Customer Reviews (1)

education in Titi
i just want to know about education in Titi, Jelebu ... Read more

Product Description
This book discusses relations in South-East Asia, especially India and Singapore. In recent decades many factors have stood in the way of cooperation between the two countries. Meaningful interactions started evolving after the end of the Cold War, when the compulsions to view mutual relations through the prism of superpower preferences withered away. The growing relationship has been spurred by diplomacy, domestic imperatives and changing perceptions (in the case of India) of economic nationalism. ... Read more

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'Beyond question the best general history of Malaysia in print.' William R.Roff, Columbia University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Contingent...
Alot of information that you may not care for if you really want to know about the people of Malaysia per say. I do recommend it however, if you are interested in why another part of the world withdraws from Western culture, or why Western influence is so prominent in Malaysia.

Not a Good History Book
This is a long boring tome on Malaysian history filled with a plethora of incomprehensible names of people and places.The minute details, instead of enlightening, cause one to find it hard not to fall asleep - much less make any sense out of what the authors are trying to relate.The 344 pages of text could have been easily reduced by 50%, thus making the book much easier to read & understand.The authors swamp the reader with so many useless insignificant details that it is almost impossible to glean any useful information from this tediously long book.Given the fact that this gobbledygook is a 2nd edition, the first having been written 20 years ago, it is hard to believe that there could have been much demand for a revised look at Malaysia's history.I had hoped to use this book in one of my university history courses on Southeast Asia.There is no way I would inflict such esoteric pedagogic claptrap on my students.

Malaysian History To Take With a Grain of Salt
I read this work in Malaysia in 1998 as a student in a Universiti Malaya graduate program through the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College.This is a Malaysian government and academic favorite, as was very quickly made clear to me, but not for its academic depth or the purely sholarly tackling of contentioius historical issues.Quite the contrary, this book is a favorite due to its smooth, polished, there-are-never-nor-have-there-ever-been-problems approach to modern Malaysian history.

This is a popular book as it is a recently published history, which implies it is full of new research.Not so.A quick study of the source references shows precious little primary resources, and a great deal of secondary sources; the book is a collection of previous histories.This is not to say it is worthless.The book is indeed an adequate, up-to-date introduction to the basic issues and facts of Malaysian history, and as such is acceptable.But what you will not find is anything even remotely controversial or unflattering about Malaysia and Malaysians, especially the country under Mahathir.The thrust of this book is that all is well in Malaysia, all has been well, and the future is rosy indeed for all.Tragic and unfortunate events are not addressed.For example, the description of the politically-driven ethnic riots of the 60s is very poorly done, with the blame for the mob murders ofhundreds of ethnic Chinese apparently being placed upon the Chinese for starting the trouble in the first place (an issue itself in doubt).

The glossing-over of controversy is fairly recognizable throughout the book, which soon enough becomes a pro-Malay bias.This eventually taints the book as a serious and balanced work of historical research, but keeps it on Malaysian bookshelves.If it were totally unbiased, direct, aggressive, and unflinching in examining and reporting Malaysian history, it would also be banned there.

Haven't read the book
Based on Mr. Shamsul Akmar's editorial commentary from daily English based newspaper The Star in peninsular Malaysia, is this book really worth reading?

Extremely important book but rather dated.A must read though
This is an excellent historical introduction to Malaysia's past. It is a must read for anyone interested on Malaysia. However, if you are looking for an history of history writing and historical interpretation in Malaysiain this book then you would be disappointed. We usually wish a lot morefrom such a good book. Nonetheless, the book badly needs a revised edition,after it appeared nearly 16 years ago. A solid contribution. ... Read more

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"Constructing Singapore" studies Singaporean nation-building by focusing on two processes: elite formation and elite selection. It gives primary attention to the role that ethno-racial ascription plays in these processes, but also considers the input of personal connections, personal power, class and gender. It is a study of the progress of Singapore's state-sponsored nation-building project to its current state whereby a Singaporean version of Chinese ethno-nationalism has overwhelmed the discourse on national and Singaporean identity. Based upon archival research and formal interviews, this study unpacks the culture of elite governance in Lee Hsien Loong's Singapore today. ... Read more

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Few gave tiny Singapore much chance of survival when it was granted independence in 1965. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial trading post is a thriving Asian metropolis with not only the world's number one airline, best airport, and busiest port of trade, but also the world's fourth-highest per capita real income? The story of that transformation is told here by Singapore's charismatic, controversial founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Rising from a legacy of divisive colonialism, the devastation of the Second World War, and general poverty and disorder following the withdrawal of foreign forces, Singapore now is hailed as a city of the future. This miraculous history is dramatically recounted by the man who not only lived through it all but who fearlessly forged ahead and brought about most of these changes. Mr. Lee is one of the most respected political figures in the world today ("Time" and "Newsweek" regularly profile his socio-economic strategies and his regime), and recognition of his name among academic, political, historical and sociological circles is guaranteed. This volume also features a foreword from Dr. Henry Kissinger. ... Read more

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Visionary? Authoritarian? Model for the West? Lee Kuan Yew, the long-time leader of Singapore, has been called all these things, and more. In these vivid memoirs, Lee takes a profoundly personal look back at the events that led to Singapore's independence and shaped its struggle for success. And, as always, he lets the chips fall where they may.In intimate detail, Lee recounts Singapore's unforgettable history. You'll be with Lee as he leads striking unionists against the colonial government; shares tea and rounds of golf with key players in Britain and Malaya; and drinks warm Anchor beer with leaders of the communist underground at secret midnight meetings. From British colonial rule through Japanese occupation in World War II, Communist insurrection, riots, independence -- and the struggles that followed -- few political memoirs anywhere have been this blunt, or this fascinating.Anyone interested in the political history of Singapore, Asia, and the modern world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

The History of a Man and a Country
My thoughts on this book are more fully expressed here:
[...]

but the gist is that this is a great book for anyone interested in Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, or the development of young countries.It's written in a way that's easy to understand, even if you don't have a background in history or political science, and it's far more captivating than I expected!

in appreciating lee's memoir,we elevate ourself
i am grateful to find myself to be able to see into the true essence of politic thro' a positive perspective, just, wit,perserverence and a passion of mankind with reasoning action. with a vivid memoir of such a master of mind whom vision has create hope in time of great choas henceforth makes live carry on. i detest false criticism based on purely ignorance of reality.

