The U.S. gave the Philippines something more than political independence: an imitative regard for "the American way." Filipinos take it to mean hustle and enterprise. Their islands are booming. War-battered Manila is largely restored, with gleaming new buildings sprouting up from rubble. Herds of shiny cars weave through the downtown traffic, spin along the wide boulevard around the bay. Filipinos have adopted some other symbols, too: jukeboxes blare U.S. tunes by day and neon signs glow in profusion at night. In the once-gutted Great Eastern Hotel, new robin's-egg-blue elevators shoot up to a cool, spacious ballroom.
The boom has a foundation....
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
