The Philippine War, 1899-1902, by Brian McAllister Linn (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000), 427.
Brian Linn’s The Philippine War is the best history of the U.S. war in the Philippines from February 1899 to July 1902. Linn’s work systematically covers all aspects of the war, all the major personalities, and makes a special effort to address the major myths and misconceptions regarding the war. Linn’s history is simply the best, clear, and objectively reasoned discussion of the military aspects of the war yet written.
One of the great values of Linn’s work is his efforts to provide balance and accuracy to the many misconceptions and myths that have been created or perpetuated by earlier histories of the war. Thus, though conceding that Generals Otis and MacArthur were quirky personalities who made some serious mistakes, he also recognizes that each of the first two American commanders were essentially competent and in different areas, very capable. Otis, the trained lawyer, laid the foundation of the President McKinley’s benevolence policy, while MacArthur recognized the need for and supervised the well run counterinsurgency campaign of 1901. Linn backs up John Gate’s analysis that the major part of the insurgency was won by the time MacArthur gave up command in the Summer of 1901 and makes the point that the Samar and Batangas campaigns, the most infamous of the war, were not typical of the war in general.
A Horse Soldier's Thoughts 