Product Description
This gripping history has been written using the diaries, letters, photographs and personal reminiscences of members of 488 Squadron, who were based just outside Singapore City and valiantly kept planes in the air against Japanese attacks until just before the city was overwhelmed. The story of their day-to-day life at a time of crisis, their hard work and their valour is eye-opening. The remaining ground crew were granted passage on one of the last ships to leave the island, when the Japanese were just 1 kilometre from the city centre. The ship had accommodation for 23 passengers, yet there were approximately 3000 people crammed on board. The overcrowding was the least of their worries... ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Journalism not serious history
This book was written by a journalist which is the reason it has the rather sensational sub title "the greatest catastrophe of world war 2". The loss of Singapore led to the British losing an army of 150,000 and about 150 aircraft. The battle of France resulted in something like 300,000 casualties and an army of over a million men going into captivity. In addition the factories mines and people of France were lost to the allied cause. That was a catastrophe. The suggestion that the loss of Singapore was even in the top ten of Second World War catastrophes is doubtful. (The main problem was the loss of strategic materials tin and rubber. The Singapore Naval base could not be used by Britain as it had to keep its navies at home to counter the Germans and Italians)

The book shows a journalistic approach. It looks at the bar bones of various battles but instead of trying to explain what happened by examining the comparative strategies of both sides it relies on anecdote. The writer has combed primary material of the period and comes up with the stories of individual caught up in the various battles and their aftermath. The difficulty of quoting the diaries of individual soldiers is of course they have very little idea of the big picture and why events run out as they do. It is mildly interesting to hear that the Japanese attacked at such a point and then hear the memoirs of an anti tank gunner but it does not give you the total picture.

The interesting thing about the campaign was how 70,000 poorly supplied Japanese troops were able to defeat 150,000 well supplied British troops. The Japanese did have the advantage of some 200 light tanks and air superiority. However they had very little artillery and they even had run out of ammunition by the time of the allied surrender. The British had plentiful supplies of ammunition and artillery. They had a numerical superiority of 2:1. With moderately competent leadership they should have won. This of course was the problem. The British leadership was not only not competent it was laughably incompetent.

The way that the campaign progressed was that the British for irrational reasons distributed their army through the Malayan Peninsular. The Japanese were able to concentrate their forces and to defeat the allied divisions one by one. As the Japanese moved down the peninsular panic began to spread in the British Armies. In fact the casualties inflicted on the Japanese were minimal as the British were so ineffective. Later in the war the British learned that if they stood and fought for a while in these situations the Japanese would run out of ammunition. Once this happened the inability of the Japanese to supply their troops led to high death rates through starvation and disease. (Burma and Kokoda)

The British commander Percival was delusional. He deluded himself that he was defeated. In reality even when he had lost the mainland he still had a advantage of numbers over the Japanese who were running desperately short of ammunition. He failed to coordinate any meaningful counter attacks when the Japanese came ashore in Singapore and ended up simply giving in.

The book fails to illustrate the reality of the campaign simply describing the events as if it were a chronicle. The book is moderately readable but does not give you a real insight of why the events that occurred did occur.

Good read
Just completed this book.Motivation was a trip to visit Singapore and to learn a little about the history.

Book is an excellent read, with human interest stories all the way through.An extra touch is that the author follows through these human interest stories through to the current day.

Defenses Are Bad For Morale


The Japanese have landed in Malaya and have started their 400 mile trek south to Singapore. When various officers suggested building defense works on the north side of Singapore Island General Percival vetoed the idea saying that defense works would be bad for morale. Later when the Japanese army initiated its crossing of the narrow straits separating Singapore Island for the Malayan peninsula it was determined that General Yamashita was coordinating the attack from the top of a five story tower attached to the Palace of the Maharajah of Johore. When asked permission to fire on the tower in order to destroy this unique observation post permission was denied. The reason? If the Maharajah's palace was damaged the British government would have to reimburse the Maharajah for the damage after the war.

This book provides a detailed account of that desperate attempt to keep the Japanese from reaching Singapore. Lacking air and naval cover, and led by general officers of questionable ability the British, Indian, and Australian troops fought valiantly, but ultimately lost. It is interesting that Churchill insisted that the army fight to the last man. That directive resulted in about 10,000 casualties for the Allied Forces.

Then follows the account of the brutal occupation of Singapore. Another interesting point is that Korean soldiers in the Japanese army were even more brutal than the Japanese soldiers. While it is inspiring to read of the many heroes who fought hard and endured deprivation and torture at the hand of their conqueror, it is also sad that these men were so poorly led by their generals.


The author has written this historical drama in a fine narrative style. My interest in books like these may differ from the interests of others. I am interested in the psychological and social impact of war, how soldiers and civilians cope with the stresses of war. Why do people make the decisions that they do, and why are some people heroic while others lose their humanity. This book provides this sort of information in some detail. At times I became a bit weary of the detailed account of each battle and skirmish, but then again that is what some readers are looking for.All in all a well rounded account of a great disaster of World War II.

