| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.2

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Asia

Brian McAllister Linn. The Philippine War 1899–1902. (Modern War Studies.) Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. 2000. Pp. xiv, 427. $39.95.

It may not be fair to compare a book written about the past with events in the present, but there are some striking congruities between the wars waged by America against the Philippines between 1899–1902 and the recent one in Central Asia. On the first occasion, education was imposed on Filipinos through force and annexation, while in the latter case Afghanis were simultaneously bombarded with food parcels and heavy ordinance. Both are strange companions, and in both instances it is apparently done for their own good: it was called "benevolent assimilation" a century ago, and now it is reportedly "a strike on Afghanistan" to bring back music, kites, and women to the streets of Kabul. Given the circumstances, I would find the publication of any study, no matter the degree of scholarship, that presents only one side of the story a case of unfortunate timing. And Brian McAllister Linn's book does just that; despite its careful protestations to the contrary and its useful insights into the war from the U.S. perspective, it reads like an apologia to excuse American actions in the Philippines without coming to terms with the central question of what their soldiers were doing there in the first place. . . .

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