Generations of Australians have been reared on the belief the fall of
Singapore in February 1942 was a British betrayal that exposed Australia
to Japanese invasion. In The Road to Singapore a young American
historian, using archival records from across the globe, exposes the
notion of a British betrayal as nothing more than a myth. British
authorities never gave Australia an iron-clad guarantee against enemy
attack and invasion and always stressed the need for Australians to take
responsibility for home defense. The causes and consequences of the
refusal to heed this advice are explained in this scholarly, readable
and salutary study.