Disaster Daily......
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 by Peter Thomson. Details of the adversaries on all sides of the conflict help to crystalise the thoughts and pervading attitude and atmosphere that both led to 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 is exilarating reading. The many atrocities covered make the ordinary mortal question the inhumanity of the Japanese Army. More balance might have been achieved by expressing more of the enemy military strategy and better maps would have help in the understanding, but this is nevertheless an outstanding historical read. I chose to read the book in parallel with Colin Smiths book Singapore Burning which developed my understanding . The culpability for the debacle was easily discernible through the narrative and politicians in Britain, Australia and Singapore play 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 dereliction and were not brought to book. I strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in WW2 history and the fall of an Empire. ... Read more

Product Description
Among the many groups of workers whose labor built Singapore in the 20th century, there may be none as marginalized in memory as the women who travelled from China and Japan to work in Singapore as prostitutes. This study sketches in the trade in women and children in Asia, and--making innovative use of Coroner's Inquests and other records--hones in on the details of the prostitutes' lives in the colonial city: the daily brothel routine, crises and violence, social relations, leisure, mobility, disease and death.

The result is a powerful historical account of human nature, of human relationships, of pride, prejudice, struggle and spirit. Ordinary people tumble from the pages of the records: they talk about choice of partners, love and betrayal, desperation and alienation, drawing us into their lives.

This social history is a powerful corrective to the romantic image of colonial Singapore as a city of excitement, sophistication, exotic charm and easy sex.

In the years since its original publication in 1992, this book, and its companion Rickshaw Coolie, have become an inspiration to those seeking to come to grips with Singapore's past. ... Read more

Product Description
This book details the process of urban planning in Singapore by tracing its early growth on the banks of the Singapore River to its present structure. ... Read more

Product Description
Through a cultural analysis of the symbols of death - flesh, blood, bones, souls, time numbers, food and money - Chinese Death Rituals in Singapore throws light upon the Chinese perception of death and how they cope with its eventuality. ... Read more

Product Description
"The churches have not done well in most of the cities of the world," says Keith Hinton. "The great people movements have taken place among country people. Singapore is, in many ways, a remarkable urban exception." This book provides a careful study of urban ministry that works. ... Read more

Product Description
The book represents a lot of archival work as well as field work and interviews. The introductory chapters provide an overview of the academic importance of studying place names (toponymics). In Singapore, there has been much controversy over place names due to the introduction of Hanyu Pinyin names. Singapore street names are also complicated by the fact that the names represent colonial (western), Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab names. On top of that, many street and place names are also referred to by various ethnic groups in a colloquial manner which is quite different from the official name. For example, lower Serangoon Road is often referred to as 'Tekka' by local population. This book will help to ensure that developers could name various buildings and other developments in a historically appropriate and culturally relevant manner. Besides its educational importance, this book will be of great relevance to all Singaporeans who would be interested to know the history and background of the street names they live in.This second edition features the addition of new and various updates based on feedback from readers of the first edition, and also includes a new preface by the authors. READERSHIP: Historians, archivists, geographers, academics and those interested in the culture and history of Singapore. ... Read more

Product Description
Explores the vibrant relationships between theatre, cultural politics and social attitudes in a country whose history has many lessons for Western scholars. ... Read more

Product Description
When Singapore fell so ignominiously to the Japanese in February 1942, many tens of thousands of men, women and children were left to their own devices. It was truly 'every man for himself'. To stay in Singapore meant certain captivity and every probability of barbarity at the hands of the Japanese, that many tried to escape. This book tells of some of the remarkable and shocking experiences that lay in store for those who chose this option. The only way out was by sea and every sort of craft was pressed into service. Ahead lay terrible dangers; storm, shipwreck, piracy, capture by a merciless enemy, starvation and death through lack of water, to name but some.

This is a shocking and inspiring book that embraces great courage, extraordinary endurance, appalling atrocities and even cannibalism. The author was one of those who made it to safety. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wrong title
The wrong title was used for the book.There was no Royal Navy to help evacuate the Army from the city of Singapore.Also, there was no Royal Air Force to keep the Japanese Air Force from bombing the ships since it was wipe out during the Malaysian Campaign, plus you had the Japanese Fleet constantly prowling the area, capturing or destroying any ship that cross its path. Otherwise, the book was great. ... Read more

Product Description

This book tracks the phases of Singapore’s economic and political development, arguing that its success was always dependent upon the territories links with the surrounding region and the wider global system, and suggests that managing these links today will be the key to the country’s future. Singapore has followed a distinctive historical development trajectory. It was one of a number of cities which provided bases for the expansion of the British empire in the East. But the Pacific War provided local elites with their chance to secure independence. In Singapore the elite disciplined and mobilized their population and built successfully on their colonial inheritance. Today, the city-state prospers in the context of its regional and global networks, and sustaining and nurturing these are the keys to its future. But there are clouds on the elite’s horizons; domestically, the population is restive with inequality, migration and surplus-repression causing concern; and internationally, the strategy of constructing a business-hub economy is being widely copied and both Hong Kong and Shanghai are significant competitors. This book discusses these issues and argues that although success is likely to characterize Singapore’s future, the elite will have to address these significant domestic and international problems.

