The outline of the Marina Bay Sands hotel with skypark resembling a giant ship in the sky has become synonymous with the new stylish Singapore.
A colourful light show on the waters of Marina Bay with both new and old skyscrapers of the Financial District behind.
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd
Copyright © 2013 texts Periplus Editions (HK) Pte Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be re-produced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-4629-1540-8 (ebook)
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[email protected] www.tuttlepublishing.com
Japan
Tuttle Publishing
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[email protected] www..tuttle.co.jp
Asia Pacific
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
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Singapore 534167
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[email protected] www.periplus.com
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PT Java Books Indonesia
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Printed in Singapore 1311TW
TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
THE TUTTLE STORY: "BOOKS TO SPAN THE EAST AND WEST"
Many people are surprised to learn that the world’s largest publisher of books on Asia had its humble beginnings in the tiny American state of Vermont. The company’s founder, Charles Tuttle, came from a New England family steeped in publishing.
Tuttle’s father was a noted antiquarian dealer in Rutland, Vermont. Young Charles honed his knowledge of the trade working in the family bookstore, and later in the rare books section of Columbia University Library. His passion for beautiful books—old and new—never wavered throughout his long career as a bookseller and publisher.
After graduating from Harvard, Tuttle enlisted in the military and in 1945 was sent to Tokyo to work on General Douglas MacArthur’s staff. He was tasked with helping to revive the Japanese publishing industry, which had been utterly devastated by the war. When his tour of duty was completed, he left the military, married a talented and beautiful singer, Reiko Chiba, and in 1948 began several successful business ventures.
To his astonishment, Tuttle discovered that postwar Tokyo was actually a book-lover’s paradise. He befriended dealers in the Kanda district and began supplying rare Japanese editions to American libraries. He also imported American books to sell to the thousands of GIs stationed in Japan. By 1949, Tuttle’s business was thriving, and he opened Tokyo’s very first English-language bookstore in the Takashimaya Department Store in Ginza, to great success. Two years later, he began publishing books to fulfill the growing interest of foreigners in all things Asian.
Though a westerner, Tuttle was hugely instrumental in bringing a knowledge of Japan and Asia to a world hungry for information about the East. By the time of his death in 1993, he had published over 6,000 books on Asian culture, history and art—a legacy honoured by Emperor Hirohito in 1983 with the "Order of the Sacred Treasure," the highest honour Japan can bestow upon a non-Japanese.
The Tuttle company today maintains an active backlist of some 1,500 titles, many of which have been continuously in print since the 1950s and 1960s—a great testament to Charles Tuttle’s skill as a publisher. More than 60 years after its founding, Tuttle Publishing is more active today than at any time in its history, still inspired by Charles Tuttle’s core mission—to publish fine books to span the East and West and provide a greater understanding of each.
Old and new buildings in midtown illuminated with a fan palm in foreground.
View from the Esplanade over the still waters of Marina Bay at dusk.
CONTENTS
PART ONE: INTRODUCING SINGAPORE
THE SINGAPORE STORY THE LION CITY COMES OF AGE
SINGAPORE INC THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT
SINGAPOREANS A MULTI-ETHNIC, MULTI-CULTURAL RAINBOW
THE ARTS SCENE A GREAT LEAP FORWARD IN MUSIC, THEATRE, DANCE AND THE VISUAL ARTS
FOOD IN SINGAPORE THE NATIONAL OBSESSION
SHOPPING THE OTHER NATIONAL OBSESSION
GREEN SINGAPORE ASIA'S PREMIER GARDEN CITY
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN FROM COLONIAL TO POST-MODERN: A FASCINATING POLYGLOT OF STYLES
LIVING CULTURE, LIVELY TRADITIONS A LESSON IN MULTI-ETHNIC TOLERANCE
SINGAPORE SWINGS EVERY NIGHT IS PARTY NIGHT!
THE SPORTING CITY SPECTACLE, SPORT, RECREATION AND RELAXATION
PART TWO: EXPLORING SINGAPORE
COLONIAL SINGAPORE
CHINATOWN
THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT
THE SINGAPORE RIVER