Delusions of a Dictator: The Mind of Marcos as Revealed in His Secret Diaries

Written by a Los Angeles Times reporter who covered the story, this absorbing historical narrative chronicles the 1000-day period from the start of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos's second term in 1969 to his declaration of martial law in 1972. Drawing on Marco's diary--which ``offers illusion as fact, paranoia as genuine menace, personal ambition as the will of God''--Rempel recounts the turbulent events leading up to the ``ambush'' of Marcos's defense secretary during a time of civil unrest. It was a staged provocation that opened the way for the arrest of Benigno Aquino, Marcos's powerful political foe, and the imposition of martial law. The diary exposes Marcos's towering ego (he viewed himself as a conbination of Caesar and Napoleon), his fears of betrayal and his refusal to deal realistically with the escalating opposition to his rule. Rempel briefly relates the upshot: Aquino's assassination after his return from exile and the subsequent ``People Power'' movement that forced Marcos out of office to make way for the martyr's widow, Corazon Aquino. An enlightening account of the transformation of a democratically elected leader into a despot. Photos. (Mar.)