Caring for Our People: 50 Years of Healthcare in Singapore
Ministry of Health
Singapore: Ministry of Health, 2015
ISBN: 9789810962102

Commemorating the advances in Singapore's public healthcare across 50 years since Independence, the book chronicles the transformation of our healthcare system, from one that was focused on basic issues such as health education, personal hygiene and sanitation, to one where we have gained international recognition as a biomedical research and innovation hub and a leader in the delivery of healthcare services. Over 50 interviews are featured in the book spanning seven chapters.

Key thought leaders and healthcare providers share their personal experiences of their profession and how the Singapore healthcare landscape has transformed. The stories and experiences of patients and volunteers are also captured in this book. Besides paying tribute to the men and women who have built up Singapore's healthcare system, the SG50 Healthcare Commemorative Book also takes a look at the way forward, in terms of the transformation of care that is needed to meet the healthcare needs of Singaporeans.

50 Years of the Chinese Community in Singapore
Pang Cheng Lian (ed.)
Singapore: World Scientific, 2015
ISBN: 9789814675406 / 9789814678780

Singapore's success story is essentially a "people" story. Singaporeans have good reason to celebrate the nation's golden jubilee with pride. In the short space of five decades the country has moved from Third World to First, and its real GDP has grown by 40 times! For this phenomenal progress, credit must go to its people, the Republic's primary resource.

Against all odds and amidst dire predictions, Singaporeans proved that a united and resourceful community could build a nation from scratch. This book is dedicated to one segment of these Singaporeans -- the Chinese community. In particular, this collection of essays focuses on the Chinese speaking members of the community whose many contributions are less familiar to those brought up on a strict diet of the English language.

This celebratory book is divided into four broad categories. The first section examines the major Chinese organisations and their contributions in the past five decades. These include the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, the Chinese Development Assistance Council and the Chinese Heritage Centre. In addition, it looks at the history and work of some of the social clubs and charitable organisations in the Chinese community.

The second section examines some community issues that have engaged the Chinese community in Singapore's first 50 years. Two senior journalists and two academics review the evolution of the Chinese language, the integration of new immigrants from China and the influence of Chinese religions. The five essays in the third section trace the development of Chinese visual and performing art in the Republic. The last section looks at the interactions between Singapore's Chinese community and China on the one hand, and with the regional Chinese communities on the other.

The Life and Times of Gerald de Cruz: A Singaporean of Many Worlds
Asad-ul Iqbal Latif
Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2015
ISBN: 9789814620680

Gerald de Cruz's life overlapped many of the spheres of Singapore's history after World War II. As a Eurasian, a nationalist, a communist and then a democratic socialist, as a journalist and a writer, he represents the insurgent energies of a truculent time when a nascent nation was seeking the basis of statehood. His commitment to progressive ideas and movements reveals a man of integrity in search of himself in a better world. This book seeks to portray his place in time, particularly for younger Singaporeans who did not live in an era that has inaugurated the history of independent Singapore.

From Kilts to Sarongs: Scottish Pioneers of Singapore
Graham Berry
Singapore: Landmark Books, 2015
ISBN: 9789814189651

Farquhar, Crawford, Cavenagh, Thomson, Anderson, Napier, Fullerton, Henderson, MacRitchie, MacPherson, Outram, Purvis, Spottiswoode. These are some of the Scots who have played a part in making Singapore.

Guthrie, Fraser & Neave, Rodyk & Davidson, Sime Darby, Swan & Maclaren, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Straits Trading Company. These are just a few of the numerous companies with Scottish founders who continue to play an active role in the economy of Singapore.

The old Parliament House, Raffles Institution, Raffles Hotel, Stamford House, Goodwood Park Hotel, Cairnhill, Horsburgh Lighthouse, MacDonald House. All these places and more have Scottish connections in one way or another.

Written in a popular style, this book tells the story of the Scots -- administrators, engineers, traders and various professionals -- who helped to develop early Singapore and lay some of the foundations for its undoubted growth and success.

