The Philippine War, 1899-1902 - (Modern War Studies) by Brian McAllister Linn (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This year begins the centennial of the Philippine War, one of the most controversial and poorly understood events in American history. The war thrust the U.S. into the center of Pacific and Asian politics, with important and sometimes tragic consequences. It kept the Filipinos under colonial overlordship for another five decades and subjected them to American political, cultural, and economic domination.

In the first comprehensive study in over six decades, Linn provides a definitive treatment of military operations in the Philippines. From the pitched battles of the early war to the final campaigns against guerrillas, Linn traces the entire course of the conflict. More than an overview of Filipino resistance and American pacification, this is a detailed study of the fighting in the "boondocks."

In addition to presenting a detailed military history of the war, Linn challenges previous interpretations. Rather than being a clash of armies or societies, the war was a series of regional struggles that differed greatly from island to island. By shifting away from the narrow focus on one or two provinces to encompass the entire archipelago, Linn offers a more thorough understanding of the entire war.

Linn also dispels many of the misunderstandings and historical inaccuracies surrounding the Philippine War. He repudiates the commonly held view of American soldiers "civilizing with a Krag" and clarifies such controversial incidents as the Balangiga Massacre and the Waller Affair.

Exhaustively researched and engagingly written, The Philippine War will become the standard reference on America's forgotten conflict and a major contribution to the study of guerrilla warfare.

Review Quotes

"The definitive study of this often misunderstood war."--Parameters

"A thoughtful, deeply researched, and well-written work about a war that teaches much about the nature of revolutionary warfare--even today."--Foreign Affairs

"A well-written volume that enhances Linn's position as the leading authority on America's military presence in the Pacific before Pearl Harbor."--Publishers Weekly

"Belongs on the shelf of any serious student of U.S.-Asian relations, especially if one wants to understand the projection of American military power across the Pacific."--Journal of Military History

"An objective, well-researched, and engaging book that challenges earlier one-dimensional views. Destined to become the standard text for understanding this forgotten war."--History: Reviews of New Books

"Well-grounded in original documents, including the letters and diaries of soldiers from both sides, this is the most important book so far on one of the most controversial of America's wars."--New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter

"Will appeal to serious military historians and military professionals, as well as to the general reader."--Robert A. Doughty in the History Book Club News

"Brian Linn, who has the rare ability to craft a readable text without abandoning the scholar's penchant for accuracy, has written another fine book. Meticulously researched and impressively documented, his study draws upon the literature from all sides of a number of controversies. The result is a book of unusual balance, making Linn's accomplishment without equal among the many works on the war."--John M. Gates, author of Schoolbooks and Krags: The United States Army in the Philippines, 1898-1902

"An impressively researched and well written narrative history that brings reasoned analysis to topics previously fraught with partisanship and polemics."--Timothy K. Nenninger, author of The Leavenworth Schools and the Old Army, 1881-1918