Imagining Manila has the merit of shedding light on a myriad of texts from the Anglosphere, some of them relatively unknown ... The variety of sources and references quoted is such that it makes it a very engaging reading. Intellectually stimulating, this book will be of utmost interest for scholars researching travel literature in South East Asia and postcolonial studies.

South East Asia Research

Tom Sykes demonstrates how Manila functions as the metonym for the Philippine meta-archipelago, often with breath-taking reductiveness and strikingly telling material effects. Imagining Manila has much to teach us on the matter of representations, and why representations matter.

Oscar V. Campomanes, Ateneo de Manila University

Sykes provides a powerful antidote to the orientalist worlding of Manila in Anglo-American literature. Rigorous, engaged and insightful, his postcolonial critique of 'Manilaism' exposes the poverty and hypocrisy of this discursive paradigm and presents cogent analyses of anti-Manilaist writing, thereby offering a radically different imagining of Manila.

Roderick G Galam, Oxford Brookes University, UK

Tom [Sykes] weaves a unique and nuanced picture of Manila and the layers of history that make it distinct. He shows us sides to the city that even Filipinos (and I am one) may never have noticed before … For those in the West, Sykes offers an excellent primer on contemporary Filipino history, and unique insights into one of the least discussed aspects of American empire. For those coming from the East, and for Filipinos in particular, it reminds us to view the modern Filipino experience through the lens of history and to recognise within it the patterns that our post-colonial hangover has left behind … In the times that we live in, this is most welcome.

Bianka Tibayan Venkataramani, Royal United Services Institute, UK, Asian Affairs

Presents a framework for understanding how representations shape not only public perceptions but also the real-world development of urban spaces. By analyzing the cultural and ideological forces at play in the representation of Manila, Imagining Manila ultimately contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities of urban history in a colonial context.

Planning Perspectives

Sykes's ability to unapologetically hold authors and creators, especially western contemporary ones, to account when discussing Manila, be it through the lens of sociology, culture, or politics is impressive ... He calls for readers to view all media in a more considered light ... In the times that we live in, any reminder of this is most welcome.

Asian Affairs