However, Miksic provides much that will resonate with Singaporeans, in particular the wealth of evidence that suggests the 14th-century port city was a flourishing center of seaboard commerce; it had a trade and service based economy with a sophisticated money system, a strong local authority; a driven, multi-ethnic, multi-national and multi-lingual population co-existing in relative harmony; solid defenses; and close relations with its near neighbors.
This definitive volume is by any measure a colossal achievement; it has something for everyone. And herein lies its main problem: it follows that the entire book is unlikely appeal to every reader. The long archaeology-based sections are minutely-detailed and include how digs were organized, the methods of data analysis, the means of extraction and so on. These are strictly “for the benefit of specialists”, i.e. those in academia (archaeologists, anthropologists, history professors, etc.).