Product Description
In this fully updated, second edition of Crossroads, Jim Baker adds two new chapters that bring Malaysia and Singapore into the middle of the first decade of the 21st century. The original text (which traces the complex currents of history and politics of Malaysia and Singapore neighbours with a common past) is also revised to re-evaluate events in the context of an expanded history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

nice work!
(see KKJ's review as well)
Am also a former student of Baker's (in Singapore a long long time ago) and I have to say, he definitely IS the one to write a book on S'pore/Malaysia.Cheers to you Mr B.Or may we call you "Jim" now?:)

I'm sure it is a five star book!
Of all peeps to write a book about Singapore and Malaysia history this would be the man. I just ordered it and now I wait. Mr. Baker has always stood out to me as a great teacher. I had the privilege of being taught by him, I was never a history buff or even interested in becoming one. After having to take four classes of his in my senior year, due to my previous years performances, I can now say history intrigues me. I look forward to reading this. Class of 1988

Fantastic!
Baker spins a tale as dizzying as it is captivating; as intoxicating as it is true.The twists just keep on coming.This is the best thing since Goosebumps.

Great Book
This is a wonderful book as Jim Baker knows what he is talking about as he has lived in Singapore his entire life (60-70 years).So, naturally, some of the history of Singapore he knows first-handed, as he acurately describes how the nation became a first world country.This gives the truthful and honest facts of both Singapore and Malaysia as it is a must read for anyone looking for the best info. on these two nations.

This book is great
This book is wonderful, as it fully explains the history of Singapore and some wonderful facts, not commonly found within many other books on Singapore.Jim Baker is an excellent teacher and writer, talking about the thing he knows best, Singapore, as he has lived there his whole life.This is the book to go to for the true and honest facts of both Singapore and Malaysia.A must read. ... Read more

Product Description
Lee Kuan Yew is one of the most influential leaders in Asia. In this illuminating account, Lee writes frankly about his disapproving approach to political opponents and his often unorthodox views on human rights, democracy, and inherited intelligence, aiming always “to be correct, not politically correct.”Since it’s independence in 1965, tiny Singapore – once a poor and decrepit colony – has risen to become a rich and thriving Asian metropolis.From Third World to First is a fascinating and insightful account of Singapore’s survival from a history of oppressive colonialism, the Second World War and major poverty and disorder.Lee also uses previously unpublished official government reports and papers to explain how he led a tiny country into becoming a prosperous and secure modern society, amid the constant hostility of world politics.Today Singapore boasts not only to have the busiest port of trade, best airport with the world’s number one airline, but also the world’s fourth-highest per capita real income? An Island hailed as the city of the future, Singapore’s miraculous history is dramatically recounted by the man who not only lived through it all but fearlessly forged ahead and brought about most of the changes.Lee highlights is relationships with his political peers from Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan to George Bush and poetry-spouting Jiang Zemin. Also a father of three Lee writes warmly of his family life.From Third World to First offers readers a compelling glimpse not only into the heart but also the mind of an incredibly influential man who is impossible to ignore in Asian and international politics.Amazon.com Review
In this memoir, the man most responsible for Singapore's astonishing transformation from colonial backwater to economic powerhouse describes howhe did it over the last four decades. It's a dramatic story, and LeeKuan Yew has much to brag about. To take a single example: Singapore had aper-capita GDP of just $400 when he became prime minister in 1959. When heleft office in 1990, it was $12,200 and rising. (At the time of thisbook's writing, it was $22,000.) Much of this was accomplished through aunique mix of economic freedom and social control. Lee encouragedentrepreneurship, but also cracked down on liberties that most people inthe West take for granted--chewing gum, for instance. It's banned in Singaporebecause of "the problems caused by spent chewing gum inserted into keyholesand mailboxes and on elevator buttons." If American politicians were topropose such a thing, they'd undoubtedly be run out of office. Lee, however,defends this and similar moves, such as strong antismoking laws andantispitting campaigns: "We would have been a grosser, ruder, crudersociety had we not made these efforts to persuade people to change their ways.... It has made Singapore a more pleasant place to live in. If this is a 'nanny state,' I am proud to have fostered one."

