Never-before-published photos document the birth of a global powerhouse Singapore 60s: An Age of Discovery provides a firsthand glimpse at the early days of the city-state, as told through the never-before-published photographs of an American diplomat. Author George W. Porter served as a Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore from 1965 to 1970; as a former journalist and amateur photographer, he found himself in an ideal position to document the early days of the newly-independent city-state, and the promise and ambition that led to the Singapore we know today. These photographs capture scenes of a bygone era, with Singaporeans young and old living and working in maritime surroundings so heavily dependent on the Singapore River. A far cry from the bustling metropolis Singapore has become, the scenes in these photos nevertheless capture the heart and soul of the Singaporean citizens, and the first tiny steps that birthed a model city-state and global economic powerhouse. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first and founding Prime Minister, espoused a philosophy of transparent and pragmatic governance that turned a tiny, resource-poor city-state into one of history's greatest nation-building success stories. This book captures the spark of the early days, and presents a prescient view of what was to come. Witness the sleepy glory of 1960s Singapore Remember the energy and promise of Singapore's first steps See how far Singapore has come in a mere fifty years Consider what the next fifty years may hold for this bustling powerhouse What better way to honor Singapore's Golden Jubilee than to look back at the birth of this global success? Singapore 60s: An Age of Discovery gives you a front-row seat for the trip down memory lane, and a rare glimpse of the start of the journey.

Is there a risk that Malaysia's racial mixture and its weighted political and economic structures could again explode into the kind of violence which, in 1969, was only just prevented from setting the whole country on fire? And has Singapore's success been bought at a price in civil liberties too high for its health in the future? Four years of th

Why did independent Singapore celebrate two hundred years of its founding as a British colony in 2019? What does Merdeka mean for Singaporeans? And what are the possibilities of doing decolonial history in Singapore? Raffles Renounced: Towards a Merdeka History presents essays by historians, literary scholars and artists which grapple with these questions. The volume also reproduces some of the source material used in the play Merdeka / 獨立 / சுதந்திரம் (Wild Rice, 2019). Taken together, the book shows how the contradictions of independent nationhood haunt Singaporeans' collective and personal stories about Merdeka. It points to the need for a Merdeka history: an open and fearless culture of historical reckoning that not only untangles us from colonial narratives, but proposes emancipatory possibilities.