Maximo D. Ramos wrote a number of books detailing the history and culture of the Philippines. Boyhood in Monsoon Country is a collection of little essays about village life as a boy. It is not just the content here, which presents a fascinating range of topics from the food to the bird life to even the mythological creatures that kept him and his friends scared of entering into the woods -- what really speaks to the reader is the lyrical and conversational...