Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterflies
Singapore: National Parks Board, 2012
ISBN: 9789810715571

To the uninitiated, caterpillars are green, worm-like creatures that are the young of butterflies. But once you get up close and personal, you will discover how varied caterpillars can be! From colours to processes, to setae to cephalic horns, each caterpillar has its own unique features. Even in their pupal stage, caterpillars come in different colours, shapes and sizes.

By identifying these unique features through photos and descriptions, this book hopes to help butterfly breeders, nature lovers and students of biology learn to recognise the butterfly species each caterpillar belongs to, as well as the plants they feed on.

The 80 caterpillars featured in this book were chosen for their common occurrence in Singapore. Although some caterpillars are less commonly seen than others, a careful observation of plants in nature reserves, parks and gardens, and even in residential estates will turn up a good selection of caterpillars.

So, before you feast your eyes on butterflies, do take some time and care to observe the varied caterpillars in Singapore.

The Road to Officership
Stanley Chua
Singapore: Shing Lee Publishers, 2012
ISBN: 9789812374837

The Road to Officership is the ultimate self-help manual for anyone who aspires to be an SAF officer. Major (NS) Stanley Chua draws on his acute understanding of human psychology and military life to prescribe a simple and intuitive formula for officership. The result is a manual filled with insightful practical advice on how to exploit your potential and overcome your frailties during military training- simply by taking control of your own thoughts, emotions and actions. For anyone willing to commit personal time and effort, this book will help you master not only the art of officership, but also leadership and survival skills that will stay with you for life. The book is written and based on the true experience of the author’s many years of service in the SAF which consist of experiences on the ground, in policy-making and as a military psychologist. Every chapter has a list of the key takeaways to help clear all lingering doubts.

Lead Your Life: Eight Respected Singaporeans Reflect on Leadership, Labour and Love
Warren Fernandez
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789814342186

In Lead Your Life, eight prominent old boys of St Joseph’s Institution – Cabinet Minister, University President, and CEOs – recount the times they were called on to exercise leadership and how they responded to that call in a series of frank exchanges with Straits Times editor Warren Fernandez.

In a series of conversations on the art of leadership held in 2010–2011 at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore – dubbed The Fullerton-SJI Leadership Lectures – distinguished alumni of St Joseph’s Institution shared what they had learnt about leadership, and the leaders they had become, with a younger generation.

From government leaders to business chiefs, iconoclasts to intellectuals – they are all leaders in their own right. Their leadership moments ranged from a call to serve as a deputy prime minister, the SARS epidemic, or a financial scandal at the National Kidney Foundation. Whatever the case, they shared openly how they responded to the call of leadership. Their styles and presentations differed markedly; their insights were rich and diverse, drawing on their experiences in fields such as banking, government, the arts and non-government volunteer organisations. Ideas ranged from how to build organisations, provide visionary leadership, establish trust and credibility, stay humble and grounded, manage time and stress, while preparing to plug-and-play in an increasingly complex and connected world.

Mum's Not Cooking: Favourite Singapore Recipes for the Near Clueless or Plain Lazy
Denise Fletcher
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810897321

What do you do when you’re homesick for some Singapore food, but you can't really cook, mum's nowhere nearby, or there's no hawker centre you can shuffle to in your shorts and flip-flops?

Cook some yourself! Adopting the loving authority and voice of one who’s accustomed to creating friendly recipes for those who are simply clueless or just rather lazy about cooking, Denise Fletcher devotes her culinary experience to creating a companionable book for all the Singapore food favourites that you and your friends or colleagues may crave. Recognising that you may not easily obtain 'authentic' ingredients if you're based overseas where you are, Denise also suggests food substitutions to help you approximate that taste for home. Thumb through this book and search for a recipe that will comfort you.

The Making of Captains of Lives: Prison Reform in Singapore: 1999 to 2007
Chua Chin Kiat
Singapore: World Scientific, 2012
ISBN: 9789814383820

This book tells a story of successful prison reform that brought the recidivism rate of prisoners down from 44% to 24%. In the process of this reform, the entire Prison Service was transformed from a custody focused mindset to a rehabilitation centred culture. This change was wrought despite the lack of enthusiasm of the then political leadership.

