Asian Books Blog is based in
Singapore. Lion City Lit explores what’s going on in the City-State, lit-wise. During
World War Two, the Battle of Singapore, from 8–15 February 1942, ended with the
fall of this city, Britain’s fortress in the East. Today marks the 74th
anniversary of the event, and NUS Press, which is associated with the National University
of Singapore, offers a range of relevant titles.
Guns of February: Ordinary
Japanese Soldiers' View of the Malayan Campaign and the Fall of Singapore,
1941–42 / By Henry Frei: An historical
account of the Fall of Singapore and Japan's 1941 military campaign in Malaya
through the eyes of Japanese soldiers who took part, based on interviews,
memoirs, war diaries, and other Japanese-language sources.
Churchill and the Lion City / Edited
by Brian P. Farrell: An analysis of Winston Churchill's understanding of the
British Empire, his perceptions of Singapore and its imperial role, his
direction of affairs regarding Singapore and the Empire, and his influence on
the subsequent relationship between Britain and Singapore.
New Perspectives of the Japanese
Occupation in Malaya and Singapore, 1941–1945 / Edited by Yoji Akashi and Mako
Yoshimura: When they surrendered in 1945, the
Japanese destroyed many records of their occupation. This book represents the
work of senior Japanese scholars to recover primary sources.
Topics covered include Japanese research activities in Malaya, Japan's economic
policies, Malayan Communist Party leaders and the Anti-Japanese Resistance, the
massacre of Chinese in Singapore, railway transportation during the Japanese occupation period, and the Japanese surrender.
War Memory and the Making of
Modern Malaysia and Singapore / By Kevin Blackburn and Karl Hack: A study of
war memory in Singapore and Malaysia, demonstrating the malleability of
the past, and showing both how war memory is suppressed or shaped, and how stories
take on mythic qualities.
A History of Modern Singapore,
1819–2005 / By C.M. Turnbull: An overarching survey of Singapore's transition from
a small British port to a major trading and financial hub within the British
Empire in the late 19th Century, and then to the modern city state that
Singapore became after gaining independence in 1965.
Red Star Over Malaya: Resistance
and Social Conflict During and After the Japanese Occupation, 1941-1946 / By
Cheah Boon Kheng: An account of inter-racial relations between Malays and
Chinese during the final stages of the Japanese occupation. In 1947, none of
the three major races of Malaya - Malays, Chinese, and Indians - regarded
themselves as pan-ethnic "Malayans" with common duties and problems.
When the occupation forcibly cut them off from China, Chinese residents began
to look inwards towards Malaya and stake political claims, leading inevitably
to a political contest with the Malays.
For more details click here for
the NUS Press website.
