Few gave tiny Singapore much chance of survival when it was granted independence in 1965. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial trading post is a thriving Asian metropolis with not only the world's number one airline, best airport, and busiest port of trade, but also the world's fourth–highest per capita real income?
 The story of that transformation is told here by Singapore's charismatic, controversial founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Rising from a legacy of divisive colonialism, the devastation of the Second World War, and general poverty and disorder following the withdrawal of foreign forces, Singapore now is hailed as a city of the future. This miraculous history is dramatically recounted by the man who not only lived through it all but who fearlessly forged ahead and brought about most of these changes.
 Delving deep into his own meticulous notes, as well as previously unpublished government papers and official records, Lee details the extraordinary efforts it took for an island city–state in Southeast Asia to survive at that time.
 Lee explains how he and his cabinet colleagues finished off the communist threat to the fledgling state's security and began the arduous process of nation building: forging basic infrastructural roads through a land that still consisted primarily of swamps, creating an army from a hitherto racially and ideologically divided population, stamping out the last vestiges of colonial–era corruption, providing mass public housing, and establishing a national airline and airport.
 In this illuminating account, Lee writes frankly about his trenchant approach to political opponents and his often unorthodox views on human rights, democracy, and inherited intelligence, aiming always "to be correct, not politically correct." Nothing in Singapore escaped his watchful eye: whether choosing shrubs for the greening of the country, restoring the romance of the historic Raffles Hotel, or openly, unabashedly persuading young men to marry women as well educated as themselves. Today's safe, tidy Singapore bears Lee's unmistakable stamp, for which he is unapologetic: "If this is a nanny state, I am proud to have fostered one."
 Though Lee's domestic canvas in Singapore was small, his vigor and talent assured him a larger place in world affairs. With inimitable style, he brings history to life with cogent analyses of some of the greatest strategic issues of recent times and reveals how, over the years, he navigated the shifting tides of relations among America, China, and Taiwan, acting as confidant, sounding board, and messenger for them. He also includes candid, sometimes acerbic pen portraits of his political peers, including the indomitable Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, the poetry–spouting Jiang Zemin, and ideologues George Bush and Deng Xiaoping.
 Lee also lifts the veil on his family life and writes tenderly of his wife and stalwart partner, Kwa Geok Choo, and of their pride in their three children –– particularly the eldest son, Hsien Loong, who is now Singapore's deputy prime minister.
 For more than three decades, Lee Kuan Yew has been praised and vilified in equal measure, and he has established himself as a force impossible to ignore in Asian and international politics. From Third World to First offers readers a compelling glimpse into this visionary's heart, soul, and mind.

From Third World to First By Lee Kuan Yew Yew Lee Kuan

Biographies & Memoirs

Lee, Kuan Yew

Community & Culture

Harper

Singapore's former Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew provides an account of his personal and political life and provides a blow-by-blow chronicle of his dealings with political groups and leaders, both Malaysian and international, on the road to independence. Includes b&amp;w photographs. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew

YEW, LEE KUAN

Kuan-Yeu, Lee

Leaders & Notable People

PRENTICE/HALL

La lecture de ces deux volumes est essentielle à quiconque s’intéresse à la création d’une nation, à l’histoire et aux enjeux politiques et socio-économiques de l’Asie du Sud-Est.L’Histoire de Singapour est le premier volume des mémoires de Monsieur Lee Kuan Yew, l’homme qui a ancré Singapour sur la carte du monde. Il raconte les lutes – contre le colonialisme, le communisme et le communautarisme – qui ont mené à l’indépendance de cet état insulaire. Il dresse également le portrait de ceux qui ont fait l’histoire avec lui et raconte ses différentes expériences ainsi que ses relations avec les hommes de pouvoir qui ont contribué à affiner ses idées et sa politique.Le second volume, Du tiers-monde à la prospérité, raconte le combat de Lee Kuan Yew pour hisser Singapour au neuvième rang mondial du PIB par habitant dans les années 1990. En 1965, à la proclamation de l’indépendance, peu nombreux étaient ceux qui croyaient en la survie de ce petit pays. Or, l’ancien comptoir britannique est devenu, à l’aube du XXIe siècle, une métropole prospère, possédant la meilleure compagnie aérienne au monde, l’aéroport le plus performant et le port commercial le plus fréquenté.

Les Mémoires de Lee Kuan Yew (2 vol) - Histoire de Singapour

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

PACIFIQUE

من العالم الثالث إلى الأول : قصة سنغافورة ١٩٦٥ - ٢٠٠٠م

معين الإمام

العبيكان للنشر

Language:Chinese.HardCover.Pub Date:2017-12-01.publisher:Cambridge university press.description:HardCover. Pub Date: 2017-12-01 Pages: 300 Publisher: Peking University press of the book is not boring. geopolitics is not global affairs twists and turns of the development of the project report.Lee kuan yew life closely involved in international a...

One Man's View of the World (Chinese Edition)

Peking University Press

Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew (My Life Challenge --Singapore's Bilingual Way) (Chinese Edition)

Yilin Press

Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew (1923-1965) ('Li guang yao hui yi lu1923-1965', in traditional Chinese, NOT in English)

Reference

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Shi jie shu ju

Li guang yao hui yi lu (The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, 1965-2000, Chinese Edition)

注定一戰？中美能否避免修昔底德陷阱 DESTINED FOR WAR： Can America and China Escape Thucydides’ Trap(Chinese Edition) by 格雷厄姆・艾利森 Graham Allison

Taiwan

This book traces Lee Kuan Yew's boyhood, his Japanese occupation experience, his four years in England as a student when his political views took shape, and his work preparing for the launch of the People's Action Party...

The Singapore Story Abridged Edition

FEDERAL/TIMES MEDIA

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