Singapore: World City


Book Description

With stunning photographs and insightful commentary this travel pictorial and Singapore travel guide captures the dynamism of a remarkable Pacific nation. In just a few short decades, Singapore has transformed itself from a tiny island off the coast of mainland Asia into a global superpower in banking, IT, education, biotech, transportation and many other fields. The fascinating story of how this tiny city-state which has no hinterland, no natural resources, and a relatively small population has achieved success is told in this book. Singapore's history as a British colonial port, its dynamic multi-ethnic population, and its innovative governmental and social structures, are a part of the story. But there are others as well. How Singapore became a regional hub for finance, shipping and air travel, and now also for the arts, sport and leisure--are all showcased in dynamic detail, with over 300 full-color photographs to illustrate graphically how this small island functions like a well-tuned racing machine. Author Kim Inglis, a journalist, and long-time local resident, leads the reader on a series of explorations through Singapore's most notable districts and neighborhoods, explaining the growth and importance, and showcasing what they have to offer the visitor. Included are many lesser-known corners of the island which very few visitors ever get to see!




Singapore Burning


Book Description

Churchill's description of the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942, after Lt-Gen Percival's surrender led to over 100,000 British, Australian and Indian troops falling into the hands of the Japanese, was no wartime exaggeration. The Japanese had promised that there would be no Dunkirk in Singapore, and its fall led to imprisonment, torture and death for thousands of allied men and women. With much new material from British, Australian, Indian and Japanese sources, Colin Smith has woven together the full and terrifying story of the fall of Singapore and its aftermath. Here, alongside cowardice and incompetence, are forgotten acts of enormous heroism; treachery yet heart-rending loyalty; Japanese compassion as well as brutality from the bravest and most capricious enemy the British ever had to face.




Singapore's Health Care System


Book Description

"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."--




The Battle For Singapore


Book Description

The Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 is a military disaster of enduring fascination. For the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the island, Peter Thompson tells the explosive story of the Malayan campaign, the siege of Singapore, the ignominious surrender to a much smaller Japanese force, and the Japanese occupation through the eyes of those who were there - the soldiers of all nationalities and members of Singapore's beleaguered population. An enthralling and perceptive account, which never loses sight of the human cost of the tragedy - Yorkshire Evening Post. An insightful and dramatic analysis - The Good Book Guide




Lion City


Book Description

A compelling, illuminating and evocative history of Singapore—the world's most successful city-state. In 1965, Singapore's GDP per capita was on a par with Jordan. Now it has outstripped Japan. After the Second World War and a sudden rupture with newly formed Malaysia, Singapore found itself independent - and facing a crisis. It took the bloody-minded determination and vision of Lee Kuan Yew, its founding premier, to take a small island of diverse ethnic groups with a fragile economy and hostile neighbours and meld it into Asia's first globalised city. Lion City examines the different faces of Singaporean life - from education and health to art, politics and demographic challenges - and reveals how in just half a century, Lee forged a country with a buoyant economy and distinctive identity. It explores the darker side of how this was achieved too; through authoritarian control that led to it being dubbed 'Disneyland with the death penalty'. Jeevan Vasagar, former Singapore correspondent for the Financial Times, masterfully takes us through the intricate history, present and future of this unique diamond-shaped island one degree north of the equator, where new and old have remained connected. Lion City is a personal, insightful and definitive guide to the city, and how its extraordinary rise is shaping East Asia and the rest of the world.




Singapore's Real Estate


Book Description

"Singapore's Real Estate: 50 Years of Transformation documents the transformation and development of the real estate market in Singapore over the past 50 years. This volume is organised around two major themes, and covers issues from the "bricks and mortar" to the capital markets; and from local to international real estate markets. The themes aptly describe how real estate has played an important role in the economic development and growth of Singapore from a third world to a first world country. Written by well-renowned experts with deep academic and practical knowledge of the progress of real estate in Singapore, this book highlights the uniqueness of real estate markets and institutions in Singapore, which have constantly been replicated and adopted in other markets."--Provided by publisher




You'll Die in Singapore


Book Description

Weakened by hunger, thirst and ill-treatment, author Charles McCormac, then a World War Two prisoner-of-war in Japanese-occupied Singapore, knew that if he did not escape he would die. With sixteen others he broke out of Pasir Panjang camp and began an epic two-thousand-mile escape from the island of Singapore, through the jungles of Indonesia to Australia. With no compass and no map, and only the goodwill of villagers and their own wits to rely on, the British and Australian POWs’ escape took a staggering five months and only two out of the original seventeen men survived. You’ll Die in Singapore is Charles McCormac’s compelling true account of one of the most horrifying and amazing escapes in World War Two. It is a story of courage, endurance and compassion, and makes for a very gripping read.




50 Years Of Science In Singapore


Book Description

As part of the commemorative book series on Singapore's 50 years of nation-building, this important compendium traces the history and development of the various sectors of Singapore science in the last 50 years or so. The book covers the government agencies responsible for science funding and research policy, the academic institutions and departments who have been in the forefront of the development of the nation's scientific manpower and research, the research centres and institutes which have been breaking new ground in both basic and applied science research, science museums and education, and the academic and professional institutions which the scientific community has set up to enable Singapore scientists to serve the nation more effectively.Each article is chronicled by eminent authors who have played important roles and made significant contributions in shaping today's achievement of science in Singapore.Professionals, academics, students and the general public will find this volume a useful reference material and an inspirational easy read.




Singapore


Book Description

An introduction to the geography, history, government, economy, culture, and peoples of Singapore.




The Singapore Grip


Book Description

Singapore, 1939: life on the eve of World War II just isn't what it used to be for Walter Blackett, head of British Singapore's oldest and most powerful firm. No matter how forcefully the police break one strike, the natives go on strike somewhere else. His daughter keeps entangling herself with the most unsuitable beaus, while her intended match, the son of Blackett's partner, is an idealistic sympathizer with the League of Nations and a vegetarian. Business may be booming—what with the war in Europe, the Allies are desperate for rubber and helpless to resist Blackett's price-fixing and market manipulation—but something is wrong. No one suspects that the world of the British Empire, of fixed boundaries between classes and nations, is about to come to a terrible end. A love story and a war story, a tragicomic tale of a city under siege and a dying way of life, The Singapore Grip completes the “Empire Trilogy” that began withTroubles and the Booker prize-winning Siege of Krishnapur.