The first book on the subject, it appeals to not only the large Scottish community in Singapore, but also all who are interested in the history and heritage of Singapore.

Singapore Chronicles: Colonial Singapore
Nicholas Tarling
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2015
ISBN: 9789814747042

This book is a history of Singapore from the founding of a settlement by Raffles in 1819, to the post-imperial phase inaugurated by World War II and the Japanese invasion. It shows how colonial Singapore matured as an economy and developed as a society even as it grew into a commercial centre that was also a centre for the movement of people and ideas. The book captures the essence of the island-city's place in the Asian economic and political scheme of things as European imperialism reached its zenith before giving way to Japan's military advance. The fall of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942 embodied the new times. The return of the British after the Japanese defeat in 1945 set the stage for a fresh phase of Singapore's political development as the anti-colonial movement grew in strength.

Singapore Chronicles: Presidency
Thio Li-Ann
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2015
ISBN: 9789814747011

The Elected Presidency represents one of the most distinctive institutional innovations that Singapore has made to the constitutional order in the first 50 years of its existence. Its original primary intention was to serve as a check on a powerful Parliament that could bankrupt the national reserves either through buying votes, fraud or sheer incompetence. However, experience has shown that the elected President has evolved in ways unanticipated by its original design. This book traces the fascinating twists and turns of the relatively short history of the Elected Presidency in Singapore and how it has reached a new equilibrium.

Singapore's Health Care System: What 50 Years Have Achieved
Lee Chien Earn & K. Satku
Singapore: World Scientific, 2015
ISBN: 9789814696043 / 9789814696050

How did Singapore's health care system transform itself into one of the best in the world? It not only provides easy access, but its standards of health care, not only in curative medicine but also in prevention, are exemplary. Fifty years ago, the infant mortality rate (IMR) was 26 per thousand live births; today the IMR is 2. Life expectancy was 64 years then; today, it is 83. The Singapore Medicine brand is trusted internationally, and patients are drawn to Singapore from all over the world. And while many countries struggle to finance their health care, Singapore has developed a health care financing framework that makes health care affordable for its people and gives sustainability to the health care system. Reliability is provided by a professional workforce that seeks to continually learn, improve and become ever more proficient with cutting edge technology while emphasizing the relational aspects of health care by nurturing compassion and maintaining high standards of integrity. Convenience and safety are enhanced by a unifying IT system that enables the portability of medical records across health care institutions. All these have been achieved not by chance but by careful planning, strong leadership and dedicated people who are prepared to learn from Singapore's own experience while adapting best practices from around the world. But the system is not without challenges -- not least those of an aging population, and an increasing market influence.

This book provides a fascinating insight into the development of Singapore's health care system from the early days of fighting infections and providing nutrition supplementation for school children, to today's management of lifestyle diseases and high-end tertiary care. It also discusses how the system must adapt to help Singaporeans continue to "live well, live long, and with peace of mind."

Remains: A Singapore Journey
Kostas Ikonomopoulos
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2015
ISBN: 9789810961817

The mausoleum of a Muslim saint stands next to an elevated coastal expressway. The Latin-inscribed tombstones of Christian missionaries lay half-buried and forgotten between bungalows and a childcare center. A quarantine station and detention facility is turned into a series of dormitories for tourists. And then there is the improbable shrine to a German girl turned goddess of luck.

Remains is an unorthodox travelogue, a journey through graveyards, stations, and assorted remnants of Singapore's past. It is also an effort to document locations and preserve stories in an island-city that shape-shifted from colonial backwater to glistening business hub at breakneck speed.

The book attempts a look at another Singapore, which is almost a neglected twin to the one everyone knows. It reconstructs a cultural past which is falling victim to a unique, if unavoidable, vanishing act; a past barely preserved in the form of faded gravestones, crumbling aluminum watchtowers, repainted barracks, barricaded hospitals, neglected theme parks and dismantled rail tracks.