Lee also describes one of his most controversial proposals: tax breaks andschooling incentives to encourage educated men and women to marry eachother and have children. "Our best women were not reproducing themselvesbecause men who were their educational equals did not want to marry them.... This lopsided marriage and procreation pattern could not be allowed to remain unmentioned and unchecked," writes Lee. Most of the book, however, is a chronicle of how Lee helped create so much material prosperity. Anticommunism is a strong theme throughout, and Lee comments broadly on international politics. He is cautiously friendly toward the United States, chastising it for a "dogmatic and evangelical" foreign policy that scolds other countries forhuman-rights violations, except when they interfere with American interests, "as in the oil-rich Arabian peninsula." Even so, he writes, "the United States isstill the most benign of all the great powers.... [and] all noncommunistcountries in East Asia prefer America to be the dominant weight in thepower balance of the region." From Third World to First is not the mostgripping book imaginable, but it is a vital document about a fascinatingplace in a time of profound transition. --John J. Miller ... Read more

Customer Reviews (50)

From Third World to First
The importance of the book is greater because it is written none other than the man who elevated the puny island-state of Singapore from the Third World to First. If it was written by someone else, one could have argued that it is only yet another book on Singapore, of course there are so many, so what is so special about it? This not a yet another book on Singapore. This book is as unique as the country - SINGAPORE - the author together with his "team" developed into a First World Country out of a shockingly tiny Third World island-state in the Southeast Asia. The entire world is proud of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew today and everybody is dreaming of visiting Singapore at least on a two-hour city-tour from the Changi Airportwhile on transit if the transit time exceeds two hours at least once in her/his lifetime during the life-time of this living hero, if, of course, one is lucky enough, in tribute to this great visionary leader who did all he could in his fullest capacity to the benefit of his people without considering it to be a trouble but as a great responsibility cast upon him by the humanity. Such leaders are the rarest on this earth. I have visited Singapore twice. There is not a single word in this book which is untrue. Everything in it is true and all who love not Singapore but their own countries of birth must read this book and see what they could do for their motherland as did by MM Lee. If great gentlemen such as Edmund Burke who once said that "All political power which is set over men....ought to be some way or other exercised ultimately for their benefit" and Sir Stamford Raffles, following Burke who wrote "I let no opportunity escape of placing the foundation of my public character on the broadest basis - that is to say, on the happiness and improvement of those I am destined to govern",were alive today, I cannot imagine how they could have rejoiced over the success of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in continuing their legacy of serving the people relentlessly. R. M. Piyadasa, Sri Lanka

Fantastic service
The item arrived in good time and condition as per Amazon's promise. Good job all!

Building a Nation
Lee Kuan Yew is considered the founder of modern Singapore and this is the story of how he transformed a third world country to a first world one.As he writes in the first page of the book - this is the story how to be build a nation out of a collection of immigrants and make a living for its people. The book is choppy in parts, however, the content is very good.

What the West should learn from Kuan Yew Lee
One of the most courageous men of the 20th century and now mentor to his country of Singapore. This is a story told in detail and with precision and political acumen. It truly reflects how a small speck of a country, abandoned by the Brits, threatened by Malaysia, and with nothing to lose, built up a multi-ethnic, diverse and undereducated society with no military into a powerhouse country and finacial center of East Asia. It is a wonderful story and full of struggles. Lee Kuaan Yew let's you in on the decision making in those earlier years, the right decisions as well as the wrong ones and how he and his small group of followers drew on their vision of the society that they wished to become.The outside record of his and his countrymen's accomplishments are there for all to see as well as the warts, too. But it is a relatively short time from absolutely nothing, to a country that has flowered and become a prototypical small but strong country for all to follow. I recommend this book to all those in the Middle East and Africa to read as a blueprint to creating a vision and building a successful diverse society. This should be read by leaders in the West in order to re-build fractured governments and societies. Lee Kuan Yew is a world treasure and should be mentor to the world's leaders. ACEMAN

From Third World to First : The Singapore Story: 1965-2000
This book was wrtiien by the most impressive Leader of any demoncratic country.Lee kwan Yew has done an absolutely outastanding job of developing Singapore from a poor, island relation of Malaya's 'backwaters' struggling to survive on its own, to an extremely stable prosperous first world country.

Mr. Lee has come under criticism from domoncratic leaders of some of the G7 countries as being too autocratic, too demanding, but when you read his story and what he had to contend with to bring Singapore to the excellent state it is in to day, you can only admire the man. This book should be reprinted as a standard text for the humanities at Universities.

I can't recommend this book more highly, maybe it should be read in conjunction with Chris Patten's book "East and West" published by MacMillan>Patten argues for less autocracy in Singapore, but without it, would Mr.Lee have been so successful - I don't think so.

