pilgrimbookstore89's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
vance_31's review against another edition
5.0
I further knew Rizal (and Ambeth Ocampo) in our PI 100 (not P*tang Ina 100) course in 2nd year College. I knew Ocampo's writing style makes history readable.
Overcoat is a collection of essays about Rizal. I absolutely had fun reading these. Ocampo's writing made these stories (made boring by school) interesting and intriguing. He provided a lot of new things to learn and to research and study. While reading this, I was telling myself I'm going to be a Historian by profession. Of course that won't happen because I'm stupid.
I read this not because it was required, but simply because I wanted to. I believe reading history is more pleasurable if it's done for leisure.
I highly recommend this book if you want to know more about Rizal (and the facts and rumours surrounding him). But if you want an in-depth study, of course Overcoat wouldn't be enough.
Overcoat is a collection of essays about Rizal. I absolutely had fun reading these. Ocampo's writing made these stories (made boring by school) interesting and intriguing. He provided a lot of new things to learn and to research and study. While reading this, I was telling myself I'm going to be a Historian by profession. Of course that won't happen because I'm stupid.
I read this not because it was required, but simply because I wanted to. I believe reading history is more pleasurable if it's done for leisure.
I highly recommend this book if you want to know more about Rizal (and the facts and rumours surrounding him). But if you want an in-depth study, of course Overcoat wouldn't be enough.
sashahawkins's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
santino1215's review against another edition
5.0
Book 12 out of 200 books
"Rizal Without the Overcoat" by Ambeth R. Ocampo (A prominent Filipino Historian)
"Rizal Without the Overcoat" is a non-fiction book of essays, newspaper articles and other pictorial files detailing and exploring the life, times and legacy of the Philippine national hero Jose P. Rizal. This book is popular among Filipino book readers and college students alike, as this book is typically cited for in regards to college lectures and other courses relating to Jose Rizal, as studying is life is a mandatory course (See Philippine Republic Act 1425).
MY THOUGHTS:
Looking back reading this book 7 months past, I am gladly thankful for reading this book sooner, maybe because this book is no longer available in bookstores, let alone e-commerce.
"Rizal Without the Overcoat" literally means to perceive Rizal, but without the overcoat, which famously depicts Rizal wearing in many forms of Media, Monuments and other memorials.
"Rizal is everywhere, but he is nowhere." said another popular historian other than Dr. Ocampo (I honestly can't remember who said it first). Anyway though, this book was monumental, fundamental in my discerning and studying Rizal while not in school. I do love my country's history and am passionate about learning more about the Philippines.
I use to perceive Rizal as some sort of Messiah or Demi-god or god because of his Prophetic of what would become of the Philippines years, decades or even a century should he pass away. And he did.
This book review is little about me trying to discern Rizal's life but my realizing how slow we still are as Filipinos! Gising na, mga kababayan! We could've done good and improve ourselves but because of recent events relating to the elections, I strongly believe we'll are a backwards nation!
This book and Rizal's "Noli" and "Fili" were suppose to help us ameliorate. Pero ano ang nangyari?
This is a great book and I apologize to anyone who got this far. I am more of ranting than actually writing a book review. This book serves as a window, a view to our country's past, not just Rizal's past. I just got "1984" vibes while reading this book because the Philippines is heading in a bleak future and keeping this book would be pivotal in the survival of knowledge of our nation. Having read around 120 to 140 books last year, I decided to rank this book Around my Top 20s of the books I read last year. We better not forget our history as Filipinos.
"Rizal Without the Overcoat" by Ambeth R. Ocampo (A prominent Filipino Historian)
"Rizal Without the Overcoat" is a non-fiction book of essays, newspaper articles and other pictorial files detailing and exploring the life, times and legacy of the Philippine national hero Jose P. Rizal. This book is popular among Filipino book readers and college students alike, as this book is typically cited for in regards to college lectures and other courses relating to Jose Rizal, as studying is life is a mandatory course (See Philippine Republic Act 1425).
