The Crucible: An Autobiography by Colonel Yay, Filipina American Guerrilla

On December 8, 1941, as the Pacific War reached the Philippines, Yay Panlilio (1913-1978), a Filipina-Irish American, faced a question with no easy answer: How could she contribute to the war? In this memoir, originally published in 1950, the author narrates her experience as a journalist, triple agent, leader in the Philippine resistance against the Japanese, and lover of the guerrilla general Marcos V. Augustin. From the war-torn streets of Japanese-occupied Manila, to battlegrounds in the countryside, and the rural farmlands of central California, the author blends wry commentary, rigorous journalistic detail, and popular romance.