John Greenfield
Emeritus
Senior Agriculturalist
World Bank ... Read more

Product Description
In less than two centuries, Singapore has transformed itself from a small seaside village into a modern metropolis. Since the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819, Singapore became a thriving colony and then an independent nation state.With over 1,000 images, Singapore: A Pictorial History 1819-2000 documents all the important aspects of Singapore's history: political and economic development, the construction of the city, and the emergence of a new society.Many of these photographs give readers a glimpse into places, buildings, and social activities that have long since disappeared.Using early and contemporary photographs, paintings, lithographs, and engravings, drawn largely from the rich collection of the National Archives of Singapore, author Grechen Liu has gathered a brilliant ensemble of images that, together with her keenly written text, tells the story of Singapore. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great photo-historical book of Singapore
The photos and writing in the book is very good.I would say the modern Singapore pictures are a little off be the cliche or simply staged.But as you go back in time the pictures are really meaningful to me, someone who has spent a lot of time in Singapore, knows its history and loves it as if it were my own.

Great pictures from 1819 to 1969, not so great 1970 to 2000
This is a thick picture book of Singapore gone by. The pictures are organised chronologically. There are some great aerial maps from the 1950s.

The key weakness is 1970 to 2000. Pictures are not very good. Especially for newcomers to Singapore it is fun to see how Singapore has changed in the last couple of decades as well.

I can recommend this book to people who move to Singapore and would like to get a visual history of how this island looked in years gone by.

You won't believe this is Singapore (or how fast it changed)
Its simply amazing going through Singapore's history through this book.Its almost unbelievable how much change has occured in Singapore, especially when you look at pictures of Orchard Road in the book and it looks literally like an orchard, unlike the ultra-modern shopping district it is now.Or the pictures of Bugis as an old Malay village with it just next to the shoreline, and thinking about the amount of land that has been reclaimed.You'll encounter feelings and thoughts like this over and over as you go over this book.

Recommended for the Singaporean who's curious on our own past, or for the visitor to Singpapore who wants to know more about this small island nation.

The only thing that I find disapointing with the book are the photos chosen for the "modern era" depiction of Singapore.Some of those pictures simply don't belong there, like the pictures of the local actors and actresses... ... Read more

Product Description
Rather than being another narrative of Singapore history, The Scripting of a National History: Singapore and Its Pasts studies the constructed nature of the history endorsed by the state, blurring the distinction between what happened in the past, and how that past is made to be understood. The People's Action Party (PAP) government's unbroken mandate to rule has come in no small part from how it explains its lineage and record to the electorate. The power invested in various aspects of Singapore's history is thus examined in a consideration of the politics of both the past and present.

This book traces state discourses on Singapore history from the decision in the immediate independence period to recognise the nineteenth-century British acquisition of the island as its founding moment, to the 1980s and 1990s' 'Asian values' stage where an essentially Confucian heritage was recognised, as well as to an emphasis on the history of racial fragility and harmony in response to the threat of terrorism in the twenty-first century. Embedded within them is the story of the PAP as the heirs of the economic dynamics of pax Britannica, the morality and righteousness of the Chinese scholar-gentleman, and the firm hand that balances the interests of the majority Chinese, in particular against that of the minority Malay population.

The authors examine the underlying template of Singapore history, the negotiation with its immigrant past, and the popularization of history through conscripting national heroes. The chapters range from considering how political leaders claim to be historians by virtue of being the makers of history, to the vicissitudes undergone by two originally private homes turned into symbols of Singapore's Chinese modernity. ... Read more

Product Description
The author provides the most useful and up-to-date account of Singapore's political history since the accession to power of the People's Action Party in 1959, and in particular, the performance of its governments since mid-1965 under Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong. ... Read more

Product Description
Sunday 15 February 1942 was, according to Sir Winston Churchill, the blackest day in the history of the British Empire. Only ten weeks earlier Japanese assault troops had waded ashore on the North-East coast of Malaya. Now the besieged British, Australian and Asian forces in Britain's so-called "impregnable citadel" were compelled to lay down their arms and some 90,000 allied service-men became prisoners of war. It was a crushing humiliation and defeat that marked the disintegration of the British Empire. Even today the angry question is being asked: why? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good General Overview
This book is a penguin reprint of a 60s publication. For someone looking for a general overview of the campaign, there is a lot here. The detail is most rich in this overview in the initial fighting in the North, Kota Bahru and the probe into Thailand to stop the Japanese. The way that Britain and the Commonwealth squandered their forces in defence of the penninsula makes for sordid reading of a campaign that never should have gone the way it did.

