The Philippines in World War II, 1941-1945 : a chronology and select annotated bibliography of books and articles in English / compiled by Walter F. Bell

Title

The Philippines in World War II, 1941-1945 : a chronology and select annotated bibliography of books and articles in English / compiled by Walter F. Bell

Subject

Philippines--History--Japanese occupation, 1942-1945--Bibliography.
World War, 1939-1945--Philippines--Bibliography.

Description

A book of very limited use to the serious student, since the chronology (which takes up about half the book) is very incomplete and contains many errors. The remaining half of the book, the selected bibliography, pales in comparison with the more comprehensive and authoritative volumes by Morton J. Netzorg.

The chronology contains almost nothing on events in the Japanese-occupied Philippines, the internment and prisoner of war camps, and focuses mainly on military campaigns in 1941-1942 and 1944-1945, with a strong American bias. Has very little to say about Filipino guerrillas or, in fact, Filipinos in general.

The little there is on the occupation is incomplete or wrong (for example, Philippine independence under the Japanese is listed as happening on August 1943, and that Salvador Laurel was elected president of the pro-Japanese Philippine Republic, even as many Filipinos boycotted the election – he mistook the actual president, Jose P. Laurel, for his son, and there was no popular boycott since the National Assembly elected him and not the general public, in September. The government, which was not fully pro-Japanese, was inaugurated in October). (Ma. Felisa Syjuco’s "Kempeitai" is cited as being published in Detroit by the Cellar Book Shop – Cellar sold the book in the US; it was published by New Day in Quezon City. The annotation shows that the compiler did not read the book carefully).

Other errors and significant omissions abound, and the compiler is not a Philippine specialist.

Creator

Bell, Walter F. (comp.)

Publisher

Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, c1999

Date

1999

Format

24 x 16 cm.

Type

Hardbound

Identifier

313306141

Call Number

Z 3298 .A5 B45 1999

Accession Number

13800

Pagination

viii, 276 p.

Files

Collection

Citation

Bell, Walter F. (comp.), “The Philippines in World War II, 1941-1945 : a chronology and select annotated bibliography of books and articles in English / compiled by Walter F. Bell,” FHL-Roderick Hall, accessed July 13, 2025, https://fhl.omeka.net/items/show/125.