Delusions of a Dictator: The Mind of Marcos As Revealed in His Secret Diaries (Inscribed)

Rempel, William C.

ISBN 10: 0316740152 / ISBN 13: 9780316740159

Published by Little Brown & Co, Boston, 1993

About this Item

The book is inscribed and dated in pen on the William Rempel on the first page. Seller Inventory # 080205

Bibliographic Details

Title: Delusions of a Dictator: The Mind of Marcos ...

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, Boston

Publication Date: 1993

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Drawing on entries from Ferdinand Marcos's secret daily journals, a journalist explores the mind of the dictator, from the height of his power in the late 1960s, through his growing unpopularity and intrigues, to his final collapse.

From Kirkus Reviews:

In the aftermath of his 1969 reelection as president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos began keeping a secret diary. Rempel (who broke the story of this 2,500-page handwritten testament in The Los Angeles Times in 1988) now draws on entries from the manuscript (still classified in the Philippines) to offer intriguing perspectives on how a corrupt, messianic chief executive convinced himself over a three-year span that it was in his troubled country's interest to proclaim martial law and to govern by decree. By the daily journal's account, as well as by the author's focused narrative, Marcos was an arguably paranoid eminence for whom cognitive dissonance became a way of intellectual life. In the wake of student protests and media attacks precipitated by ill- advised economic initiatives and his involvement in a notably sleazy sex scandal, Marcos came to believe that the nation needed him more than the democratic principles to which his regime paid lip service. Leaving little to chance, he created a Red Menace out of whole cloth, taking calculated refuge in anti-Communist, pro- American politics designed to buy time in ongoing battles with political foes--and to pave the way for authoritarian rule. But when it became apparent that those drafting a new constitution could not be bribed or otherwise persuaded to remove bars to his serving more than eight years in office, Marcos started down the twisty road to despotism. With Manila beset by a series of civil disorders, he staged a well-planned coup and seized absolute power on September 23, 1972. It took Filipinos nearly 14 years to oust him and to regain their freedom. A revelatory record that confirms history's verdict on one of the Third World's least appealing strongmen. (Eight pages of photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.