Maria Ressa: Seeds of Filipino excellence

When I was invited to say a few words about journalist Maria Ressa at the recent launch of her internationally-released book in Powerbooks at Greenbelt 4, I thought to myself: What do I say about Maria, a jane of many trades and many talents? I was told that I was the "entertainment portion" of Maria’s life and that I should share an anecdote about her musical inclinations. So, much to Maria’s embarrassment, I proceeded to actually relate a few stories on our musical misadventures.

This side of Maria is not known to most of you who tune in on her serious reports on the Al Qaeda network. As CNN Jakarta bureau chief, Maria covers the terrorist group’s activities in Southeast Asia.

Maria is a Princeton graduate with a double major in Microbiology and Theater. Such diverse majors, which would seem unusual for most people but not for Maria who can perfectly relate to both the scientific as well as the literary side of life. Most of her close friends do not find it unusual for Maria to move from the serious topic of politics to the latest showbiz gossip. Her professional ethics, unquestionable integrity and adherence to excellence in everything she does are equally balanced by her sense of adventure, sense of humor and love of music.

Maria has shared with us her book list in the past, but this time I asked her to share with us other books on terrorism that would enlighten us in this era of the religious wars.

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Maria Ressa’s Book List

"Here are the books I’ve read and found essential during the past six months. Of course, I was reading with terrorism lenses, trying to see different perspectives of the same problem."

1) Seeds of Terror – to get the complete story on Al Qaeda’s movements in Southeast Asia. I recommend it, but don’t take my word alone. After all, I wrote it.

2) The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel Huntington. A great introduction to interpreting the post-Cold War power structures. Huntington argues that, for the first time in history, global politics has become multipolar and multi-civilizational, and that the most important distinctions among peoples are not ideological, political or economic. They are cultural.

3) Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas Friedman. An informed American perspective of how September 11 changed American and Muslim views and the ensuing gap between them.

4) Militant Islam in Southeast Asia by Zachary Abuza. Zach is a friend of mine, and we were doing the research for our books at about the same time. Although he writes in a more academic style, if you want details about militant Islam’s growth in our region, this is your book.

5) The Qur’an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. With radical Islam hijacking the teachings of the Qur’an, it’s essential we go back to what the words actually said. I wanted to see how interpretations differed on specific passages.

6) The Al-Qaeda Documents, Vol. 1 & 2. Essential background reading if you want to see the actual court testimonies and words of Al Qaeda operatives. Vol 1 includes the Al Qaeda manual discovered in Manchester, England.

7) The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace with America’s Military by Dana Priest. An insider’s look at developments in philosophies and missions of the US military. Essential to understanding what motivates the world’s most powerful and technologically advanced military.

8) Inside Al Qaeda by Rohan Gunaratna. Perhaps the most comprehensive book on Al Qaeda’s global network today.

9) Islam, A Short History by Karen Armstrong. A great guide to the history of Islam – interpreted for a western audience.

10) Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz. A critique of the IMF’s handling of the Asian financial crisis as well as other models mistakenly used in other parts of the world. It gives a good background for the economic meltdown in the region which left it open to the growth of radical Islam.

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The Reading Club recommends THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN by Mitch Albom available at National Book Store and Powerbooks. A wonderful book. My Mom recently passed away so suddenly it left us all stunned but I must say this book helped ease the pain.

Also, Oprah’s December issue. She has a cozy chat with Julia Roberts which gives you an interesting perspective on the actress off-screen.

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For your comments and suggestions, please e-mail me at readclub@aol.com.