The Top Toast: Ya Kun and the Singapore Breakfast Tradition
William Koh
Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia, 2010
ISBN: 9789814281652

The Top Toast looks at how Adrin Loi took his father's business from a street corner coffee stall, and turned it into a household name in Singapore. From a single outlet at Far East Square in 1998, Ya Kun Kaya Toast now has 32 branches located throughout Singapore, and has also expanded to regional territories such as Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam. This book gives the reader an insight into Adrin Loi's leadership, motivation and drive, and his passion to grow Ya Kun International. It also looks at the importance of human resource management in growing a company, and having the right organisational structure and culture to support business growth.

Finally, the book examines the strategic choices that confront a small business. Unlike an MNC that can compete in any market by selling the same product, Ya Kun has to choose its products carefully, select its battlefield with wisdom and grow strategically.

Plants and Flowers of Singapore
Ivan Polunin
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2009
ISBN: 9789814276481

This tiny, humid island at the tip of the Malay Peninsula was once a forest-covered Garden of Eden. The majority of 2,500 different species of native plants were forest trees and shrubs, woody climbers and other perennials. Even today over 1,000 native species can still be found, many restricted to the few surviving forest areas. Although their range may be limited, their variety is not - just the Nature Reserve alone contain over 500 species of forest trees - almost as many tree species as found in the whole of Europe! Ironically, most people do not see these trees, as the species often grown in gardens and on roadsides are the more colourful ones from abroad.

The "Species" section of this book categorise the plants by type - herb, shrub, tree, fruit, vegetable - and by habitat - seashore, mangrove, forest, etc. Each species is illustrated in colour and the extended caption contains a wealth of information about the plants, its origin and its use. In addition, there is a double-page feature on the Botanic Gardens, with a map showing where some of the species may be found.

A Great Betrayal: The Fall of Singapore Revisited
Brian Farrell and Sandy Hunter (eds.)
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2010
ISBN: 9789814276269

Across 15 chapters, professors of history and military history experts present their analyses and impressions about the Fall of Singapore in 1942, which was even described by Winston Churchill himself as "the greatest disaster in British military history". Discussed at length is the Malayan Campaign and the "Singapore Strategy", with problems and events related to the pre-war period as well as the conduct of the campaign itself.

Highlights include extensive discussions on the reasons for Japanese success and British failure as well as Ground Zero perspectives from Japanese soldiers fighting on the island and civilians facing evacuation. What follows is a more complete and comprehensive picture painted of this turbulent period in Singapore's history.

Breaking the Silence: Bullying in Singapore
Esther Ng and Ken Rigby (eds.)
Singapore: Armour Publishing, 2009
ISBN: 9789814270250

Breaking the Silence draws upon the perception and reality about bullying as seen through the eyes of students, educators and parents from different parts of society. It provides a peek into what bullying is really like here in Singapore.

In producing this book, the editors have included contributions from key experts in the field of education and psychology. Based upon true stories and large-scale surveys conducted with children in Singapore schools, it provides a comprehensive  account of the nature and prevalence of traditional and cyber bullying in both primary and secondary schools. It examines the risk factors involved in bullying, for the victim, the bully and the community, together with the harmful consequences that affect victims and bullies as individuals, as well as families, schools and communities. The book discusses and recommends steps that schools can take to reduce or stop bullying among students. Finally, it considers the roles that parents and community leaders can play in adopting practical strategies and approaches to combat this serious problem.

A Peranakan Legacy: The Heritage of the Straits Chinese
Peter Wee
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2009
ISBN: 9789812618610

Exquisite pieces of embroidered clothing, stunning gold and silver jewellery, pretty porcelain artefacts and unusual items of daily living chronicle the rich heritage of the Peranakans or Straits Chinese - a people whose unique culture is an amalgamation of Eastern and Western influences: Chinese, Malay, India, Indonesian, Portuguese, Dutch and British.

This book captures through lavish, full-colour photographs the Peranakans' strong sense of customs and etiquette and introduces readers to their way of life.