The UN-ESCAP (and its predecessor UN-ECAFE) has been ahead of the curve in shaping the ideas on economic and social development in the Asia-Pacific region through its annual economic and social Survey. This publication aims to provide a first-hand account of what was happening during a period of unprecedented economic and social transformation. It contains a succinct narration of the countries’ reconstruction efforts and needs after the Second World War as well as their development aspirations and endeavours providing an analytical narrative of the transformation of the region infested with pervasive hunger and deprivation to the Asian miracle that lifted billions of human beings out of extreme poverty. It tells how the region from a periphery became the centre of gravity for the world economy. In short, it is an analytical story of the unfolding of the Asian drama.