At the same time, Remains is a meditation on the policies of development and heritage preservation and a deeply personal account of the history and the aesthetic appeal of the decayed, the forsaken and the bizarre in Singapore.

Under a Shadow
Rosaly Puthucheary
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2015
ISBN: 9789810964566

When Singapore surrendered to Japan in 1942, Rosaly Puthucheary was only six years old. Under A Shadow offers her personal account of what it was like growing up during those precarious years under the Japanese occupation. Despite the hardships of war, her childhood, as seen through the eyes of a precocious child, was not entirely marred and remained a relatively happy one. She still enjoyed the fun of pretend play with her sister Hazie and the excitement of witnessing her father's latest procurement of a new farm animal.

Unfortunately, as the occupation dragged on, it became inevitable for her family's living conditions to deteriorate. After an unpleasant incident with a Japanese officer, her family sold off almost all the farm animals and moved to a different home.

The fortune of her family runs a similar parallel to the difficulties which the people experienced during the fall of Singapore. With this memoir, Rosaly shares intimate details of her childhood and how it was affected living under an ever looming and threatening shadow.

Not Born in Singapore: Fifty Personalities Who Shaped the Nation
Tng Ying Hui
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2015
ISBN: 9789814655415

Did you know that we owe the iconic Singapore Girl to a British-born adman? Or that the founder of the much-beloved Mustafa Centre hails from India? This year as we celebrate our local heroes, it's also time to put the spotlight on other unsung contributors who have contributed to our nation. They may have come from other shores, but these 50 foreigners have left their mark in building Singapore into the nation we know it to be today. Most of us are aware of the talented athletes who have put our little red dot on the sporting map, but what of those who have made a difference in the arts, our society and our economy? This book pays homage to the names, faces, and stories behind familiar national treasures such as our Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Keppel Shipyard and A*STAR.

50+ Things to Love About Singapore
Susan Long (ed.)
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2015
ISBN: 9789814642521

Hot on the heels of the success of 50 Things To Love About Singapore, which sold over 10,000 copies, comes this updated and abridged version in paperback.

50+ Things To Love About Singapore, edited by Susan Long and abridged by Linda Collins, welcomes you to a new view of Singapore, at 50.

It tells the quirky story of Singapore 50 years on, celebrating all its offbeat, unexpected and unheralded sides.

Prepare to be surprised as the best Straits Times writers such as political correspondent Rachel Chang and sports correspondent Rohit Brijnath give their fresh, witty insider takes on a country you thought you thought you knew so well.

Like Singapore's love for acronyms, world records and valiant-in-defeat footballers. Like its reverence for all things green, including the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which has been inscribed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like its peculiar brand of multi-racialism that is legislated, and trade unionism minus the strikes. Like its dubious honour of being the reigning world No. 1 for the highest obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) rates.

Be moved as a nation collectively mourns the death of its founding father and first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

The ending? Not at all predictable.

It's an open invitation to scribble your own chapters and shape your very own Singapore story.

50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations
Tommy Koh, Li Lin Chang, & Joanna Koh (eds.)
Singapore: World Scientific, 2015
ISBN: 9789814713047 / 9789814713030

In 2015, Singapore marks the 50th anniversary of its independence, and the United Nations (UN) the 70th anniversary of its founding. This book celebrates 50 years of a mutually beneficial relationship between Singapore and the UN.

In the early years of Singapore's independence, the UN system provided Singapore with many benefits which were helpful in Singapore's journey from the Third World to the First. As Singapore has made progress in its developmental journey, it is now able to give back to the international community through programmes such as the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP), under which officials from developing countries are offered training in areas which are beneficial to their countries. Singapore has actively contributed to improving global governance and strengthening institutions that are important to the management of global issues at the UN, IMF, World Bank, IMO, etc. The Singapore Government has also sent its soldiers and police officers to participate in UN's peace-keeping and peace-making operations.

