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.