The Forest: A Personal Record of the Huk Guerrilla Struggle in the Philippines, by William J. Pomeroy (1963)

International Publishers, 1963. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. UNCOMMON 1963 First Edition hardcover with dustjacket. APPEARS UNREAD. Bright, unmarked pages and firm binding. Jacket shows minor shelf rubbing and minor edge wear only. This is NOT an ex-library book. This remains a very good, sturdy, very useful copy of a scarce book. Author Bill Pomeroy was an American attached to the Fifth Air Force in the Pacific in WWII. He returned to the Philippines after the war, married a Filipina, Celia Mariano, and joined the Huk movement of revolutionaries in the Philippine mountains in 1950. In 1952 he was captured and, with his wife, was sentenced to life in prison for 'rebellion complexed with murder, robbery, arson, and kidnapping.'" Released from prison after 10 years, the husband was deported to the US while the wife was refused a passport and blocked from leaving with him. At the time of the book's writing, the separation of the couple was continuing and had become a cause of international interest. "THE FOREST is an account of their experiences during the two years they spent with the Huks in the field. It was written originally in prison, scribbled on paper that had to be kept hidden from the prying guards. The finished manuscript finally had to be left behind because of the rigid shakedown that occurred when the Pomeroys were released. It was later rewritten from memory, retaining the intensity and impact of an immediate experience that was still being endured when it was transcribed.