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It is an amazing tale of hardship and endurance that reads like a thriller. It is hard to believe that it is a true story.

—The Asian Review of Books

An amazing story!

—Library Journal

Author: Charles McCormac 

Year: December 2015

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Summary:  

Weakened by hunger, thirst and ill-treatment, author Charles McCormac, then a World War Two prisoner-of-war in Japanese-occupied Singapore, knew that if he did not escape he would die. With sixteen others he broke out of Pasir Panjang camp and began an epic two-thousand-mile escape from the island of Singapore, through the jungles of Indonesia to Australia. With no compass and no map, and only the goodwill of villagers and their own wits to rely on, the British and Australian POWs’ escape took a staggering five months, and only two out of the original seventeen men survived.

You’ll Die in Singapore is a must-read book before your Singapore Tour. Written by Charles McCormac’s compelling true account of one of the most horrifying and amazing escapes in World War Two. It is a story of courage, endurance, and compassion, and makes for a very gripping read.

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"Baker's thrilling book profits from his refusal to separate Singapore's history from Malaysia's. What we get is a broad story filled with surprising details drawn from his own experiences and from other scholarly works, and told in an easy and captivating style."

— Dr Ooi Kee Beng, Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore

"Jim Baker's Crossroads is bound to raise more than a few eyebrows in more than a few quarters. His book presents a side of history not many may be aware of or even want to know ... it is as thought-provoking as it is enlightening."

-- The Sun (on the first edition) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Author:  Jim Baker

Year: March 2012

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Summary:  

In this fully updated, third edition of Crossroads, Jim Baker adds new information following recent government elections in Malaysia and reviews the policies and impact of the next generation of Singapore leaders

The original text (which traces the complex currents of history and politics of Malaysia and Singapore—neighbours with a common past) is also rewritten and revised to re-evaluate events in the context of an expanded history.

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Author:  Lee Kuan Yew

Year: July 2011

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Summary:  

Few gave tiny Singapore much chance of survival when it was granted independence in 1965. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial trading post is a thriving Asian metropolis with not only the world's number one airline, best airport, and busiest port of trade but also the world's fourth-highest per capita real income? The story of that transformation is told here by Singapore's charismatic, controversial founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Rising from a legacy of divisive colonialism, the devastation of the Second World War, and general poverty and disorder following the withdrawal of foreign forces, Singapore now is hailed as a city of the future.

This miraculous history is dramatically recounted by the man who not only lived through it all but who fearlessly forged ahead and brought about most of these changes. Mr. Lee is one of the most respected political figures in the world today ("Time" and "Newsweek" regularly profile his socio-economic strategies and his regime), and recognition of his name among academic, political, historical and sociological circles is guaranteed. This volume also features a foreword from Dr. Henry Kissinger.

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Author:  Alvin Tan

Year: November 2019

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Summary:

Singapore: A Very Short History - From Temasek to tomorrow is a fresh,new, and highly-readable account of Singapore's history. It is a sweeping story of discovery, abandonment, rediscovery and development of what is today one of the world's greatest port-cities. Brief as this account may be, it incorporates all the latest research and findings about Singapore's past, and weaves a concise yet coherent and comprehensive account of the island over the last 700 years.

Beyond familiar foundational myths and stories, this new account weaves Singapore's story on a wide tapestry - through a cast of princes, sultans, colonial administrators, occupiers community leaders and politicians - and tells the tale of how they struggled to answer that all-important
question: How do we make this island succeed? Two recurrent themes emerge from this gripping account. First, that Singapore was an unlikely or accidental nation-state; and second, that given its vulnerability to wider regional and international forces, it survived and flourished only because it was able to constantly change and adapt to make itself useful and relevant to the world. And what of tomorrow? Will Singapore survive? This book is a hopeful response to these questions.

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Author:  Tommy Koh

Year: January 2020

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Summary:

The collection of 50 essays, written by leaders and experts in their fields, sheds light on how the small state has scored significant success in not only economics but also eight other areas.

Among other things, Singapore is one of the world’s least corrupt countries, has one of the highest home ownership rates worldwide — of more than 90 per cent — and has world-class schools, healthcare and environments.

Singapore has also been a good global citizen. It has played a significant role in the development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). At the United Nations (UN), Singapore has played a leadership role in the negotiations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation, and the Rio Declaration on Environment and development.

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Author:  Wallpaper

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Summary:

'Wallpaper City Guides' are a ruthlessly-researched, design-conscious guide, for the discerning traveller who wants to come away with a true taste of the best a city has to offer.

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Author:  Neil Humphreys

Year: February 2004

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Summary:

Knowing nothing of Singapore, Neil Humphreys arrives in the land of 'air-conned' shopping centres and Lee Kuan Yew. From the aunties in the hawker centres to expats dressed as bananas, from Singlish to kiasuism, and from Singaporeans abroad, Humphreys explores all aspects of Singaporean life, taking in the sights, dissecting the culture and illuminating each place and person with this perceptive and witty observations. Written by someone who is at once both insider and outside, the book is a wonderfully funny and disarmingly honest portrait of Singapore and its people.

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Author:  Lee Wei Ling 

Year: January 2015

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Summary:

Dr Lee Wei Ling, scion of Singapore’s first family, writes about her life as a daughter, doctor and diehard Singaporean. This book addresses a range of matters affecting Singaporeans in a personal way. It reflects her personality, profession, relationships, passions and perspective of life, Singapore and the world, and her loved ones. The chapters are grouped thematically and are capped by an epilogue of six articles which encapsulate the two events that had a major impact on the writer, and resonated deeply with Singaporeans: the passing of her parents

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Singapore Book Award for Best Non-Fiction Title (2016)

Author:  Lai Chee Kien

Year: October 2015

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Summary:

In 2009, the family of the late Lee Kip Lin donated to the National Library Board, Singapore over 14,500 slides and negatives of modern Singapore that he had taken, among other items of historical merit such as maps, rare photographs and prints, and books. Over three decades from 1965 to 1995, Lee captured the many landscapes and buildings that would eventually disappear from the island and its shores. Close to 500 photographs have been reproduced in this book to showcase the exuberance and eloquence of the different built forms - in an era when time and space in Singapore was more accommodating.

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"This collection takes apart the tropes trumpeted ad infinitum about Singapore - the Lion City, gone from fishing village to having great food and a world-class airport - and reveals the magic of myth that underpins them all. The stories, with their subtle explorations of colonialism, capitalism and alienation, are delightful and discomfiting in equal measure. [...] Ng shows not just keen awareness of the existing canons of genre, but a blithe faith that Singapore belongs in these canons. This clever, colourful collection certainly makes a good case for that."

—Olivia Ho, Straits Times

“Dazzlingly original, wickedly inventive.”

—Amanda Lee Koe, multi-award-winning author of Ministry of Moral Panic

Author:  Yi-Sheng Ng

Year: October 2018

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Summary:

A man learns that all the animals at the Zoo are robots. A secret terminal in Changi Airport caters to the gods. A prince falls in love with a crocodile. A concubine is lost in time. The island of Singapore disappears.

These are the exquisitely strange tales of Lion City, the first collection of short fiction by award-winning poet and playwright Ng Yi-Sheng. Infused with myth, magical realism and contemporary sci-fi, each of these tales invites the reader to see this city-state in a new and darkly fabulous light.

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