LOS ANGELES – Veteran Filipino journalist, author and professor Alfredo G. Gabot has published his first of a series of books in the United States.
Gabot’s new book, “California: A Philippine Territory – Almost and Other Stories,” is now available at Amazon, its publisher, announced on July 7, in both hardcover and paperback editions. Later, the eBook edition will also be available.
The 293-page book is the first volume on the compendium of select columns and articles of Gabot with the title as its centerpiece. Since retiring as a senior editor at Manila Bulletin, Gabot has become a freelance journalist, writing and editing newspapers, magazines and books, part-time professor and broadcaster.
Gabot’s first three books published in Manila in 1975 and 1976 were the “Manila Revenue Measures” and “Manila Barangay Guidebook and Directory” and the best-selling “Barangay: Peoplepower” which was an approved reference by then Education Secretary Juan L. Manuel in high schools and colleges and listed in the United States Library of Congress, among others.
The Amazon-published book is partly a tribute to outstanding Filipinos in America like Carlos S. Bulosan, a famous Filipino author and labor union advocate in the U.S. and a grand uncle of Gabot, noted for his autobiographical novel “America is in the Heart,” essay “Freedom from Want,” short story “The Laughter of My Father” and poem “I Want the Wide American Earth,” among others.
The book features the first translation in Filipino of the Bulosan poem “I Want the Wide American Earth” by journalist, poet, author and educator Jose Lad. Santos, former chairman of the Commission on the Filipino Language (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino) and former Commissioner of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) like Gabot.
Lawyer-CPA Maritess Barrios-Taran, Director General of KWF and a professor at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), in her foreword stated the book captures the scintillating achievements of Filipinos in the Philippines and America like former California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Robert Bonta, sports greats Victoria Manalo Draves and Natalie Coughlin, and celebrity Vanessa Hudgens, among others.
The book also features two governors – Gavin Newsom of California and Ramon Guico III of Pangasinan – who, although miles apart, their fates are intertwined with a common mission of serving their constituents and one common bond – the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila) where they both have Doctor of Public Management (DPM) degrees.
The book cover was from a painting of artist and historian Florante Villarica of Oriental Mindoro where galleon ships were built and mounted for the long sail to the Americas centuries ago.
The book is set to be launched in California and Manila soon. The launch in California is being planned at the Los Angeles Public Library where Carlos Bulosan immersed himself in reading while confined at the nearby Los Angeles General Hospital and started writing poems and honed himself for writing short stories and essays.
“Gusto Ko ang Malawak na Lupaing Amerika,” the Filipino translation of Carlos Bulosan’s famous poem, is expected to be recited during the book launching.
Gabot, former president of the National Press Club (NPC), former NCCA commissioner, former Director and Chairman of the Board of the Philippine Postal Corporation, and a university professor, is in the final preparations for his next books, among them “Rising from Ruins and the Big Dreams Come True,” and “Carlos S. Bulosan: The Hometown He Never Returned To.”
“California: A Philippine Territory – Almost and Other Stories” is available globally through Amazon.com. The link to the book via Amazon is https://amzn.to/4eXPO5U. n