The author describes his personal role in the reform effort, the methodology used to engender change in organizational culture and the struggles for the soul of the prison service and the hearts and minds of all those involved. These include organizations involved in the aftercare of ex-offenders, volunteers who came forward to assist in the efforts and the families and employers of offenders and ex-offenders. The journey ends with the Yellow Ribbon Project that now embodies the rehabilitative efforts for ex-offenders.

The Making of Captains of Lives is a personal account of a public sector leader who has helped built a highly efficient prison system in Singapore, providing a strong case study for successful change management and public sector leadership. It will encourage the hearts of all those civil servants who believe in serving their nations and societies by devoting themselves to a worthy cause in their day-to-day work.

Smokescreens & Mirrors: Tracing the 'Marxist Conspiracy'
Tan Wah Piow
Singapore: Function 8, 2012
ISBN: 9789810721046

Tan Wah Piow wrote Let The People Judge in 1987. It debunks the allegation that he is a communist, and the repeated charge by the Singapore government that he is the mastermind behind a ‘Marxist Conspiracy’ to “subvert Singapore’s political and social order using communist united front tactics”.

This new book reproduces the earlier publication and adds an important, and cogent, analysis of the government’s action, which took place behind smokescreens and mirrors as on a magician’s stage.

Dr G Raman, who was involved in the court case in which Wah Piow was embroiled back in 1974, categorically states in the foreword: “The trial resulted in the perversion of justice.” Students of Singapore’s political and social history would be intrigued by this eye-opening read.

Escape From the Lion's Paw: Reflections of Singapore's Political Exiles
Teo Soh Lung & Low Yit Leng (eds.)
Singapore: Function 8 Limited, 2012
ISBN: 9789810721039

Exile is not a choice, but a response to lawless oppression. The narratives in this collection might awaken readers from their complacency and make them question the relevance of the Internal Security Act, a law that makes a mockery of democracy.

The six authors — Ang Swee Chai, Francis Khoo Kah Siang, Tan Wah Piow, Tsui Hon Kwong, Tang Fong Har and Ho Juan Thai — speak of their narrow escapes in the 1970s and 1980s, and their lives then and now with frankness, humour and sadness, but always with optimism and hope for Singapore and the world.

That We May Dream Again [2nd ed.]
Fong Hoe Fang (ed.)
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810708672

In the early morning of 21 May 1987, sixteen Singaporeans were arrested under the Internal Security Act of Singapore. The Act legitimizes detention without trial. In the weeks that followed, another six were detained under the same Act.

Among those arrested were professionals, students and, workers from the Catholic Church in Singapore. Most were social activists who championed the cause of the disadvantaged in society and were concerned with issues of peace and social justice.

The Singapore government alleged that the detainees were part of a ‘Marxist conspiracy’ aimed at subverting the existing social and political system in Singapore through the use of communist united front tactics. Over three years, all these detainees were gradually released, most with Restriction Orders imposed on them for a significant period of time.

Four years ago, some of the ex-detainees from the Catholic Church groups recounted together with their families and friends, their thoughts from those tumultuous years in a book. Today, on the 25th anniversary of that event, more of those who lived through those dark days have added their voices, private stories and reflections of that incident, resulting in this second edition of That We May Dream Again.

The new stories speak more extensively of bewilderment and sadness as formal institutions retreated while friends and families rallied. They speak of the difficulty of being asked to “move on” without proper reconciliation. What is unspoken, but which comes through with ultra clarity is the quiet strength and creative flexibility which the writers have marshalled as they continue their unending quest to “… love tenderly, to act justly and to walk humbly with the Lord, our God.”

Singapore Insights From the Inside
David Fredo (ed.)
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810721169

The Singapore International Foundation invited members of the international community to share their unique insights and personal experiences of Singapore so that more might know about Singapore and its people.

In this inaugural edition of Singapore Insights from the Inside, 31 members of the international community, ranging from students, volunteers, short term visitors, to professionals in both the non-profit and the corporate worlds, present a rich tapestry of perspectives on Singapore the cosmopolitan city-state.

These are stories about Singapore by the international community, for the international community – a smorgasbord of anecdotes on people, places and Singaporean idiosyncrasies too! The local community will also gain insights into what Singapore is to the international community.

Written from the heart, the uninitiated will benefit from the authenticity of these narratives.

This new biennial publication is one of several initiatives by which the Singapore International Foundation promotes understanding to bridge and nurture enduring relationships between Singaporeans and world communities, harnessing friendships for a better world.