Myth or Magic: The Singapore Healthcare System
Jeremy Lim
Singapore: Select Books, 2013
ISBN: 9789810773625

This book provides a comprehensive look at the political philosophy that has shaped Singapore's healthcare system over the last five decades, and the financing and delivery of healthcare in Singapore. It delves into different aspects of the Singapore healthcare landscape, including pharmaceutical cost management, medical tourism, doctors' remuneration, medical education, rules and regulations, workforce panning and health promotion. It suggests lessons that the Singapore healthcare story holds for healthcare policy makers and reformers and the challenges that the future holds.

The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories: Volume One
Jason Erik Lundberg (ed.)
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2013
ISBN: 9789810762346

In recent years, Singaporean literature has begun experiencing a sea change, with the short story form enjoying a renaissance. As a result, an explosion of short fiction with a Singaporean flavour has been produced to incredible effect, both by emerging and established writers. For the prose enthusiast, it is a very exciting time.

The book curates the finest short fiction from Singaporean writers published in 2011 and 2012. This ground-breaking and unique anthology showcases stories that examine various facets of the human condition and the truths that we tell ourselves in order to exist in the everyday. The styles are as varied as the authors, and no two pieces are alike. Here are twenty unique and breathtaking literary insights into the Singaporean psyche, which examine what it means to live in this particular part of the world in this particular time.

Saudade: The Culture and Security of Eurasian Communities in Southeast Asia
Antonio L. Rappa
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2013
ISBN: 9789810775452

Saudade is a Portuguese idiom that symbolizes a sense of belonging; a special feeling of attachment to a time and place, as well as a desire to retain its memories and hopes. Saudade is the result of the mixture of European and Asian traditions. The experience of Saudade is also found in Portuguese Eurasian songs, dances and speech. It is from these explanations of Saudade that this book takes its title. The aim of this book is to reveal how Eurasian communities in Singapore and Malaysia survived since local Asians had their First Contact with the Portuguese traders, priests and sailors. Saudade is a rendition of belonging to the Eurasian community as a whole. It involves an important percentage of Portuguese Eurasians whose ancestors were the life-stem of many Eurasian communities in Singapore and Malaysia.

The Tommy Koh Reader: Favourite Essays and Lectures
Tommy Koh
Singapore: World Scientific, 2013
ISBN: 9789814571074 (hardback) / 9789814571081 (paperback)

As one of Singapore's renowned and celebrated public figures, Professor Tommy Koh is recognised for his meritorious public service and achievements, and has been conferred many honours both locally and internationally, including the recent "Harvard's Great Negotiator Award 2014". His book, The Tommy Koh Reader, is a rich collection of Professor Koh's favourite essays and lectures, and provides insights into his illustrious academic and diplomatic career. It includes memorable photographs and essays on diplomacy, international law, art, culture, heritage, nature and environmental issues.

We ♥ Queenstown
Urban Sketchers Singapore
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2013
ISBN: 9789810766016

Originally a backwater swamp housing the Ying Fo Lut and Boh Beh Kang kampongs, Queenstown became Singapore’s first satellite town. It was named in commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. As this grand old dame of an estate celebrates her 60th anniversary in 2013, the artists from Urban Sketchers Singapore capture the enduring landmarks and scenes of everyday life in the neighbourhood.

Take a trip down memory lane and imagine the late Queenstown cinema and bowling alley in its heyday. Visit Stirling Road to view Singapore’s first HDB blocks and enjoy the unique personality of each HDB terrace house. Admire the religious harmony and architectural diversity of Queenstown’s churches, temples and mosques. To escape the heat, slip into the cool oasis of Queenstown Community Library, which remains in the middle of winding Margaret Drive.

The River's Song
Suchen Christine Lim
London: Aurora Metro Books, 2013
ISBN: 9781906582982

Ping, the daughter of Chinatown’s Pipa Queen, loves Weng, the voice of the people, but family circumstances drive them apart. Ping is forced to leave suddenly for the USA, while Weng is sent to prison for his part in local protests.

Many years later, Ping returns to a country transformed by prosperity. Gone are the boatmen and hawkers who once lived along the river. In their place, rise luminous glass and steel towers proclaiming the power of the city state. Can Ping face her former lover and reveal the secret that has separated them for over 30 years?

This is a beautifully written exploration of identity, love and loss, set against the social upheaval created by the rise of Singapore.

Lee Kuan Yew: A Life in Pictures
The Straits Times
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2013
ISBN: 9789814342582

Mr Lee Kuan Yew turns 90 this September. To commemorate his birthday, The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao - flagship newspapers of the Singapore Press Holdings - have put together a unique collection of photographs in a pictorial book capturing his public and private life.

This pictorial is a carefully-curated collection of about 480 photographs, including more than 100 never-before-published pictures selected from over 35,000 photographs from a wide range of sources, including Mr Lee’s personal albums.

Published in large format on high-quality art paper, Lee Kuan Yew: A Life in Pictures brings readers on a visual journey with rare glimpses into the life of the man who helped build Singapore.

Organised in six chapters, this pictorial is a snapshot of Mr Lee’s life from his early childhood to his entry into the rough and tumble of politics in the 1950s, through the battle for the hearts and mind of Singaporeans and the nationbuilding years that transformed this country into what it is today.