Insightful!
Mr Lee Kuan Yew - or LKY - as he is fondly referred to by both admirers and critics, has been a controversial figure as easily discernible in the oxymoronic titles he is often given, such as "benevolent dictator" and "enlightened despot". But to call him such names without heavy qualification is to utter a painful half-truth.

"The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew" aptly displays the range of LKY's sensitivity, insight, and wisdom harvested not only from his personal experience from WWII onwards but also from the experiences of others. As a young Singaporean who has lived in Singapore all her life I thought I was very familiar with this iconic figure who I had often read about from his speeches, newspapers and textbooks. However, his memoirs displayed another angle of his personal self which is rarely seen in the media.

I think it's a waste that not many young Singaporeans have read this book. Perhaps they should. His writing is powerful but easy to read, and I found myself reading it into the small hours of the night. This book would also appeal to you if you're interested in Singapore, its policies, and its history.

Outstanding
This is simply the most amazing and interesting biography, i have ever read. What makes Lee's narrative interesting are his crisp observations supported by official British documents made public after 35 years.

Part One of Two Volumes
This volume is childhood up to Singapore's dumping by Malaysia. ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

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Churchill?s description of the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942, after Lt-Gen Percival?s surrender led to over 100,000 British, Australian and Indian troops falling into the hands of the Japanese, was no wartime exaggeration. The Japanese had promised that there would be no Dunkirk in Singapore, and its fall led to imprisonment, torture and death for thousands of allied men and women. With much new material from British, Australian, Indian and Japanese sources, Colin Smith has woven together the full and terrifying story of the fall of Singapore and its aftermath. Here, alongside cowardice and incompetence, are forgotten acts of enormous heroism; treachery yet heart-rending loyalty; Japanese compassion as well as brutality from the bravest and most capricious enemy the British ever had to face. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Substantial work on a largely overlooked piece of military history
At first glance, "Singapore Burning" took me aback. The sheer comprehensiveness of the coverage made me think that this book would cause me to lose interest a third of the way in (I'm have an admittedly short attention span when it comes to lengthy books). I was very pleased to find that this wasn't the case at all. Author Colin Smith does, in fact, pour on the details, but it does nothing but add to the inherent drama to this remarkable account of the fall of Signapore. Having not known much about the furious fight for Signapore prior to picking up the book, the story came to me as a complete and shocking surprise. While I was aware of the battle's result, I was astonished by both the bravery and incompetence displayed by Allied forces on Signapore. Smith's precise writing style lends itself to this largely overlooked story (at least in the US). His passion for the subject comes shining through from beginning to end. A pleasant surpise of a read.

Fire !Fire! Fire! call for the big steam engine....
To truly understand a nation you need to understand how it reacts in defeat as well as victory. This is an excellent study of the former case by Colin Smith. The author provides great detail of individual actions throughout the campaign and highlights all to many of the deficiencies. Details of the adversaries on all sides of the conflict help to crystalise the thoughts and pervading attitude and atmosphere that both led too and propagated the greatest catastrophe and capitulation in British military history. The author's description of events, of the fighting retreat, tactics (especially of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Australian regiments and the Anti-tank and Artillery regiments) ,of the mistakes , mis-handling, bungling and lack of foresight, as well as some of the all too short successes makes exilarating reading. The many atrocities covered make the ordinary mortal question the inhumanity of the Japanese Army.I chose to read the book in parallel with Peter Thomson'sbook Battle for Singapore which helped developed my understanding. Both books are equally good. Maps of Singapore were good but the overall Malaya maps could be more detailed. The culpability for the debacle was easily discernible through the narrative with politicians in Britain, Australia and Singapore playing their part in this. The desertion, at the end , by the Australian commander General Bennett, all bull and bluster, was only counterbalanced by the extreme bravery of Australian and many other nationalities. It's also fair to say that others deserted Singapore by ignorance and dereliction of their own particular duty and were not brought to book. I strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in WW2 history and the fall of an Empire.

Probably the best book on the campaign
Among contemporary accounts, this is probably the best book on the campaign. Its analysis of the individual actions down the peninsular is fair and judicious. There is a pernicious tendency in writing about the Malayan campaign to either define the heroes and the villains, and then build the story around that; or to tilt in favour of either the Australians or the British. This book does neither: it unpacks the facts and lets the reader decide. In that way it does justice to all the protagonists, including the Indian army and the Japanese.

A book which everyone interested in this campaign should read is 'Phoenix from the Ashes' by Daniel Marston, which is an excellent account of what the Indian army learned in terms of the tactics of jungle fighting from its experiences in Malaya and Burma and how it responded.

There are a few technical errors (e.g. Nelson was not of the same class of battleships as Prince of Wales), but overall Smith's research seems equally sound as it affects the air, land and sea elements of the campaign. ... Read more