Product Description
From the earliest days of its foundation by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819, Singapore has attracted travellers in great numbers. Most of them in the nineteenth century were on their way to other parts of Asia, notably China, and they spent only a few days in Singapore. This pattern has continued, and most of today's visitors stop over briefly before flying on to other countries in South-East Asia, the Far East, or Australia and New Zealand. A number of travellers wrote of their impressions of the island, often a chapter in a book describing their travels around the world. John Bastin has made a selection of these writings to produce a vivid account of Singapore as it has gradually changed over the years to become the world's leading port. He ends his selection in 1942 with the Japanese conquest of the island. This is a convenient date as the Second World War ended the golden age of travel, when relatively few people could afford the cost, to give way in the 1950s to the era of mass travel, when it seems at times that most of the world is on the move. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Snapshots of Singapore
This anthology contains 60 short pieces of travel writing spanning the time from the first survey of Singapore in 1819 (by the British captain Daniel Ross) to an account of the Japanese conquest of the city in 1942 (written by the Japanese colonel Masanobu Tsuji).

The compiler mentions that he has been particularly concerned to give adequate coverage to women travellers to Singapore, and to include many passages written by Americans. Although the anthology contains one passage by a Malay, and two passages by Japanese authors, it has proved impossible to include any passage written by a Chinese.

The book is out of print now, which is probably due to the undramatic and mostly descriptive nature of the travellers' accounts. Someone who has never visited Singapore or did not live in the city will find many of these snapshots of Singapore a bit dull and repetitive.

However, this anthology contains three true gems in terms of literary and entertainment value:

(1) The excerpt from Alfred Russel Wallace's description of his visit to Singapore, which is full of finely observed details, and recounted with humane warmth and gentle irony. By the way, as the compiler notes, it was in Singapore that Wallace commenced his momentous natural history explorations of the Malayan and Indonesian region that led to the co-formulation with Charles Darwin of the Theory of Natural Selection. Wallace's overview of Singapore's social structure, written in 1862, is the finest such description to be found in the book. He wrote that

few places are more interesting to a traveller from Europe than the town and island of Singapore, furnishing, as it does, examples of a variety of Eastern races, and of many different religions and modes of life. The government, the garrison, and the chief merchants are English; but the great mass of the population is Chinese, including some of the wealthiest merchants, the agriculturists of the interior, and most of the mechanics and labourers. The native Malays are usually fishermen and boatmen, and they form the main body of the police. The Portuguese of Malacca supply a large number of the clerks and smaller merchants. The Klings [a Malay term for Indians from Telinga] of Western India are a numerous body of Mahometans [Muslims], and, with many Arabs, are petty merchants and shopkeepers. The grooms and washermen are all Bengalees, and there is a small but highly respectable class of Parsee merchants. Besides these, there are numbers of Javanese sailors and domestic servants, as well as traders from Celebes, Bali, and many other islands of the Archipelago.

(2) A passage from the Japanese journalist Tatsuki Fujii's book "Singapore Assignment" (1943) in which he fumes at what he sees as the signs of British imperialism. For example, he was of the opinion that "the poverty of the people increased the longer the British remained in Malaya. The slums of Singapore were world famous and in the midst of all this poverty and filth, the British lived in oblivious splendor." This is in nice contrast to the observation of a British press baron, Lord Northcliffe, who visited Singapore in 1921 and was "surprised to find the Chinese living in palaces and the English in very modest houses. The best motor cars are occupied by Chinese - notably the only Rolls-Royce."

(3) A six-page extract about the Raffles Hotel from the travel book "North of Singapore" (1940) by the British civil engineer and travel writer Carveth Wells. It contains one of the best jokes of the anthology, which goes:

It is just as well to know what you are buying, especially when you buy anything with Chinese or Japanese lettering upon it. The wife of a prominent diplomat once bought a very elaborate ricksha, in which she insisted upon riding when doing her downtown shopping. Her husband begged her not to use it, but she insisted until he translated the Chinese lettering which was written prominently but decoratively on the sides and back of the ricksha: 'I am a first-class prostitute. My price is five yen.' ... Read more

Product Description
In 1964 Britain's defence presence in Malaysia and Singapore was the largest and most expensive component of the country's world-wide role. Yet within three and a half years the Wilson Government had announced that Britain would be withdrawing from its major Southeast Asian bases and abandoning any special military role 'East of Suez'.Drawing upon previously classified government records P.L. Pham examines and explains how the Wilson Government came to this conclusion, one of the most significant decisions in the decline of British global power after the Second World War.

Substantially revising earlier accounts, Pham exposes the inner workings of government, the close but strained relations between the United Kingdom and the United States in the midst of Cold War tensions, and how politicians and policy makers managed the decline of British power, providing an in-depth and comprehensive study of British policy processes of the era. ... Read more

Product Description
In its short life as an independent country, Singapore has achieved faster economic growth than most Third World countries and acquired the problems inherent in a newly industrializing country. In examining the country's history, geography, social structure, and economic growth, this book details Singapore's response to former dilemmas and its prospects and future challenges. ... Read more