Synopses & Reviews
Based on the journal of John Clifford Brown, a veteran of the Philippineand#150;American War,
Title reveals the inner workings of a young man seduced by adventure. Educated as an engineer at M.I.T., Brown enjoyed the life of a typical New England gentleman until the Spanishand#150;American War broke out in 1898. Brown then enlisted in a volunteer regiment with a commission as a captain, but his outfit never made it to Cuba. The experience heightened his desire for excitement, however, and in 1899, against the wishes of his family, he re-enlisted in the militaryand#151;this time without an officerand#8217;s commissionand#151;and was deployed to the Philippines. Brown wrote a series of letters to his mother and numerous journal entries, which he mailed home for safe-keeping. After his death in 1901 from typhoid fever, fifty copies of his journal were published and distributed by his family.
Brownand#8217;s conflicted character adds to the drama of the narrative: he was a member of the Corps of Engineers and also a wealthy man attempting to hide his identity among enlisted soldiers. Brownand#8217;s narrative is magnetic, intoxicating the reader with imagery of turn-of-the-century Philippines and its and#147;decaying European architecture and decadent Spanish culture.and#8221; Editor Joseph P. McCallus adds his own research to annotate Brownand#8217;s journal entries, producing a unique account of the war.
McCallus addresses the controversy of the U.S. annexation of the Philippines, the development of the country as an American colony, the Philippineand#150;American War, and the influence of the United States in todayand#8217;s Philippines. The quality of the narrative, enhanced by McCallusand#8217;s thoughtful insights, will appeal to those interested in travel stories, military history, and Asia and the Philippines.
Review
and#8220;. . . sometimes spellbinding, never boring, and usually thought-provoking ruminations. Brownand#8217;s journal and letters provide an unusually rich source for understanding the American military experience in the Philippines at the beginning of the twentieth century.and#8221;--Robert E. May, Purdue University
About the Author
Joseph P. McCallus holds a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America. He regularly visits the Philippines and has written several articles on the archipelago, as well as an oral narrative of American exiles there. He currently teaches language and literature at Columbus State University in Georgia.