Singapore: A Very Short History -- From Temasek to Tomorrow is a fresh,
new, and highly-readable account of Singapore's history. It is a
sweeping story of discovery, abandonment, rediscovery and development of
what is today one of the world's greatest port-cities. Brief as this
account may be, it incorporates all the latest research and findings
about Singapore's past, and weaves a concise yet coherent and
comprehensive account of the island over the last 700 years. Beyond
familiar foundational myths and stories, this new account weaves
Singapore's story on a wide tapestry - through a cast of princes,
sultans, colonial administrators, occupiers community leaders and
politicians - and tells the tale of how they struggled to answer that
allimportant question: How do we make this island succeed? Two recurrent
themes emerge from this gripping account. First, that Singapore was an
unlikely or accidental nation-state; and second, that given its
vulnerability to wider regional and international forces, it survived
and flourished only because it was able to constantly change and adapt
to make itself useful and relevant to the world. And what of tomorrow?
Will Singapore survive? This book is a hopeful response to these
questions.
