Based partly on clandestine interviews, this important book traces the growth of Philippine nationalism and the development of its leftist political-military character over the past two decades. Chapman warns that the Aquino government is seriously uninformed about the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the leftist movement in general, and has "the same inclination not to take the movement seriously'' as was the case with the Marcos government. The U.S. government on the other hand fears a political victory by the CPP, if not a military one (after nearly 20 years in the field, the New People's Army remains essentially a raid-and-ambush outfit). Chapman, correspondent for the Washington Post, makes it ominously clear that the Philippine rebellion contains ingredients common to the successful Third World revolutions of the post-World War II era. (September 28)

Taken from Publishers Weekly