Into the Country of Standing Men

“The illegal Filipino worker is permanently consigned to this neitherworld: he cannot leave ‘home’; he cannot go ‘home.’ This is the painful sensation you get as you leaf through this book. It is more poignant, even darker than Underground in Japan, where you actually could still see and feel a tinge of hope. This time the aging tachinbô has very few options left.”—Patricio N. Abinales.

Published in 2007. Finalist, 2007 National Book Awards, for Essays/Creative Nonfiction. Winner, Global Filipino Award for Nonfiction.