Details

Emilio Aguinaldo: Politics and Remembrance (1901–1963) is a multifaceted exploration of one of the greatest and most controversial heroes of Philippine history.

With masterful insight and expertise, Jose Victor Z. Torres weaves a compelling narrative of how—over tumultuous decades of revolution, war, and occupation—General Emilio Aguinaldo’s public image slowly evolved from hero and patriot to traitor and power-grabber.

Shedding light on the struggles, resilience, and contradictions that defined the hero’s life, this book upholds a nuanced understanding of the man and his actions. This sets the stage for a deeper appreciation of Philippine political history as not just a collection of struggles but rather a testament to the Filipino’s indomitable spirit amid adversity.

REVIEW

“Vibal had done great service to the nation in publishing this original work on Emilio Aguinaldo by Palanca Award-winning writer and historian Vic Torres. It opens chapters in the otherwise still unknown part of the biography of a controversial historical figure.”

—Michael Charleston “Xiao” B. Chua, PhD, Filipino public historian

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jose Victor Z. Torres, PhD is a multi-awarded writer, Palanca award-winning playwright, professor, and essayist. He worked as a researcher for the Intramuros Administration, which paved the way for the publication of Ciudad Murada: A Walk Through Historic Intramuros (2005)—his fifth book and his bestseller. This book also gave him his first National Book Award for Travel Writing in 2005. Apart from writing books about Intramuros—his second home—he devoted his time editing books and contributing articles on drama and history. At present, he teaches the Rizal course and Philippine history at the De La Salle University in Manila, where he also serves as associate director for Drama and History at its Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center. For his contribution to historic and cultural literature, he was recognized as an outstanding graduate school alumnus in the field of history during the 75th founding anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School. In 2017, he won his second National Book Award for the Essays in English category for his book, To the Person Sitting in Darkness and Other Footnotes of Our Past. In 2023, he was an awardee of the Distinguished Thomasian Alumni Award given by the University of Santo Tomas Alumni Association Inc. and a St. Miguel Febres Cordero Research Awardee from the De La Salle University.