Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going
Han Fook Kwang, Zuraidah Ibrahim, Chua Mui Hoong, Lydia Lim, Ignatius Low, Rachel Lin, & Robin Chan
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2011
ISBN: 9789814266727

Lee Kuan Yew is Singapore's most influential son but he is not without his critics. He has not flinched from taking them on, even now after almost 60 years in the political fray. Why is he so hard on his political opponent? Will Singapore become a democracy? Could the People's Action Party ever lose its grip on power? Are younger leaders up to the mark? Will growing religiosity change Singapore for the better or worse? How will rising giants China and India affect its fortunes? Lee fields these questions and more as he covers the terrain of the past and contemplates the expanse of the future for this island nation that he and his founding generation built on the hopes of a people. Based on 32 hours of interviews at the Istana, along with 64 pages of photographs and a DVD insert, the book features Lee in full flow, combative, thought-provoking, controversial.

Our Kuching: the Vanishing Street Cats of Singapore: Through the Lens of Jon Boon
Jon Boon (photos), Sweeleng Teoh (text)
Singapore: Secondmouse Books, 2010
ISBN: 9789810874674

Our Kuching: the Vanishing Street Cats of Singapore is a pictorial celebration of the Singapore street cat. Each picture tells a compelling story of their lives and provides a snapshot of life in the heartlands in 21st century Singapore. The pictures are accompanied by heart-warming captions of the cats and snippets of trivia on the history and origins of the neighbourhoods in which they are found.

Making Prints on Cement: The Cherie Hearts Success Story
William Koh
Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia, 2011
ISBN: 9789814319256

Cherie Hearts was established when two men with a love for children and a passion to provide quality childcare started their first childcare centre in 2002. Since then, the company has mushroomed into a successful business, with 50 centres in Singapore by the end of 2009, overseas branches in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, South Korea, and a newly opened branch in Bangalore, India in 2010.

The book discusses how Sam and Gurchran’s motivation and drive transformed Cherie Hearts into a childcare powerhouse. It also examines the importance of effective human resource management in a small-medium enterprise and how having the right organisational structure and culture is essential to support business growth.

Finally, the reader gains insight into the key engine of growth at Cherie Hearts- its franchising model. Realising that they lacked technical know-how and the financial resources to expand the company, both decided that the way to grow the company was through franchising. In 2003, the company developed its own franchising model to power growth. Known as the P3E business model, this provides comprehensive guidelines for its franchise operations and ensures consistency and quality across all its centres.

You & the Law: The Essential Guide to Different Areas of the Law in Singapore [4^th ed.]
Doris Chia (ed.)
Singapore: Singapore Association of Women Lawyers, 2011
ISBN: 9789810867461

 You & the Law is possibly the only book in Singapore that simplifies 20 different areas of the law and other common topics for the layperson. Written simply, and sometimes in a question and answer format, this is a user-friendly publication for the man in the street.

 This is a community project which embodies the contribution, work and generosity of many individuals and organisations who believe in, and support the Singapore Association of Women Lawyers' (SAWL) commitment to the community. With this book, SAWL hopes to enable any educated layman to have some idea of his or her rights and obligations. It discusses most, if not all areas of law that members of the public may need to know, or is likely to encounter, in the course of his or her life, for example:

• Who can get a divorce in Singapore?
• When can the police arrest a person?
• What is defamation?
• What to do when involved in an accident?
• Inheritance & succession – who gets your assets when you die?
• What is the difference between copyright and trademark?
• What are your legal rights as an employee?
• What to look out for when buying residential property?
• Starting a business – what are the pros and cons of incorporating a sole proprietorship as opposed to a company?
• What should you do when you suspect there could be medical negligence?
• What to do if you cannot afford a lawyer?  

Edited by eminent lawyer Ms Doris Chia, the chapters to this book are contributed by lawyers with special knowledge in the relevant areas of law, corporate leaders and various government and non-government organisations. It is as useful a legal reference not only for the lay person, but also for the legally trained.

Singapore in the Malay World: Building and Breaching Regional Bridges
Lily Zubaidah Rahim
London: Routledge, 2010
ISBN: 9780415610490

Relations between Singapore and her immediate Malay neighbours have been perenially fraught with tension and misunderstanding. In making sense of this complex relationship, Lily Rahim explores the salience of historical animosities and competitive economic pressures, and Singapore's janus-faced security and foreign economic policy orientation and 'regional outsider' complex. Focusing on Singapore's relations with Malaysia, the book also examines the Indonesian dimension in bilateral relations. It highlights the paradoxical similarities in the nation-building approaches of Singapore and Malaysia. The author reflects critically on sensitive issues such as the rhetoric and reality of meritocracy and multiracialism in Singapore, and analyses the city-state's weak regional soft power credentials and reputation as a political laggard despite its economic achievements.

