SINGAPORE - In this monthly feature, The Sunday Times lines up four hot-off-the-press local books for readers to dive into.
1. The Last Fools - The Eight Immortals Of Lee Kuan Yew
Edited by Peh Shing Huei
Non-fiction/The Nutgraf Books/Paperback/224 pages/$25.68/Buy here
A lot has been written about the politicians who led Singapore from third world to first. Lesser known, however, are the civil servants who turned this vision into a reality - building Changi Airport, Singapore Airlines and the sea port, as well as world-class housing, healthcare, security and financial systems.
A new book shines a light on eight pioneer civil servants who were instrumental in the nation's development, but are fading from public memory: George Bogaars, Andrew Chew, Hon Sui Sen, Howe Yoon Chong, Lee Ek Tieng, Ngiam Tong Dow, J. Y. Pillay and Sim Kee Boon.
2.The Singer And Other Poems
By Boey Kim Cheng
Poetry/Cordite Books/Paperback/85 pages/A$20 (S$19.20)/Buy here
It has been 10 years since Singapore-born, Australia-based Boey Kim Cheng's last poetry collection.
The Singer And Other Poems, published by an Australian press, is thus hotly anticipated. It does not fail, delivering some beautiful surprises along with the familiar tropes that fans have come to expect from Singapore'smost thoughtful parser of change, memory and loss.
3. Doing Good Better: Choices And Paradigms In The Social Ecosystem
By Willie Cheng
Non-fiction/Straits Times Press/Paperback/396 pages/$37.45/Buy here
Should charities be allowed to run businesses? This issue and many more are explored in a compilation of essays written by Willie Cheng, a former managing partner of Accenture. He sheds light on how volunteers, executives and organisation leaders can "do good better" in the new world order.
4. What We Learned From Driving In Winter
By Carissa Foo
Fiction/Epigram Books/Paperback/288 pages/$22.36/Buy here
Four years after her debut novel If It Were Up To Mrs Dada (2018), author Carissa Foo returns with a tale of friendship between three Singaporean university students in London, who are named Gigi, Yi-En and Clare.
