Historical Dictionary of Singapore (review)

i84 China Review International: Vol. i, No. i, Spring 1994 and swift glance at a renowned Chinese artist and disjointed bits of culture. One will need to consider the usefulness of the film against its price. Rebecca W. McGinnis Ohio State University K. Mulliner and Lian The-Mulliner. Historical Dictionary ofSingapore. Asian Historical Dictionaries; No. 7. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1991. xxxii, 251 pp. Given Singapore's remarkable development during the past three decades and its increasing importance in Southeast Asian affairs, this volume makes a unique addition to the reference literature on the island-state by the very fact ofits being a historical dictionary. Written primarily for the nonspecialist, the main body of this book comprises an Overview, Dictionary, and Bibliography. In addition, there is a Chronology of Important Events, a list of Common Abbreviations and Acronyms, a Note on Spelling and Names, and appendixes showing Heads of Governments, Cabinets, General Elections since 1955, Population by Ethnicity, and Percentage Distribution of Chinese by Dialect Group. Several maps are included, the most interesting ofwhich is the oldest town plan ofSingapore, circa 1828. The Overview section provides an adequate description of geography and population. However, one would wish that the History subsection could be longer, especially in reference to events of the past forty years, which are given only four short paragraphs. The subsection on the Economy is weak because a great many substantive developments in Singapore's economic transformation have been left out. The Dictionary section is excellent in terms ofbreadth and biographical summary. While politically prominent figures are well covered, there is room to include a few senior civil servants and community leaders in the private sector who also made significant contributions to the nation's social and economic development . References to the best bibliographies are not found among the titles listed in the Bibliography section but in the Bibliographical Note preceding it. The Note contains a concise introduction to a small number ofimportant historical as well as contemporary works. The Bibliography section is divided into eight subsections : Bibliographies, History, Politics and Government, Economy, Geography, copyright1994Society, Culture, and Reference Works. Ofthese, the Geography subsection by Universityof(which includes demography and urbanization) appears to be comparatively Hawai'i Pressweak in the sense that more important publications have been left out. In the Reviews 185 same vein, the SoutheastAsian Journal ofSocial Science, which has been in print for over twentyyears, should have been included in the subsection on Major English Language Journals and Newspapers. The usefulness of this book lies mostly in its reference value for the generalist who may wish to study Singapore in greater depth. Some specialists would also find parts of the Dictionary informative for its extensive coverage ofpeople, events, and themes. There are a few small inaccuracies (including a title that never appeared in print), which can be overlooked. Finally, this volume is highly recommended for all libraries with a Southeast Asia collection. Stephen H. K. Yeh University ofHawai'i Patricia Neils. China Images in the Life and Times ofHenry Luce Savage, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1990. ix, 326 pp. 12 pages ofplates. $35.00. Patricia Neils' book is the first devoted exclusively to publisher Henry Luce (1898-1967) and his involvement with China. In her introduction (pp. 1-13), Neils sets out to undo the injustice ofthe perception ofLuce as a demagogue who first attempted to Christianize the Chinese and then became a fanatical anticommunist , using his pre-television media empire of Time, Life, and Fortune magazines, the March ofTime radio series, and Time Newsreels, shown in theatres throughout the United States, in an effort to sway American opinion against Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists in favor of the fascist regime of Chiang Kai-shek. To this end, Neils revisits the problématique of locating an accurate (in the sense ofbeing proven accurate by later developments inside China itself) image of China from 1898 to the 1960s, by focusing on Henry Luce's personal experiences in China, the China images produced by Luce's media empire, and the making of a China policy in the United States during the same time period. The empirical data Neils utilizes to make her case comprise a...