Rating: 
Summary: Gripping...positively gripping
Review: Incredible....I learnt more about Malaysia and Singapore than any other history book I've read. Mr Lee's writing is clear and lucid, his accounts first hand.It should be made compulsory reading for all schoolchildren. Much of what he describes lay veiled and hidden from the public...until this book. Starts with bang and ends with a bang. I look forward to the second part....I hope I don't have to wait too long.
Rating:
Summary: Frank, soul-searching reflections on the history of S'pore.
Review: Indeed LKY should be commended for his frank and open insights into the events leading to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia.
Rating:
Summary: A note to the reader from Macau (posted 26 July 1999)
Review: It might be of interest to you to know that Lee Kuan Yew's writing style was deliberately adapted and simplified to reach not just scholars, but a larger audience: the general public, and more specifically, the younger generation of Singaporeans. If you have read his speeches, you will know that he is exceptionally eloquent and known for being adept at the English language. Perhaps the greater purpose that the Senior Minister had in mind was that this book will become a text that is found in every history classroom in Singapore, although it will undoubtedly be dissected by scholars as well. Lee Kuan Yew's straight-forward style of writing conveyed historic facts, his political analysis, and acute judgment of people and circumstances with clarity, which was not to be clouded by style.
Rating:
Summary: A candid and critical look at the history of Singapore
Review: Lee Kuan Yew is one of the most misunderstood leaders in the world. "Helicopter" journalists, on 3 day visits, without appreciation of local conditions think that all societies can be governed the same way. Even foreigners who reside in Singapore do not appreciate how each society can be very different beneath the veener of the skyscrapers in an urban society. Lee does not subscribe to "isms" but views society in the necessary harsh light of social Darwinism. All these are evident from his book. This is a very candid and critical look at a certain period of the Singapore history of which he was the main player, though not the only one, as he himself acknowledges in the book. The battles he fought againt (the colonialists, the chauvinists, the communalists, the communists), the qualities he personified (hard work, integrity, trust, discipline, courage, leadership, imagination)and the policies he pursued (free market, strong defence, meritocracy, social cohesion, clean government, emphasis on education) all have stood Singapore well and are now making it stand out in a region ravaged by economic turmoil. This book is therefore very important for politicians. It teaches that good government is hard work but that once entrusted with the people's will to govern, politicians must do away with easy and populist measures and govern with intelligence, integrity and imagination.
Rating:
Summary: A man's story of how he made his world.
Review: Lee Kuan Yew's view of history is akin to Winston Churchill's of whom it was said "Winston's autobiography is disguised as a world history". Lee's world is smaller than Churchill's, but his attitude is similar. The story of the making of Singapore reads like a first class adventure story and is worthy of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Singapore Story or selective vision: Lee and the truth
Review: Lee Kuan Yew, the doyen of the People's Action Party, and well known opponent of democratic values in the Asia Pacific has again attempted reformulate history according to whims of the moment. On a personal level, for example, his own account of his family history is amazingly in contrast to other reputable sources. His own account of his familial background is amazingly contradicts his own Peranakan (Chinese/Malay) background. This is obviously a politically calculated move on his part. Firstly, he is obviously rather embarrassed about his own familial background ie. being part Malay. Secondly, his recent push to Sinofy Singapore and especially it's perception of itself can be seen as another attempt on his part to mould SIngapore into his own image. On the whole the book is not necessarily an accurate of history but a good indication of the personal hangups of Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Rating:
Summary: Tells how corrupt Malaysian politician are
Review: Malaysia had a really big headstart - huge natural resources. Yet, in 30 years, Singapore has left Malaysia behind. Why? Because the Malaysian politicians are absolutely corrupt.
Rating:
Summary: A Model Stateman of the World
Review: Mr Lee and his government has shown the world that with honesty, integrity and discipline, much can be achieved in politics. Many governments, even those in the developed nations, do not these qualities in them, to carry out good and tough policies for the good of their people.
Rating:
Summary: Lee Kuan Yew: Singapore, His Vision
Review: Mr. Lee's book is an outstanding exposition of his vision for Singapore and how he and dedicated comrades made it a reality. For me, it was a special experience in which I was able to check the accuracy of my own research of 25 years ago. In 1976, my Master's thesis in Asian Studies was entitled Lee Kuan Yew, A Political Biography. It covered the period from Lee's birth until 1963, when Singapore became an independent nation. In my readings of events in Malaysia and Singapore after WW2, it became apparent that two men, Lee Kuan Yew and Tunku Abdul Rahman, represented strikingly different points of view on how the region should develop. Lee was the assertive representative of the Chinese majority in Singapore (and would-be spokesman of all Straits Chinese). Rahman was a traditional Malay prince and Malaysian prime minister who held very conservative views based on the primacy of the bumiputra, the ethnic Malay minority in its own land. He could not afford to allow Lee to build up Chinese political power on the Malay mainland. My thesis was simply that Lee Kuan yew came to hold a specific vision of what Singapore should be. When it became clear that his vision could not be realized as a part of Malaysia, there came the split which created the tiny island nation. I based my extensive readings and research mostly upon secondary sources, including writings by Alex Josey and others who worked closely with Lee. I also read Lee's collected speeches and other primary material, as much as was available. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mr. lee's first volume showed that I had been credibly accurate in my conclusions about what and how he did to create Singapore. Those conclusions included knowledge of the warts on his political complexion, and the reasons for them. Over the ensuing years, I have read much about how Lee and the People's Action Party ran a repressive police state. Yet, other readings and a short stay in Singapore in 1998 showed me strongly that Singaporeans live in a modern, prosperous and quite open society. The PAP's conservative policies have made it a success story and have also created structures intended to carry the nation forward into a future of more of the same. Mr. Lee's first volume details the struggles and victories which laid the foundation for this success. I most strongly recommend this book for all who want to understand how one man, leading a group of similarly dedicated colleagues, created a nation which expressed his vision of what it could be, a successful modern society in a part of the world where close neighbors are much less so.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating background to one of Asia's "Tigers".
Review: On a recent trip to Singapore I visited the National Museum. I found it telling that the name of the permanent historical exhibit is "The Singapore Story", the same as this book. In fact Singapore is Lee Kwan Yew and Lee Kwan Yew is Singapore. Senior Minister Lee has written an outstanding first person acccount that reads more like a fast paced novel. Instead of a self-serving polemic he has written a balanced version of his and his comrade's struggles to merge Singapore into the Malaysian Federation. Volume two will deal with independent Singapore and I truly look forward to finding out why Singapore works.
| 
