The Singapore Story (Student Edition): Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew Kindle Edition

To say that people like Mr Lee Kuan Yew come once in a generation is a serious understatement! He (and the team he assembled around him) was a pure genius, a man surrounded with incredible threats and unimagined difficulties and yet he managed to stay focused, determined, and incredibly smart to create his masterpiece - a Perfection!!

I was born in Johor, the closest Malaysian state to Singapore. We had relatives & friends on both sides of the Causeway; other than the inconvenience of using passports, we grew up without feeling much difference in citizenships. I attended Primary school in Johor and Secondary school in Singapore before going to the US for higher education.By the time I returned in the mid 1980s, the difference in governing styles & policies were much more evident & the repercussions, palpable. The "connection" between the southern Malaysia & Singapore became more inconvenient & less close, the attitudes of the Singaporeans felt more elitist, regardless of race. I worked both in Singapore and the Malaysian capital; the latter was where I personally felt the racial prejudice against professional advancement.Reading this book clarified numerous age-old questions of "How come ...?" I wish my father was alive to read this book and discuss his experiences with me now. He too witnessed many Japanese war atrocities, and it particularly horrified him because he was of Japanese descent. Before the Singaporean independence, they did not think it would be a significant consequence where they lived, other than that he had a stable job and home in Johor. It was much later, seeing how the governmental policies limited the life & growth of the Chinese in Malaysia, that I felt he had better foresight to choose his citizenship.This is a book I will re-read in the future. It does stimulate much thought of how leaders of countries have their individual biases, value systems and perceptions of what is real & imagined. And how their "leadership" affects the millions of lives and generations to come.

This is an easy to read yet informative and enlighteneing book, especially if you're interested in how good politics work. The story of how an English speaking Cambridge educated 'Straits Chinese' man who did even speak the local languages grew up through WWII to become the founder of a city/state is quite amazing and speaks highly of his drive and foresight. The book also provides a fascinating insight into the relationships between the Malays and Indonesians surrounding the tiny port-city/state of Singapore. Interesting to note, Mr. Lee is still in the background as Prime Minister 'mentor', to no less than his son, the current Prime Minister.While some may argue that his government is not the totally free 'democratic' government of the idealists, it is difficult to argue the safety, security, economic progress and prosperity Singapore has enjoyed in the relatively short time of it's existence; and almost all due to the efforts and vision of one individual.

This book sheds so much light on so many things that we barely notice. Apart from the fact that Lee Kuan Yew was a great politician who made Singapore into a prosperous country, it seems to me he was a great mind first and foremost.At the beginning of the book there’s this anecdote about why LKY chooses Choo, who is couple of years older than him to be his wife. He explains it to her along these lines: “I don’t want to look after someone. I want someone who can look after herself”. This was when he was as in early 20s. He goes against tradition (or her parents) in marrying her in secret, but has the good sense to keep it secret for years when they again get married. Sort of sums up this whole book. Doing things by the book, yet against it. And achieving something beautiful.

This is the first volume of Lee Kwan Yew's autobiography, telling the story of his life in great detail, beginning with the brutal occupation of Singapore by the Japanese in WWII and ending with the unlikely declaration of independence from Malaysia in 1965, after less than two years of unification.Yew's masterful navigation of interracial politics (Singapore is 40% Malaysian, 40% Chinese, and 20% various other minorities), separation from colonial power, confrontation and eventual defeat of the communists, and deft handling of political rivals is instructive.I mostly bought this book for volume 2, From Third World to First, which will trace Singapore's rise to global commerce giant from inauspicious beginnings. Can't wait to get started!

Singapore would not be today's Singapore without Lee Kuan Yew. Can't wait to read the next Chapter of Singapore after independence.

Every word from LKY is briiliant. A liberal mind that led this tiny island nation to great heights. If he was in India, he would have been called a Mahatma. No other leader comes close to LKY's way of thinking and managing. Even at his old age, his intellect was sharp There are a lot more stories that could not be told in this book. A good read....

Good

I have great admiration for Lee Kuan Yew through videos of his public speeches and from reading this book my respect for him grew many folds.I urge all students to read this book irrespective of their nationality. Every Nation needs leaders with mettle of Lee Kuan Yew.

I love Lee Kuan Yew, and am a big fan of his achievements, and his ability to make friends and be ethical.He almost seemed to drive the drastic change in Singapore effortlessly. However I want you to be aware that the content of this book is the full history of his life, and he very much goes into detail about the early political career and struggles for Singapore's independence. This was not much of interest for me, and I gave this book more a five out of five because of the character of the man vs the content of the book.I got more than I bargained for, since I was more interested in the economic turn around of Singapore, and how he brought that about. If that is your main interest as well, then there are other books that focus on this specifically.But again.. this is a great man, with a great unmatched achievement, he is worth reading about.

Un'ottima base per comprendere la complessa realtà di Singapore ed il suo percorso da palude rifugio di tagliagole a città - stato, percorso compiuto in un arco di tempo incredibilmente breve.C'ho vissuto sei anni a cavallo del millennio, apprezzando l'alto livello di civiltà dell'organizzazione sociale, livello purtroppo non sempre onorato dai singoli cittadini delle molteplici etnie.

By going through this book, I can tell that Lee Kuan Yew has put effort and passion in writting it. I have always knew that Lee Kuan deserved respect for what he has done of Singapore, but I was not aware that he fought so hard to build a multi racial society. I recommend highly this book!!

It explains how Lee kept Singapore out of communist hands an how the Malaysian leader expelled him. I am now going to read the next volume about how Singapore rose from a third world country to a first world country. After that, I intend to read a volume by someone else that puts forward the view that Singapore's 'repressive' laws infringe their citizen's rights. I cannot comment more until then!