This volume brings together 45 essays by Singaporeans who have made or are making important contributions to the work of the UN system. The reader will be able to learn about the UN as seen through the eyes of Singaporeans who have served as Ambassadors to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, the World Trade Organization, or as professional staff in the various specialised agencies, programmes and funds that are part of the UN. We hope that the life stories and experiences shared by the essayists will remind readers that although Singapore is a very small country, we are a good global citizen and have tried to make this a better world..

Singapore 60s: An Age of Discovery
George W. Porter
Singapore: John Wiley & Sons, 2015
ISBN: 9781119186830

Singapore 60s: An Age of Discovery provides a firsthand glimpse at the early days of the city-state, as told through the never-before-published photographs of an American diplomat.

Author George W. Porter served as a Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore from 1965 to 1970; as a former journalist and amateur photographer, he found himself in an ideal position to document the early days of the newly-independent city-state, and the promise and ambition that led to the Singapore we know today.

These photographs capture scenes of a bygone era, with Singaporeans young and old living and working in maritime surroundings so heavily dependent on the Singapore River. A far cry from the bustling metropolis Singapore has become, the scenes in these photos nevertheless capture the heart and soul of the Singaporean citizens, and the first tiny steps that birthed a model city-state and global economic powerhouse.

Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first and founding Prime Minister, espoused a philosophy of transparent and pragmatic governance that turned a tiny, resource-poor city-state into one of history's greatest nation-building success stories. This book captures the spark of the early days, and presents a prescient view of what was to come.

The Politics of Defeat: Preliminary Chapters and the Secret Diary of Francis Thomas
Margaret Thomas (ed.)
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2015
ISBN: 9789810961527

It was a diary that had first sat at the back of a locked steel cabinet for two decades and then in a taped box for close to another four decades.

A secret diary, kept by Cabinet Minister Francis Thomas, of the discussions and decisions that went on behind the scenes and determined the path of Singapore's political development during the late 1950s. It was a tumultuous time that saw the People's Action Party come into power because of the ineptitude -- or, in the words of Lee Kuan Yew, the corruption and stupidities -- of the Labour Front government.

The diary was kept by Francis Thomas, an Englishman who made Singapore his home and played a key role in the dying days of the Labour Front government. The Politics of Defeat is his inside story of those days.

My Life, My Story: Personal Narratives by Singapore's Seniors
Verena Tay (ed.)
Singapore: National Library Board, 2015
ISBN: 9789810960520

All of us have life stories to tell. But the elusive process by which those memories come together to produce a story that moves, entertains or provokes requires lots of hard work -- and the guidance of a good mentor!

The National Library Board is proud to bring you selected works from participants of a memoir writing workshop series it ran with author Verena Tay in 2015.

In this array of seven memoir pieces, you will get a glimpse into childhoods from bygone days, intriguing family histories, and brave personal journeys -- all of which, whether they make you laugh, cry or reminisce, show how unique our lives are in both their delightful and difficult moments, and yet how intertwined we are through the places and communities we share.

Vintage Lee: Landmark Speeches Since 1955
Lydia Lim (ed.)
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2015
ISBN: 9789814642460

In his 60 years as a politician, 31 of them as Prime Minister, Mr Lee delivered thousands of speeches. This book contains 33 that stand out because they are the clearest and most hard-hitting on issues he considered of fundamental importance -- race, language, good government, defence, talent and succession. Some mark milestones on Singapore's journey to independence and success. Others are plain inspiring because Mr Lee speaks of facing life with courage and fighting for what one believes in. This selection was made after consulting SPH editors past and present, including Cheong Yip Seng, Patrick Daniel and Han Fook Kwang.

PM Lee Hsien Loong said his father was often "spoiling for a fight". Indeed, Lee Kuan Yew seemed energised by opposition and his election rally speeches make for compelling reading precisely because they showcase him at his combative best. In Parliament too, or during National Day Rallies, Mr Lee thrived on the challenge of winning people over on hard policies that most other politicians would have shied away from. He was always very clear about the message he wanted to get across and tailored his speeches to his audience, exploiting the power of words and stories, marshalling facts and figures and putting his own reputation on the line so as to win the argument.

