The Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, is the largest Chinese business organization of the region's trading network. Drawing on interviews with members of the SCCCI, Visscher (Asian history, U. of Amsterdam) offers an alternative history of Singapore from the perspective of an evolving civic institution rather than the state (from the colonial to independence era). The book includes b&w photos, and a list of top officers of the SCCCI, with their dialect group, since 1906. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)