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Singapore: A Very Short History
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 all-important 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.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 13, 2020
It’s an extremely brief history condensed into 167 pages which I appreciate. Better than the usual social studies textbooks.
January 31, 2020
Curiosity level: Densely distilled (paradoxical but #true) so you don’t have to lift a finger!
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“Farquhar, much loved by the population, stayed on in Singapore till December 1823. He received a resounding and warm send off from the people of Singapore who turned out in droves to see him off. It took two hours for Farquhar to say his goodbyes, such was he depth of regard and affection they had for him.” (Reading this somehow reminded me of our late PM, Lee Kuan Yew, too)
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For a book this skinny, it’s got lots of meat... Alvin shared in the introduction how this book is the fruit of a challenge posted by his friend: “Can you condense all of Singapore’s history into 60,000 words or less?”
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#challengeaccepted indeed! it’s not everyday you get a challenge like that, and I admire Alvin’s persevering ability to pick and choose what’s to go in. As well as his knack of including unique nuggets of information about our country that we mayn’t have known before. How he balanced both is quite beyond me!
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The book is an wonderful ode to Singapore; a gargantuan effort on Alvin’s part. Might this book be included in our readings for History next time? It should, especially for anyone keen to have some extra reading!
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Thanks for writing this important book!
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“Farquhar, much loved by the population, stayed on in Singapore till December 1823. He received a resounding and warm send off from the people of Singapore who turned out in droves to see him off. It took two hours for Farquhar to say his goodbyes, such was he depth of regard and affection they had for him.” (Reading this somehow reminded me of our late PM, Lee Kuan Yew, too)
.
For a book this skinny, it’s got lots of meat... Alvin shared in the introduction how this book is the fruit of a challenge posted by his friend: “Can you condense all of Singapore’s history into 60,000 words or less?”
.
#challengeaccepted indeed! it’s not everyday you get a challenge like that, and I admire Alvin’s persevering ability to pick and choose what’s to go in. As well as his knack of including unique nuggets of information about our country that we mayn’t have known before. How he balanced both is quite beyond me!
.
The book is an wonderful ode to Singapore; a gargantuan effort on Alvin’s part. Might this book be included in our readings for History next time? It should, especially for anyone keen to have some extra reading!
.
Thanks for writing this important book!
January 1, 2021
READ THIS BOOK.
That’ll be my review. 😆 But seriously, I do recommend this short history book of Singapore to fellow Singaporeans as well as you who would like know about Singapore. The writing style is easy to understand and it summarises the things that happened as early as 1700s. It’s amazing, how this strategic little island grow, from a tiny & busy port to a flourished nation. 🇸🇬
That’ll be my review. 😆 But seriously, I do recommend this short history book of Singapore to fellow Singaporeans as well as you who would like know about Singapore. The writing style is easy to understand and it summarises the things that happened as early as 1700s. It’s amazing, how this strategic little island grow, from a tiny & busy port to a flourished nation. 🇸🇬
August 21, 2020
This book by Alvin Tan on Singapore's history was released in 2019 to celebrate our nation's bicentennial. Inspired by James Hawes "The Shortest History of Germany", Alvin wanted to write a similar book for Singapore. I am glad he did. Tan has a flair for writing concisely, and he does a pretty credible job here.
But cramming in several centuries worth of history into less than 170 pages takes some doing, and leaves much out. There is also room to question his interpretation.
The Raffles-Farquhar story around the founding of Singapore was good, as was the description of what Singapore was like pre-war and during Syonan-to. The story of the political development from post war to independence is also very well done, in helping all understand the left wing communist threat, and the difficulties with Malaysia. But everything else in Singapore's history was condensed. There is obviously so much more to tell.
But, I would recommend Singaporeans to read this book and learn more of our history. You at least get better in trivia. Understand which buildings have existed for more than a century, and how the original city plan for Singapore still defines our civic district!
But cramming in several centuries worth of history into less than 170 pages takes some doing, and leaves much out. There is also room to question his interpretation.
The Raffles-Farquhar story around the founding of Singapore was good, as was the description of what Singapore was like pre-war and during Syonan-to. The story of the political development from post war to independence is also very well done, in helping all understand the left wing communist threat, and the difficulties with Malaysia. But everything else in Singapore's history was condensed. There is obviously so much more to tell.
