An in-depth, on-the-ground study of Singapore in the post-war years 1945-50, providing invaluable insights into the civil, political and social situation on the island during the reconstruction years after the Japanese were defeated. With Freedom to Singapore (1950) is a very different book to its predecessor,
Singapore to Freedom (1943). The earlier work, which detailed the author's flight before the Japanese troops invading Singapore in 1942, was promoted by the publisher as, "The vivid record of a great escape".
With Freedom to Singapore, released seven years later, is another genre of text, the publisher this time stressing its value to anyone seeking an understanding of the post-war situation in the rapidly diminishing British colonies:
"Recent events show that the disturbing effects of the last war have been as serious in Malaya as in any country in the Far East. This book will prove of exceptional value to anyone who wishes to form an estimate of the present position in a country terrorised by bandits and torn by factions groping after some new political formula. It forms a backdrop to the day-to-day news from Singapore."
As such,
With Freedom to Singapore will find its place as an invaluable source document for any serious student of Singapore's past from World War Two through to the beginning of the 1950s.
