Singapore. The men who lost Singapore, 1938–1942 By Ronald McCrum Singapore: National University of Singapore Press, 2017. Pp. 240. Maps, Images, Bibliography, Index.

Abstract

each. Further, many of the same arguments presented in the book about the limitations of coping strategies are found in the complementary, critical literature on sustainable livelihoods. Second, at times, it wasn’t clear that the evidence presented in the study provided sufficient warrant for some of the claims made. I refer to claims that the quality of life in rural Burma is worsening (p. 37), that democratic processes create conditions favourable to economic development (p. 17), that small-scale informal activity does not fuel economic growth (p. 180), and so on. These quibbles do not detract from the core contributions of this monograph, however. Further and sadly, there can be no quibble with the book’s ominously prescient concluding remarks: ‘Because many of the forces at work in the country run counter to democratic norms and nurture conditions favourable to the return of the military rule, ... there can be no guarantee that substantive democratic outcomes will emerge in Myanmar’ (p. 202).