The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos

The book speaks of itself on the back with words:

The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos is known as the martial law book because the Marcoses' attempted to ban it. Instead it encouraged activists especially among the young. It foreshadowed the peaceful revolution that would topple the regime in 1986. It sold more than 300,000 copies around the world. 

Recently Carmen Navarro Pedrosa released the 2013 version of her 1969 book. I have no idea how this edition is different from the first issue from 1969 and copies of the original print are quite expensive and hard to come by (the same goes with many of the so called Martial Law books).

The story is engaging and interesting especially for people who were not there to witness the rise of Imelda Romualdez Marcos. It's an easy read and at the same time will make you hooked and entertained (to some extent) about the so called Cinderella life of Meldy (as she often called dearly by friends and her relatives).

So am I going to give details? Nope. I want you to get a copy since I heard there would only be 1000 copies for this edition.

This book would be a great part of any Filipiniana collection. And as a reader it should be.

2013 Edition

1969 Edition

There is another book written by Carmen Navarro Perdosa called the Rise and Fall of Imelda Marcos. Another interesting book I want to read is Imelda and the Clans by Beatriz Romualdez Francia.

About the author:

(Details lifted from the book, I find it weird that description of her online are so few)

Carmen Navarro Pedrosa began her career in journalism in 1962 as a cub reporter for the Manila Chronicle. She went to Tokyo in 1963 to work as a stringer correspondent for the United Press International and wrote the first article on Soka Gakkai, the most potent social-religius-political group in Japan for Asia Magazine in the series entitled "The Protest of the Small Man."

From 1964 to 1965 she was back at the Manila Chronicle and was assigned different beats from light features to foreign affairs. Late in 1965 she received the Thomson Foundation (The Thomson Group owns Reuters and formerly owned the Sunday Times and the Times of London) scholarship, the first Filipino to be awarded the grant. After a stint with the Thomson group, she was invited and visited the countries Great Britain, USSR, Federal Republic of West Germany and Israel. An account of those travels "Between Cities" was serialized in the Manila Chronicle

She and her family returned to the Philippines after a 20-year exile in London during the martial law. The book is being reprinted for the new generation . She is now a widow after her late husband, Ambassador Alberto A. Pedrosa who inspired the writing of this book died in August 2008. She has five children Veronica, Marta, Alberto, Ricardo, and Eduardo. She dedicated this book to them for their untiring support for an activist mother.