Imelda Marcos: The Rise & Fall of One of the World's Most Powerful Women

In 1966 Imelda Marcos was 'rich, young and beautiful, an Asian Jacqueline Kennedy'. Years later Benigno Aquino would call her 'another Evita Peron', referring to her ruthless ambition and seemingly insatiable desire for wealth and power. By 1986 she was in exile in Hawaii, having been driven from the country she and her husband had led for over twenty years. In this gripping biography Filipino journalist Carmen Navarro Pedrosa tells the full story of Imelda's life: her tragically poor childhood and her subsequent drive to succeed socially, financially and politically. A naive young woman from the provinces, Imelda attracted attention in 1953 as the winner of the Miss Manila beauty contest and caught the eye of a rising young congressman, Ferdinand Marcos. After a courtship of eleven days, they were married. Under Ferdinand's stern tutelage, Imelda would emerge as his most important political asset and, later, as one of the wealthiest, most powerful women in the world. Based on years of research and in-depth interviews with both friends and foes of the Marcoses, this portrait traces Imelda's life from her poverty-stricken origins to her present state of exile, providing insight not only into her character but also into the demise of the Marcos regime and the current turbulent political situation in the Philippines.