Leon Ma. Guerrero's The First Filipino which won first prize in the biography contest sponsored by the Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission in 1961 is a breath of fresh air on a worn out topic. Rizal is usually portrayed in extremes either as a sinner or a saint, but Guerrero took the middle ground and gave his readers a human Rizal. Guerrero's extensive and sensitive use of Rizal's correspondence and writings shaped a new and more human picture of Rizal. It is remarkable in that the biographer usually stands aside and allows Rizal to speak for himself.

2012/540pp
bookpaper/paperback