The Philippines

Enchantment of the World

by Walter Oleksy

Describes the geography, plants, animals, history, economy, language, religions, culture, sports, arts, and people of the Philippines.

Genres: Nonfiction

Library Binding

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned the very interesting history of the Philippines and everything surrounding their culture. There was a time where I didn't even know where the islands were located. Some of their traditions sound like a combination of both Spanish, American and Chinese all mixed together. Their food also speaks that fact as well. I enjoyed this because it was easy to understand. A lot of nonfiction is hardly understood these days when it comes to history or learning about other countries.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I've begun this project in which I read about the various countries of the world: one nonfiction book, one fiction book, and one book written by a person from that country. I started it when I figured out that I had no earthly idea where Myanmar was, at least in comparison to other countries.

Anyway, I've found the Enchantment of the World series to be extremely useful. It's a series of children's nonfiction books that covers various countries of the world in pretty good detail (for children's books, anyway). They're all structured the same way. Ten chapters, starting with a short introductory one, moving through geography, flora and fauna, history (often the longest one), government, economy, population, religion/culture, arts, and daily life.

They're educational, pretty light reads with plenty of pictures, but informative nonetheless. They're also, despite being undeniably US-focused, pretty nonjudgmental regarding religion and/or current world relations. The only one I read that was openly judgmental was the North Korea one, and, uh. It's North Korea. They do talk about various atrocities, but briefly, in children-focused language, and usually only the historical ones.

They can also be, by virtue of the publishing cycle, somewhat dated. I think the latest any of them go is 2015. Still, that's pretty damn recent for a published book, and I'm searching out the second editions where I can, since they're the most up-to-date. I'd definitely recommend these for kids, and also for people who have no earthly idea where, for example, Myanmar is.

[Katrina Winchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book about the history and culture of the Philippines. I was surprised by some of the information I learned that differed from reports I did on the Philippines in elementary and middle school. It is written clearly and concisely and not just simplified as many "juvenile" books are. I would recommend it to any age of person looking for straightforward information about the friendly country.