Rehearsal for Life: Singapore Youth Orchestra 1980-1990
Wong Sher Maine & Vivien Goh
Singapore: Vivien Goh, 2015
ISBN: 9789810955328

Youth Orchestras have had a checkered history in Singapore. This book traces Youth Orchestra activities from the 1930s when first glimpses of it appeared in the press in Singapore. It was only in 1980 that the Singapore Youth Orchestra was put on a firm footing with the full backing of the Singapore Government as represented by Dr Goh Keng Swee, known as the architect of Singapore's economic development. Goh was also instrumental to the founding of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to which the Singapore Youth Orchestra was to act as a "feeder".

The authors have not only given an account of this initial period of the Singapore Youth Orchestra (1980-1990) but have also made it a very readable narrative by interspersing quotes from Orchestra members themselves. Their amusing anecdotes of their days in the top ensemble in Singapore, and reflections on how being part of the Youth Orchestra changed their lives, make for engaging reading. The book also contains evocative photos from the 1980s as well as updated photos of these youths, who are now in their 40s and 50s.

Singapore: 50 Constitutional Moments that Defined a Nation
Kevin Y.L. Tan & Thio Li-Ann
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International, 2015
ISBN: 9789814677097

Singapore inherited a Westminster-style constitution from the British who ruled the island for 140 years. Since Singapore's independence in 1965, this constitution has been amended and augmented many times wherein unique institutions -- such as the Elected Presidency and Group Representation Constitutions -- were created. All these changes occurred against the backdrop of Singapore's special geographical local, multi-ethnic population and vulnerability to externalities.

This book features a collection of short essays describing and explaining 50 Constitutional Moments -- major inflexion points in the trajectory of Singapore's constitutional development. The authors have selected each of these 'moments' on the basis of their impact in the forging of the modern constitutional order. Starting in 1965, the book begins chronologically, from the 'moment' of Singapore's expulsion from the Federation of Malaysia through the establishment of the Wee Chong Jin Constitutional Commission (1966) to the entrenchment of the sovereignty clause in the Constitution (1972) right through to the 2000s, with the Presidential Elections of 2011.

In these easy-to-read essays, the reader is introduced to what the authors consider to be the most important episodes that have shaped the Singapore Constitution. These articles cover key events like President Ong Teng Cheong's 1999 Press Conference and the 2001 Tudung controversy; constitutional amendments like the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (1990) and the introduction of Nominated Members of Parliament (1990); and seminal cases like Chng Suan Tze v Minister for Home Affairs (1989) and Yong Vui Kong v PP (2010 & 2015) that have contributed to the sculpting of Singapore's constitutional landscape.

Lee's Legacy
Fiona Chan (ed.)
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2015
ISBN: 9789814642309

Compiled for the first time in Lee's Legacy, this selection of incisive viewpoints displays a wide range of perspectives on Mr Lee's contributions to Singapore and beyond, spanning the sustainability and applicability of the "Singapore model" to Mr Lee's influence on the policies of foreign countries. The result is a thought-provoking anthology that presents a balanced overview of the complex and far-reaching legacy of Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Front Page: STories of Singapore Since 1845
The Straits Times
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2015
ISBN: 9789814642231

We come to know a people through their stories: Stories of origin, adversity, failure and triumph. The daily newspaper has been an enduring chronicle of such stories, both everyday and extraordinary, that are close to people's hearts and minds.

Singapore's daily English-language newspaper, The Straits Times, has been reporting these stories since 1845. It has outlived empires and crises to offer readers a front-row seat to events unfolding in Singapore and the world.

Front Page: STories of Singapore since 1845 mines the 170-year-old archives of The Straits Times for articles, headlines and photographs, including never-before-seen pictures, to tell the familiar story of Singapore in a fresh way. It borrows its themes from sections of the newspaper and looks to Singapore’s past to contemplate its present and future.

Step through the pages of The Straits Times to explore where Singapore has been, how its people came to be who they are today, and where the country is headed next.