A unified nation with a single people, the Philippines is also a highly fragmented, plural society. Divided between uplander and lowlander, rich and poor, Christian and Muslim, between those of one ethnic, linguistic, and geographic region and those of another, the nation is a complex mosaic formed by conflicting forces of consensus and national identity and of division and instability.It is not possible to comprehend the many changes in the Philippines?such as the rise and fall of Ferdinand Marcos or the revolution that toppled him?without an awareness of the religious, cultural, and economic forces that have shaped the history of these islands. These forces formed the focus of the first edition of The Philippines. Of that 1982 edition, the late Benigno Aquino Jr., noted that ?anyone wanting to understand the Philippines and the Filipinos today must include this book in his '`'must' reading list.?The fourth edition has been updated through the final years of the Ramos presidency, and contains a new section on the impact of President Estrada.

What happens whene the husband dies depends on the society, on the location of the widow in urban-rural or class terms, and on the widow's own personal resources. In some societies the woman is totally dependent upon a grown son and cannot remarry; in others, such as that in the United States, she is more dependent upon her own resouces and wishes. For some, widowhood results in a great loss of status; for others, it can mean loneliness and social isolation. Yet widowhood can mean greater social freedom for some women, a "blooming of personality. Even grief is experienced in various ways and degrees. Thus there is no such thing as a "widow type," only a great heterogenity in widowhood, as in "wifehood." Volume I analyzes the support systems and life-styles of widows in Australia, the Philippines, Korea, Iran, China, a Pacific island, India, Turkey, and Israel. Volume II : North America examines two communities in Canada, a Florida retirement community, and communities in several other locations, as well as the relative situations of homeowners, blacks, and poor ethnic populations.

Over 5,000 entries arranged in four parts. Part I comprises reference and general works to provide a guide to information on Southeast Asia. Part II provides the setting of space and time. Part III features the people and Part IV the many facets of culture and society — language; ideas, beliefs, values; institutions; creative expression; and social and cultural change. Within each section, the arrangement is geographical, beginning with Southeast Asia as a whole followed by the various countries in alphabetical order.

Labeled “Amazons” by the national press, women played a central role in the Huk rebellion, one of the most significant peasant-based revolutions in modern Philippine history. As spies, organizers, nurses, couriers, soldiers, and even military commanders, women worked closely with men to resist first Japanese occupation and later, after WWII, to challenge the new Philippine republic. But in the midst of the uncertainty and violence of rebellion, these women also pursued personal lives, falling in love, becoming pregnant, and raising families, often with their male comrades-in-arms. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred veterans of the movement, Vina A. Lanzona explores the Huk rebellion from the intimate and collective experiences of its female participants, demonstrating how their presence, and the complex questions of gender, family, and sexuality they provoked, ultimately shaped the nature of the revolutionary struggle. Winner, Kenneth W. Baldridge Prize for the best history book written by a resident of Hawaii, sponsored by Brigham Young University–Hawaii