Incorporating perspectives and frameworks from the disciplines of comparative politics, area studies, international relations, political economy and history, this multidisciplinary study offers groundbreaking insights into the way in which the neighbouring states of Singapore and Malaysia see themselves, each other, the region and beyond. This book will be of particular interest to keen observers of Southeast Asian politics.

The Right Mistakes: My Life as a Singapore Gangster
Foo Yin Tung
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International, 2011
ISBN: 9789814302951

"Today I am 22 years of age. I used to be a person who was working in the complex streets of Geylang and the black market. I was a gangster in three different criminal organizations. Robbery, assault, peddling drugs, extortion... At the end of everything I have done in the underworld, I have never brought goodness to anyone around me. People who know me and those who don't, I have never given them something pleasant to smile about."

As a child, Foo Yin Tung seemed to have a particular affinity for trouble. Despite his best intentions, his actions and decisions always seemed to land him on the wrong side of the law. Without the support of a loving family, Yin Tung was drifting and furthermore, angry - and he didn't know why. With his father in jail and his mother working tirelessly to provide for her only child, Yin Tung was left to his own to make sense of his world and fend for himself. The death of his beloved grandmother and constant teasing by peers over the absence of his father drove him to fill the void in his world with friends who gave him the support he never had, the security he never knew and worth he never felt. But this came with a price, and with eyes wide open, Yin Tung fell headlong into a secret, illegal world, where bravery and loyalty were valued above all. But eventually Yin Tung had to come face to face with the reality of his world and into confrontation with all that he had been running from.

With piercing honesty and brazen boldness of youth, Yin Tung recounts his experiences of being in a gang, his brushes with law and examines the events that brought him there. What made him who he is today? Was it his own choices, or the choices of others? And does he have the agency to decide what he will become? More than just a shocking story of a boy losing his way, The Right Mistakes is about a boy trying to make sense of his life and change it for the better.

The Adventures of the Mad Chinaman
Dick Lee
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International, 2010
ISBN: 9789814328418

Written in an unpretentious style that is characteristic of Dick Lee and narrated in the first person, this book recounts the author's many escapades, adventures, trials and triumphs. It also provides a candid picture of his life, while showcasing the colourful facets of the Peranakan culture he was born into. The rebel-songwriter relives his varied career and traces the highs and lows of show business.

Contract Smart: Understanding Contract Law in Singapore
Tan Soon Meng
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Business, 2010
ISBN: 9789812618849

Whether it is an agreement between companies or a simple purchase of groceries from your local supermarket, contracts form a huge part of our daily lives. With its focus on the practical business aspects of contracts, Contract Smart is the ultimate guide for anyone who needs to understand Singapore contract law and make better contractual decisions.

Come Into My World: 31 Stories of Autism in Singapore
Brenda Tan
Singapore: Brenda Tan, 2010
ISBN: 9789810876364

My son's education costs me ten thousand dollars a month...
Nobody told me having children would be this difficult...
All three of my children have autism...
Doctors thought I was mentally retarded...

Many voices come together to form this collection of true autism stories in Singapore. This book was written not only to support the autism community. It aims, more than anything else, for the public to understand autism better so that our world would become a better place for autistic individuals and their family members.

Choi! Touchwood!: A Walk Through Singapore's Chinatown, a Journey in Chinese Traditions, Superstitions, Myths and Taboos
Liew Jie Ni and Jesvin Yeo (eds.)
Singapore: Basheer Graphic Books, 2010
ISBN: 9789810867102

Why are there bat motifs in a Chinese temple?

How is it you'll hardly find a cactus in a Chinese home?

Why are red dates and melon seeds must-haves at a Chinese wedding?

For many Singaporean Chinese, these are just some of the traditions, myths and taboos that shape daily life.

This book takes you on a whirlwind journey into the world of superstition at the heart of Singapore's Chinatown, complete with tips, trivia and a running commentary. Also, inside come with a pocket-sized guidebook that is your handy companion as you traverse the streets of Chinatown.