Surabaya, City of Work: A Socioeconomic History, 1900-2000

Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city, but the international attention paid it pales beside Jakarta, the nation's capital. In 1900 Surabaya was bigger than Jakarta, and one of the main commercial centers of Asia. Collapse of sugar exports during the 1930s depression, followed by Japanese Occupation, revolution and struggles for independence, brought on a long period of stagnation and retreat from the international economy. With the boom of the 1990s, Surabaya regained prominence as Southeast Asia's leading non-capital-city industrial area.

From the kretek factories to the port, from Dutch-era residences to the new industrial estates, this readable and eventful history paints a fascinating portrait of a dynamic city. This book gives new insight into Indonesia's modern economic and political development, and yields a useful alternative to the Jakarta-centered perspective of most writing on Indonesia. In addition, this study sheds new light on the paths of development and growth of cities in Southeast Asia.

Howard W. Dick is an Economic Historian, Southeast Asia Specialist and Associate Professor at the Australian Centre of International Business, University of Melbourne, Australia. He has written extensively on Indonesia.