But, I would recommend Singaporeans to read this book and learn more of our history. You at least get better in trivia. Understand which buildings have existed for more than a century, and how the original city plan for Singapore still defines our civic district!
December 2, 2020
A quick and easy read. Highly recommended for Singaporeans and Expats. The writer does a terrific job of presenting the facts in an interesting way that makes you want to learn more.
August 21, 2020
I am quite surprised there's still a lot more of Singapore's history that is still unknown - from the time before Raffles founding to the political arena before Singapore's independence in 1965. Indeed the book is a very short history but is filled with historical accounts that was not taught in schools (at least when I was in school back in the early 2000s).
While there are some historical events not mentioned, the book does highlight some of the prominent events that shaped Singapore today.
While there are some historical events not mentioned, the book does highlight some of the prominent events that shaped Singapore today.
November 25, 2025
This book is as advertised - a concise history of Singapore. That said, it does the first six hundred years in fourteen pages. So the subtitle should be something like "From English exploitation to thriving in the 21st century". If there is a central theme, it is that Singapore was not destined to become a powerful, independent city-state. Singapore’s location, lack of natural resources, and small size made it vulnerable, but that vulnerability has provided it the impetus to constantly adapt for fear of becoming economically irrelevant. This would mean a steep decline for the country and its people's standard of living. In working to stay essential in the world economy, the Singapore's ability to pivot in response to regional and global forces has central to its success.
This was a good introduction to Singapore. Having studied East Asian countries, I was still largely ignorant of Singapore's history and this helped remedy that. It also whet my appetite for more information, particularly on the political system and the economic changes in the last fifty years. Given the ambition of the book in trying to cover the last two hundred years in "A Very Brief History", it is not surprising I wanted more. My only real complaint is the writing. This was published before ChatGPT was made public, but it has a AI kind of feel to it in that it is full of cliches and very bland analysis. Still, I recommend it highly to anyone wanting an introduction to Singapore's history.
The longer story that I took out of it:
The island has been settled for at least eight hundred years. Its fortunes and population depended on the politics and relations of empires around it. When Raffles arrived to establish a British port in 1819, it had a relatively small population and was in danger of being destroyed early because of British-Dutch rivalries. But it soon became the lynchpin of the British Empire in the Asia. It's importance continued to grow until the Japanese conquest, which was surprisingly quick. British assumptions when designing Singapore's defenses were never realistic. For Winston Churchill, this was a catastrophe for the empire that he literally lost sleep over for years.
After the war, it soon became clear that the British could not keep control of the colony but did not want to give it up to other powers, particularly the Chinese. It's path to independence was twisty and included an ill-fated union with Malaysia, but after it gained its full independence in 1965, it demonstrated very strong governance. The People's Action Party (PAP), led by Lee Kwan Yew, had maneuvered its way into power as the British slowly handed over power. Unlike almost every other former colony, the government of Singapore became a technocratic success story. The PAP has kept control of Singapore for the last sixty years, but has lost individual elections. These are regarded as a referendum on it rule, so a bad election result (which still leaves the PAP in power) is a single to reevaluate its policies. This has led to a huge push for public housing, an education system that is the envy of the world and a thriving economy. Tan finishes by showing that despite Singapore's incredible success, it is still vulnerable to forces outside of its control, but given its track record for adaptation, he remains cautiously optimistic.
This was a good introduction to Singapore. Having studied East Asian countries, I was still largely ignorant of Singapore's history and this helped remedy that. It also whet my appetite for more information, particularly on the political system and the economic changes in the last fifty years. Given the ambition of the book in trying to cover the last two hundred years in "A Very Brief History", it is not surprising I wanted more. My only real complaint is the writing. This was published before ChatGPT was made public, but it has a AI kind of feel to it in that it is full of cliches and very bland analysis. Still, I recommend it highly to anyone wanting an introduction to Singapore's history.
The longer story that I took out of it:
The island has been settled for at least eight hundred years. Its fortunes and population depended on the politics and relations of empires around it. When Raffles arrived to establish a British port in 1819, it had a relatively small population and was in danger of being destroyed early because of British-Dutch rivalries. But it soon became the lynchpin of the British Empire in the Asia. It's importance continued to grow until the Japanese conquest, which was surprisingly quick. British assumptions when designing Singapore's defenses were never realistic. For Winston Churchill, this was a catastrophe for the empire that he literally lost sleep over for years.
