Quote:
Originally Posted by skinmaan
Okay, here's a first for me. It's free, it's considered by some to be a classic work of literature, and the voice is great: Richard E. Grant (from "Downton Abbey," among other things). The catch: you'll need an iThing, with iOS 6.0 or later. The book? "Noli Me Tangere" by Jose Rizal. If you're interested in Philippine history, this title is a must (or so I'm told). You can get the book here. If you'd like to learn a little more about the whats and whys, check this out. I don't have an appropriate device, but I found an interview about the title and I think it would be a great listen.
Enjoy!
skinmaan
Your audiobook bloodhound |
I'm borderline computer-illiterate and don't keep up much with the trends. By "iThing" do you mean an Apple device like the iMac?, iPhone, iPad, iWhatever? I Googled "iThing" and there supposedly is such a thing--but I think that it might be some kind of joke ("the iThing is slated for release in 2025" Yeah.)
Anyway, thanks, Skinmaan, for the great find and post. Unfortunately, I don't have an iThing, regardless of what it is. I regret that I cannot download and listen to the audiobook, I know that I would enjoy it.
I have had several Philippine friends and acquaintances in the past 20 years or so, especially. I've been there twice. But, my Philippine history is lacking. It seems like I remember that maybe back in the 1600's or 1700's or so some European explorer "discovered" the Philippines. Of course, that was their Eurocentric and caucasian way of looking at things (which we in America largely would share)--the Philippines had been discovered eons before that by . . . the Filipinos! But, basically my knowledge of its history begins with the Philippines being a Spanish territory. The Spaniards had stolen it from someone (the Filipinos?). The U.S. had a war with Spain (the "Spanish-American War") and we stole it from the Spaniards. The U.S. finally granted the Philippines independence shortly after World War II. That's it, that's basically all that I know of its history, up to some of the modern day.
Oh yeah, the Philippines was an area that the Japanese occupied for most of the War. There was a lot of fighting that went on there in the early and late parts of the War. A lot of notable and major battles, and other significant events, happened there. Ever heard of the Bataan death march? That was in the Philippines. When American general Douglas MacArthur was forced out of the Philippines early in the War, he vowed to return. He returned during the battle for Leyte (an island/province) (I have been fortunate enough to see the very spot where that happened and the fascinating monument there to that event). Major sea battles occurred right off the Philippine coast against the Japanese Imperial fleet, probably most notably the Battle of the Philippine Sea. That battle resulted in a loss for the Japanese and signaled the end, for all intents and purposes, of Japan as a naval air power for the rest of the War.
The history of the Philippines interestingly is reflected in the language there. No one there, to my knowledge, speaks Spanish as their native tongue, although I suspect that many did when it was controlled by Spain. However, if you go over there you will hear a lot of surnames that are Spanish. Due to the influence of the American occupiers, English is one of two official languages and supposedly "everyone" knows English (although I ran across several people in one poorer province who somehow did not seem to know a word of it!). Oddly, I don't remember hearing any American/English surnames. A Filipino language, Tagalog, is the other official language.
Mobilereaders, if you were to think that I would be trying to pique the interest of you in this audiobook, you would be right. I think that you would like it and find that Philippine history is not a bore at all and the audiobook to be a great listen.