Tagalog Bestsellers of the Twentieth Century: A History of the Book in the Philippines Book

Although the work may be short, this historical survey of the Philippines is packed with much research and socio-cultural insights. It is a fruit of scholarship that stood the test of time. However, there is a strong secularistic ideology that runs through the work to which any person of religious background can easily detect. Although one can never be totally objective with regard to history, the secularist tone leans toward partiality. For a country that is marked by a history of religious influence, initially that of Islam, and then later of Christianity, to be "off-handish" towards religion in speaking of the History of the Philippines is to lose much of what defines the character of being a Filipino. Though the Christian background of the Philippines may not be palatable to all sorts of sensitivities, it is still a background that merits unbiased historical attention.