Ambeth Ocampo

Find out how Mabini's remains fit snuggly into a small coffin, and while he was still alive, how he tried to learn how to dance with a chair as partner; what happened on Bonifacio's last days and how much Aguinaldo spent while traveling and many more.

In this volume, Ocampo ponders the arrangement of Mabini's bones in his tiny coffin, examines the curling irons for Luna's moustache, tracks down the exact expletive General Mascardo used to goad General Luna to fight him, gawks at the vaginal clamps used by Galiciano Apacible and the "pickled appendix" of Aguinaldo, and much more interesting historical vignettes as only Ocampo can write.

These are essays, which present our heroes as more than concrete and stone, with their grand moments in history and their own sets of idiosyncrasies.

The essays offer new insights and data on Rizal as unearthed by historian Ambeth Ocampo through photographs, correspondences, lists, and other miscellany obtained from his meticulous researches. Received the 1990 National Book award for the essay.

Ocampo discovers the Tagalog draft and the Spanish borrador of Rizal’s third and unfinished novel. Received the 1992 National Book Award.

Although written from 1986 to 1989, these essays continue to delight as they bring the reader to the past in exploration of food, haircuts, courtship, cursing and even farting. Through the interviews and profiles we get to know more about Teodoro Agoncillo, Dely Atay-atayan, Jose Ma. Sison and others. Definitely not what history textbooks will teach you.

The lectures in this book were written between the years 1993-1998, which according to the author is a glorious time to be a Filipino historian. History, according to Ocampo, must have story and meaning to become an effective tool in helping people appreciate and see their past, present and hopefully their future.

Find out why Andres Bonifacio preferred his gun to his bolo and why he was not the "Great Unwashed" as myth would have him depicted as Ocampo continues to add interesting bits to other scrapbook of history

In this collection of transcripts of free-wheeling, no-holds-barred conversations, Ambeth R. Ocampo paves the way towards a re-evaluation of National Scientist (1985) Teodoro A. Agoncillo's scholarship, by providing readers "insight into his working methods, his joys and struggles that shaped the particular, nationalist way he viewed and narrated Philippine history."

"I don't know that Ambeth's stories are the best example of it, but I should think that the concept of storytelling itself as an approach to history is a vastly important one. It's a mistake to think that anything that is not written in the turgid, analytical style of dissertations, or does not argue aggressively for an interpretation, is not important or does not strike the core of life. If anything, I would argue the opposite. Stories are more important thatn analyses. Or so for the historical demands of our time and place. Stories inspire, stories light fires. And they do offer concepts and interpretations, without violently yanking the heads of people and saying 'Look, this is the way it happened!'"