Crossroads : a popular history of Malaysia & Singapore / Jim Baker

Information About

This study of the history of Malaysia and Singapore offers a look at an area that contains cultural elements of many countries, the indigenous influences of archipelago Southeast Asia; the impact of Asia's cultural giants China and India on the area; the coming of Islam from western Asia by way of India; the contributions made by the West through European colonialism and economic exploitation; and finally, the impact of the process of globalization on the two countries in the late twentieth century. This book, then, has two themes. One is the movement of culture, products, and people throughout the area, and the other is the people who stayed to create the modern nations. It traces the complex history and politics of Malaysia and Singapore, neighbuors with a common past hurtling along different paths.