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mbenshirreffs's review against another edition
4.0
The authors made a glaring error early in the book when they stated Europeans used spices to cover up the taste of spoiling food. This storyline has long been debunked. For me then, every historical fact or claim they made was suspect.
Otherwise, I would have given this book 5 stars. It's an excellent read.
Otherwise, I would have given this book 5 stars. It's an excellent read.
jwsg's review against another edition
5.0
Back in high school, we had to make a decision at the end of our second year as to which humanities subjects - literature, geography or history - we wished to continue with in our third and fourth year. Choosing to drop history from the list was a no-brainer for me. I loathed the dry history textbook that seemed little more than a collection of meaningless dates and supposedly seminal events that seemed irrelevant to me a few decades after they'd first taken place.
I dare say that if Singapore: A Biography had been my history textbook back in high school, I might not have been so quick to drop history in favour of literature and geography back then (even though as a pragmatic student, I might have been a little intimidated by the weighty tome). History in secondary school was a dry collection of dates and facts, a definitive version of events as endorsed by the curriculum planners, to be memorised and regurgitated during the exams. It never occurred to me until years later, when I had just started college and began reading more non-fiction, that perhaps history was very much a man-made construct, coloured by our perceptions, motivations and biases. And that an accepted narrative wasn't necessarily the truth, it was simply the winner's narrative. Singapore: A Biography tries hard to convey this complexity and to help the reader see a particular event from various perspectives. Whereas the history textbooks presented Sir Stamford Raffles as the Hero and Great Man who Founded Modern Singapore (what would we do without him!), Singapore: A Biography gives a much more complex rendering of the man - his battles with the East India Company, his relationship with William Farquhar and raises the question of whether lionising Raffles and giving him all the credit is really justified.
Then of course, there's the writing. The writing in Singapore: A Biography is vivid and lively, using devices like alliteration and metaphors to pull the reader along. Phrases like: "Leap ahead to the 1930s and we find ourselves in an altogether different world" and "in the late 19th century, rickshaws had to contend with bullock carts, gharries and then steam trams, by the 1920s, they shared the roads with omninbuses, trolley buses, motor cars and lorries - all of which easily outstripped the pace at which the humble rickshaw could safely manoeuvre" help keep the reader engaged. It's amazing how the same dates and events can be communicated so differently.
And let's not forget that Singapore: A Biography offers the uncensored version of Singapore's history when compared to the secondary school curriculum. It would never do to let secondary school students learn about the karayuki-san in Singapore, or the fact that Singapore was once such a violent and chaotic place that it earned itself the monikers of "Sin-galore" and the "Chicago of the East"!
A great read for anyone who's interested in Singapore history. And for those of you who aren't, this book might just do the trick.
I dare say that if Singapore: A Biography had been my history textbook back in high school, I might not have been so quick to drop history in favour of literature and geography back then (even though as a pragmatic student, I might have been a little intimidated by the weighty tome). History in secondary school was a dry collection of dates and facts, a definitive version of events as endorsed by the curriculum planners, to be memorised and regurgitated during the exams. It never occurred to me until years later, when I had just started college and began reading more non-fiction, that perhaps history was very much a man-made construct, coloured by our perceptions, motivations and biases. And that an accepted narrative wasn't necessarily the truth, it was simply the winner's narrative. Singapore: A Biography tries hard to convey this complexity and to help the reader see a particular event from various perspectives. Whereas the history textbooks presented Sir Stamford Raffles as the Hero and Great Man who Founded Modern Singapore (what would we do without him!), Singapore: A Biography gives a much more complex rendering of the man - his battles with the East India Company, his relationship with William Farquhar and raises the question of whether lionising Raffles and giving him all the credit is really justified.
Then of course, there's the writing. The writing in Singapore: A Biography is vivid and lively, using devices like alliteration and metaphors to pull the reader along. Phrases like: "Leap ahead to the 1930s and we find ourselves in an altogether different world" and "in the late 19th century, rickshaws had to contend with bullock carts, gharries and then steam trams, by the 1920s, they shared the roads with omninbuses, trolley buses, motor cars and lorries - all of which easily outstripped the pace at which the humble rickshaw could safely manoeuvre" help keep the reader engaged. It's amazing how the same dates and events can be communicated so differently.
And let's not forget that Singapore: A Biography offers the uncensored version of Singapore's history when compared to the secondary school curriculum. It would never do to let secondary school students learn about the karayuki-san in Singapore, or the fact that Singapore was once such a violent and chaotic place that it earned itself the monikers of "Sin-galore" and the "Chicago of the East"!
A great read for anyone who's interested in Singapore history. And for those of you who aren't, this book might just do the trick.
luisvilla's review
This was an excellent pre-trip read about a place I'm now quite fascinated by. Sadly ends essentially with independence - would love a followup on the next 30-40 years in the same readable, deep style.
donzhivago's review
4.0
3.75 stars. A flawed, if lovely, story of Singapore's history. I could do with the WW2 section being about 10% of what it actually was, and readers should know the book basically ends on independence day. but, it's a useful guide to the history of such a wonderful place, and the book itself is gorgeous.
steve_h's review
4.0
Good easy digestible history of Singapore. Read after moving here and wanting to understand the history of this island city.
benedorm's review
4.0
A very good overview of the city-state from its founding to its full independence. Plenty of engaging primary source quotes, and loads of archival photographs.
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