MY THOUGHTS:
Looking back reading this book 7 months past, I am gladly thankful for reading this book sooner, maybe because this book is no longer available in bookstores, let alone e-commerce.
"Rizal Without the Overcoat" literally means to perceive Rizal, but without the overcoat, which famously depicts Rizal wearing in many forms of Media, Monuments and other memorials.
"Rizal is everywhere, but he is nowhere." said another popular historian other than Dr. Ocampo (I honestly can't remember who said it first). Anyway though, this book was monumental, fundamental in my discerning and studying Rizal while not in school. I do love my country's history and am passionate about learning more about the Philippines.
I use to perceive Rizal as some sort of Messiah or Demi-god or god because of his Prophetic of what would become of the Philippines years, decades or even a century should he pass away. And he did.
This book review is little about me trying to discern Rizal's life but my realizing how slow we still are as Filipinos! Gising na, mga kababayan! We could've done good and improve ourselves but because of recent events relating to the elections, I strongly believe we'll are a backwards nation!
This book and Rizal's "Noli" and "Fili" were suppose to help us ameliorate. Pero ano ang nangyari?
This is a great book and I apologize to anyone who got this far. I am more of ranting than actually writing a book review. This book serves as a window, a view to our country's past, not just Rizal's past. I just got "1984" vibes while reading this book because the Philippines is heading in a bleak future and keeping this book would be pivotal in the survival of knowledge of our nation. Having read around 120 to 140 books last year, I decided to rank this book Around my Top 20s of the books I read last year. We better not forget our history as Filipinos.
heathcliffdt's review against another edition
3.0
The copy of the book that I read belongs to my father. His was not well taken care of with the back cover already tearing from the rest of the body of the book, and the spine all creased from being widely opened. On the first page, he writes his name and the date he acquired his copy of Ambeth Ocampo's Rizal Without the Overcoat; 2-21-97. Eight months older than me. Something about preloved books and their crisp, yellow oxygen-deprived pages just bewitch me (plus points if scavenged through parents' libraries).
Ocampo knows the plague of the Filipinos: "short memories and resistance to history." His compilation of columns titled Looking Back imparts a means in unlearning and relearning our history by providing a rather quirky (yet fact-supported!) and reader-friendly approach and reintroducing heroes and personalities under a more human limelight. I personally love the stories about Rizal's brother, Paciano; his true love, Josephine Bracken (yes, not Leonor Rivera and this is the hill I choose to die on), and Ante Radaic's fascination with Rizal and his supposed inferior complex.
But despite the interesting approach, I cannot help but roll my eyes at some stories which contend that Rizal was a psychic, Rizal as the father of Hitler, and how the author gave weight to the Rizalista's seance with the deceased hero's spirit. If we're on the mission of learning history whose foundation rests on facts, especially since we're living in a cesspool of a society on the brink of revisionism, I cannot understand how these tales could hold water; if anything, they are tales that invite conspiracy theorists to spin their own cobwebs.
Ocampo knows the plague of the Filipinos: "short memories and resistance to history." His compilation of columns titled Looking Back imparts a means in unlearning and relearning our history by providing a rather quirky (yet fact-supported!) and reader-friendly approach and reintroducing heroes and personalities under a more human limelight. I personally love the stories about Rizal's brother, Paciano; his true love, Josephine Bracken (yes, not Leonor Rivera and this is the hill I choose to die on), and Ante Radaic's fascination with Rizal and his supposed inferior complex.
But despite the interesting approach, I cannot help but roll my eyes at some stories which contend that Rizal was a psychic, Rizal as the father of Hitler, and how the author gave weight to the Rizalista's seance with the deceased hero's spirit. If we're on the mission of learning history whose foundation rests on facts, especially since we're living in a cesspool of a society on the brink of revisionism, I cannot understand how these tales could hold water; if anything, they are tales that invite conspiracy theorists to spin their own cobwebs.