The initial invasion of the Island of Singapore is well dscribed but there are far too many questions not answered and not too many raised in the first place. The initial fighting on the island and the confused situation is not clearly outlined. It remained far from clear why the initial Japanese landing was so slowly responded to, why reserves were not commited quickly, and why vital supplies especially tanks and modern fighter aircraft were not allocated.

Exciting but not the definitive account of the campaign but a good place to start. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Good book which documents the fall of Singapore really capably
It was indeed a severe psychological and military blow to the British when Singapore fell. This book is an excellent account of that fall, and what led up to it. Really well written, it also illustrates the military incompetence and unprofessionalism of the British military command even a couple of years in to WW2. Some beautiful vignettes of pre-war Singapore as well as of events that took place during the fight for Singapore and it's fall. Well worth the read.

Incidentally, the name of the commander of the Australian Division in Singapore (Gordon Bennett), who had himself flown out to Australia whilst deserting his men, went on to become an Australian swearword. As in, when you whacked your thumb with a hammer, you exclaimed "Gordon Bennett" rather than the more colloqual F word! The same should have applied to the British commanders who failed their men so miserably. Anyhow, that was an aside.....

Debacle
For anyone living outside the former British Empire, it is virtually impossible to describe the calamitous psychological impact of the loss of Singapore in 1942.Winston Churchill had touted Singapore as the Gibraltar of the East; it was imagined to be impregnable, yet it was overwhelmed in a relative heartbeat by the Imperial Japanese Army, which rapidly advanced through Malaya (sometimes even by bicycle).Indeed, once the Japanese reached the island of Singapore itself, their main problem was that they had overrun their supply lines and were almost out of ammunition.Much has been made of the "complacency" on the British side that led to the debacle; the simple truth is that Singapore was only ever a trading post, that its defenses were more imaginary than real and that the local British and Australian troops, when put to the test, defended themselves very bravely.Barber paints a vivid picture of the pre-war Singapore, a place where English families would travel down to the same shop every week for Streets Ice Cream; where pink gin was lovingly poured at the clubs; where "There'll Always be an England" was sung on Sundays.Plainly Barber is in love with Singapore's history (as his other books on Singapore attest); from that perspective he conveys the sting of defeat just that more sharply. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first of a series of five volumes on the ASEAN countries being published by Oxford University Press in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Studies Program.In 1819 Thomas Stamford Raffles established an outpost of British India on a sparsely populated island at the southern end of the Straits of Malacca.This book tells how that settlement became a Crown Colony that was for over 100 years one of the most prosperous ports not just of British Malaya, but in the entire British Empire.This multi-faceted historical process is discussed by eighteen Singapore scholars. Starting with a short survey of the pre-modern history of Singapore, their work provides both a chronological account of events and specialized studies including community, the family, education, mass media, housing, health care, welfare, population growth, and national identity. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
good binding, clean pages ... Read more

Product Description
Singapore Architecture captures thearchitectural heritage of Asia's crossroads city. The early temples, chophouses and colonial monuments hold historical significance, while the modern skyline reflects Singapore's role as a 21st-century powerhouse. The recent work of local architects represents a unique and dynamic mix of cross-cultural influences, combining traditional Asian style with a thorough knowledge of modern architecture.
Filled with full-color photographs ofprivate houses, public buildings, shrines, mosques and office towers, this book reflects the broad spectrum of Singapore's buildings. ... Read more

Product Description
Many books have been written about Singapore's much vaunted position as a crucial maritime centre along the East-West trading route but one aspect of its history -- the military perspective -- has, for the most part, escaped serious scholarly attention. "Between Two Oceans" aims to plug this historical gap. Drawing on an impressive range of archaeological and historical sources gleaned from research and documents in Britain, India, Singapore, United States and Australia, the book traces the geo-strategic development of Singapore from its first settlement in the thirteenth century through the turbulent phases of the Early Modern period to the dramatic military episodes that have been such a distinctive feature of the twentieth century.In presenting a balanced view of this momentous story, the authors have sought to dispel many of the myths about Singapore's military history that have grown up in the past and are now assumed to be factually correct. The book breaks new ground in revealing the difference between fact and fiction in Singapore's fascinating military past. ... Read more

Product Description
This book covers the history of Singapore from its founding through the accession of the government of the People's Action Party. 166 pages. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides a sophisticated summary of up to date knowledge on the Fall of Singapore, including the critical tensions between Churchill and local commanders. ... Read more