Dean Worcester’s Fantasy Islands brings to life one of the most significant (but under examined) figures in the history of U.S. colonialism in the Philippines. Upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Worcester, a scientist who had traveled twice to the Philippines on zoological expeditions, established himself as one of America’s leading experts on the Philippines. Over a fourteen-year career as a member of the U.S. colonial regime, Worcester devoted much of his time and energy to traveling among and photographing non-Christian minority groups in the Philippines. He amassed an archive of several thousand photographs taken by him or by government photographers. Worcester deployed those photographs in books, magazine articles, and lectures to promote his belief that the United States should maintain control of the Philippines for decades to come. While many historians have examined American colonial photography in the Philippines, this book is the first lengthy treatment of Worcester’s role in shaping American perceptions of the Philippines in the early twentieth century.

Reproduction of the original: Notes and Queries for Worcestershire by John Noake

The great, the good, and the very, very bad from Worcestershire's past live again in this informative, lively and entertaining collection of more than 700 mini-biographies of county men and women from across the centuries. All of human life is here, from composers to conmen, from military men – and a woman – to medical pioneers and nineteenth-century manufacturers, from daring explorers to one of the great entertainers of the music hall era. The county can claim many more who were either born or lived here for a major part of their lives, who made their mark with colourful enterprise or diligent toil. All of them called Worcestershire home and their contribution to its rich and varied history is remembered here in this well-researched and engaging book.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1872.