After the war, it soon became clear that the British could not keep control of the colony but did not want to give it up to other powers, particularly the Chinese. It's path to independence was twisty and included an ill-fated union with Malaysia, but after it gained its full independence in 1965, it demonstrated very strong governance. The People's Action Party (PAP), led by Lee Kwan Yew, had maneuvered its way into power as the British slowly handed over power. Unlike almost every other former colony, the government of Singapore became a technocratic success story. The PAP has kept control of Singapore for the last sixty years, but has lost individual elections. These are regarded as a referendum on it rule, so a bad election result (which still leaves the PAP in power) is a single to reevaluate its policies. This has led to a huge push for public housing, an education system that is the envy of the world and a thriving economy. Tan finishes by showing that despite Singapore's incredible success, it is still vulnerable to forces outside of its control, but given its track record for adaptation, he remains cautiously optimistic.
March 4, 2022
This book does what it says on the tin and is a great introduction to the history of Singapore. Alvin Tan’s book is a short 167 page history of Singapore. As such it covers from the 13th Century through to 2019. However, in practice the book starts near the beginning of the 19th century when in 1819 Singapore was founded. In a short book there needs to be decisions on where to focus, and this one focuses on the 20th Century with three quarters of the book from 1900.
The focus is greatest on the political development of Singapore. And Singapore’s independence is the subject that takes up most space. But other areas like education, the economy, defence, and society are all covered as well.
Being short, and covering a wide range of subjects it fair rushes through them. Almost no topic has more than five pages. Of course, this therefore disappoints whenever the reader wants more details. But it is hard to object much when that is not the aim of the book. On the plus side I was reading this on trains. And lots of little sections, nicely headlined, is brilliant for keeping track when regularly starting and stopping reading without getting lost and having to backtrack. This is helped by the concise writing style that goes to the heart of the issue each time – a necessity in a book like this.
Well worth reading to get a good overview of the history of Singapore.
The focus is greatest on the political development of Singapore. And Singapore’s independence is the subject that takes up most space. But other areas like education, the economy, defence, and society are all covered as well.
Being short, and covering a wide range of subjects it fair rushes through them. Almost no topic has more than five pages. Of course, this therefore disappoints whenever the reader wants more details. But it is hard to object much when that is not the aim of the book. On the plus side I was reading this on trains. And lots of little sections, nicely headlined, is brilliant for keeping track when regularly starting and stopping reading without getting lost and having to backtrack. This is helped by the concise writing style that goes to the heart of the issue each time – a necessity in a book like this.
Well worth reading to get a good overview of the history of Singapore.
February 21, 2022
A Very Short History of Singapore, as the title suggests is the (very short) history of Singapore written in a very prolific yet concise manner. It gives a good overview of Singapore's history alongside very interesting details which are hardly covered in our history textbooks and rhetoric. With so much information packed into this book, it has been an educational and interesting read, offering a somewhat familiar yet insightful perspective into Singapore's history.
Would recommend it to anyone who would like to find out more about Singapore's history.
Would recommend it to anyone who would like to find out more about Singapore's history.
October 12, 2025
History is sometimes criticized for only being the history of men, and Alvin Tan’s short history of Singapore is very much this; politics and a bit military. Which of course is really what shaped much of Singapore. Still I would have liked a bit more than ins and out of politics 1955-65. It is surely not just the politicians that has made Singapore such a successful country, although there have been some very insightful men at work. I admit this, I would just have liked to know a bit more about was else has been going on here.
August 9, 2022
The book starts and ends strong as it sticks to its promise to provide a concise summary of Singapore's history. Towards the middle, it gets lost in quite a few details. Either way, a good intro worth reading (3.5/5 stars)
December 7, 2021
Cannot believe that I fully digest this book within 5 days. A very great comprehensive book for quick grab of Singapore History
February 23, 2022
Great book! Very specific, academic read that gets into the nitty gritty details of the forming of Singapore in the 50s and 60s. Last 20 pages were really the best on its success post 69.
March 8, 2023
6/5 stars! A real page-turner. The writer paints historical characters fairly and three-dimensionally. An easy and exciting introduction to Singapore’s rich history.
January 5, 2024
Highly recommend it to anyone curious about Singapore's history! Read the whole book within a couple of sittings in the Singapore National Library, which makes it even more special for me :")
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews