Justin Corfield has been teaching history and international relations at Geelong Grammar School in Australia since 1993. He is the co-author, with his father, of the Encyclopedia of Singapore (Scarecrow, 2006), the first encyclopedia to be published on the country.
Singapore, neither very old nor very large, is still of enormous
importance in today’s world because of its location as a major port
and air hub and its incredibly multicultural population. This new
edition of the Historical Dictionary of Singapore has been totally
rewritten and reflects the influence that Singapore has on today’s
global society. The author has published previously about
Singapore, and as an Australian, he has something of a regional
connection. Like other titles in the various Historical
Dictionaries series, this one begins with a chronology and a
lengthy introduction, which places the history of Singapore in
context. The entries that follow range in length from a paragraph
to a bit over one page. These include biographies of major figures
from the
country’s history (for example, founder Sir Thomas Raffles and
current president Selleppan Nathan) and places, such as Sentosa
Island and Singapore Botanic Gardens. Entries on general topics,
such as Elections, Smuggling, and Television, are numerous, as are
entries on major political events, such as Malayan Emergency and
World War II. As is the practice for this series, there are no
further readings attached to the entries, but there is a lengthy
bibliography that is divided by subjects and preceded by an
introduction. Appendixes include lists of colonial officials and
heads of state as well as population statistics. This would be a
valuable addition to a library with a focus on Southeast Asia.
*Booklist*
The 2011 edition is 363 pages long and has the following sections:
acronyms and abbreviations, chronology, introduction, dictionary,
appendixes and the bibliography. ... The Dictionary section of the
2011 edition has been expanded to include more people, events and
organizations after 1991. ... Libraries should still buy this book
for their shelves as it has information not found in the 1991
edition.
*s*
Libraries should still buy this book for their shelves as it has
information not found in the 1991 edition.
*s*
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