion everywhere from remote backwater villages to the elite circles of Metro Manila. Much of what he writes about the Filipino character rings true with my own much shorter exposure, myself having lived here for 18 months. All the same, his opinions are bound to be controversial locally and I look forward to debating them with my Filipino friends, as well as digesting alternative accounts written by Filipinos themselves. Full of outrageous characters, witty and never dull or doctrinaire, I found this to be brilliant introduction to a riveting place and period in time, and the larger-than-life couple at the centre.

[Bart Thanhauser · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book presents a unique perspective: a defense of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos' two decades of power in the Philippines. The fact that it comes from a Westerner, and someone seemingly politically left-of-center at that (rather than a defender of right wing authoritarianism) makes it all the more striking (and puzzling). Hamilton-Paterson seems to have a good understanding of the Philippines too, having lived in a rural province there for 17 years, and sprinkling Tagalog and Philippine poetry throughout the text. (Though, it wouldn't take a detective to tell that it's an old white guy writing -- for all his cultural sensitivity, the way he talks about race and culture sometimes can seem condescending, if not worse. One need look no further than this book's title.)

Hamilton-Paterson's thesis seems to be that Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos got a bad rap. H-P argues that their perceived shortcomings (corruption, greed, authoritarianism) are either overblown or inherent parts of the political culture in the Philippines that deserve nuanced understanding rather than condemnation.

H-P tries to provide that nuance. He argues that Ferdinand's decision to not order the troops to fire on the People Power Movement was "heroic" and generally depicts him as smart and idealistic (wanting to take on entrenched Manila elites), but ultimately too trusting of cronies and not cynical enough to do anything meaningful with the power he amassed. He is even more defensive of Imelda, pointing to her relatively impoverished childhood, sleeping on a garage floor. And emphasizing that her excesses (her infamous shoe collection) were meant to turn Western moralism on its head and present a picture of proud, glamorous wealth to Filipinos. When faced with any undeniable proof of bad behavior, H-P falls back on sort of cynical platitudes -- all politicians (including presidents before and after Marcos) are corrupt and authoritarian. What's more, he argues, Western critiques of Ferdinand and Imelda are cartoonishly unfair. Five American presidents and a complicit media were happy to stand by and tacitly, if not overtly, support the Marcos for two decades, only to then turn their backs on them in the end.

I didn't find Hamilton-Paterson's argument convincing. I thought there was some truth to some of what he said--Western portrayals of foreign countries the world over almost always lack nuance. But H-P is a historian's nightmare. He makes big claims on Philippine domestic politics and American foreign policy with little proof. He's much more comfortable rehashing political rumors or gossipy stories than he is building convincing arguments. As someone who doesn't know much about the history of the Philippines too, I just wanted a more generic historical account of Philippines history rather than this. Still, this book is unique. And maybe more importantly, with Bong Bong Marcos currently leading in most presidential polls and elections a month and a half away, it's timely. This wasn't what I wanted to read. But I don't think I'll come across too many books like this, and I suppose there's some value in that.

[Alain Yap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paints political history as vaudeville of US imperialist machinations made possible by inherent Filipino talent of adapting to temporary regimes coloured by unique 'self-defeating' culture. (Distraught that it will be the same near-future as well.)

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book when it first came out, because at the time I was avidly pursuing James Hamilton-Patterson books. Then, I considered him once of the foremost writers of non-fiction of the time. Later in his career, he has taken to writing satire, much of it set in Italy. Patterson was known for living on a remote island in the Philippines, or in a "cave" in Italy. Something I'm capable of doing. This book covers the conjoined history of the United States with the Philippines and focuses a great deal on the seemingly now forgotten Marcos'--Ferdinand and Imelda. I own the book and am just getting around to entering old things on GoodReads, as I can. I first read the book in 1998.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dense history of the Philippines via the Marcos couple with focus on their relations with foreign governments. Philippines history is often a shock to US readers who are usually uninformed of the substantial US role in it. I particularly appreciated that this account gave a seemingly unbiased, or at least balanced, account of the Marcoses, allowing for sympathy at times, while also detailing their corruption and idiosyncrasies, but without portraying them as the caricatures they often seem to be.

[Chris Wilby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Factual story of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos