Rating: 
Summary: a blueprint for world development
Review: Mr. Yew has been critisized for arrogance, for violating civil liberties and for creating a society that borders closely on a 'Brave New World'. During his tenure Singapore severed its ties with Malaysia. He locked heads with Indonesia. He also exported Singapores expertise to other countries like Pakistan and Sti Lanka. This book chronocles this journey. From 1965-2000. Most interesting is Yews insights into the countries around his. His meetings with asian leaders and the discriptions enclosed are indespensible. Mr. Yew talks with candor and directness about the role of democracy and capitalism in the world. He critisizes his neighboors, like India, who persued state-planning.FOr those the critisize Mr. Yew one has only to look at the standard of living in Singapore and the standard of living in the neighbooring countries to see the disasters of communism and socialism. SIngapore is one of the cleanest and richest countries in Asia. Why? Because its leader spent time helping the people build themselves up then waisting his time making polemical speeches about development and non-aligned status.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting look at an Asian Tiger
Review: Overall, an interesting book if you follow politics and international relations. Like Manuel Noriega (whose biography I also read,) KY Lee comes across as a little arrogant and full of hubris. Granted, he has far more political tact, leadership ability and statesmanship than the dethroned Noriega. Lee chronicles his efforts at nation building through establishing a military and police to efforts at laying down infrastructure. He explains his endeavors at brokering trade ties to the West. Much of the book is spent focusing on foreign policy with various corners of the world. He gives particular attention to relations with surrounding nations in Southeast Asia, China, the U.S., Japan, Britain and Europe. He demonstrates a great deal of ingenuity in leadership and public policy, despite his authoritarian traits. In some respects, he exhibits some socialistic traits (e.g. national housing plan, state airline and telecom, state-owned hospitals) in his approach to politics, yet he has some rather astute and brilliant ideas on political economy (e.g. individual savings accounts, medical savings accounts) that market-oriented conservatives in the West long for. He outlines his ideas and implemented policies with clarity and detail. Perhaps, one of his most brilliant displays of leadership and grasping macroeconomic principles is his implementation of a worker savings scheme or mandatory IRA as opposed to the costly pay-as-you-go Social Security schemes of the West. Just as Chile's system had done, Singapore suceeded in spurring capital investment. The savings scheme allowed workers to build equity instead of relying on intergenerational wealth redistribution schemes like Social Security. The problem with pay-as-you-go state pension schemes is that the capital is not invested, but disbursed immediately to recepients and this only after administrative overhead for the bureaucracy is docked. It only represents a national liability not an asset. He rightly understood that homeowners make better stewards than renters and sought to increase home ownership through various measures such as forced savings. His authoritarian brand of capitalism and leadership has had a positive role in Singapore's economic development. Singapore's commitment to the rule of law and order has kept it free from corruption and the so called crony capitalism (e.g. the nepotism and corruption of the Marcos' and the Suharto's.) All things considered, Kuan Yew Lee exhibits extraordinary leadership ability in a seeming ordinary world. People can criticize Lee for having made Singapore into little more than a thinly disguised dictatorship with an authoritarian brand of capitalism and a stern rule of law society, but most so called democracies in the world afford their citizens considerably less economic freedom than Singapore. While democracies relish in their so called personal freedom, they seem to think everything is up for a vote whether an individual's property or the fruits of his labor. Moreover, democratizing has become analogous with socializing. Singapore is by no means a free-market utopia, but Singapore's public sector only taps about 15% of the national economy. Perhaps, the West could get some economics lessons from Singapore.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting book
Review: People who lives in the West (me included) always assume that there is only only way to run the government. The book shows how impractical this could be. A small country like Singapore living in a hostile land surronded by Islamic nations can either lives peacefully with his neighbors (which it succeeds thanks to Lee Kuan Yew) or constantly at war with them (as in Israel). I recommend this books to all American politicians about leadership and the importance of compromise.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for those interested in development
Review: Singapore is one of the few nations in recent history, which has managed to transform itself from a struggling third world nation to a high tech society in less than fifty years. All this was possible - aside from many other factors - because of the genius of one man: Lee Kuan Yew. This book is the story of his quest to change Singapore. The first part of the book deals with the various projects he initiated or oversaw that changed Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew gives an overview of what he did to deal with those problems facing every developing nation - crime, education, housing, investment etc...
Reading his memoirs, one cannot help but admire this man's moral character and sense of purpose, other leaders of developing nations would do well to learn from this man. The second part of the book gives Mr Yew's views on nearly every country Singapore has had significant dealings with. His views are, as he himself says on many occasions, not meant to be politically correct. This means that those fluent in 'diplomatese' may find his language crude and some of his views upsetting. Not surprisingly the last part of the book, which deals with his family and his personal life is very brief. Given the formal tone throughout, it would not be in keeping to speak at length about his own personal life, although no doubt that would be interesting reading. For those students of economics or politics and for those curious about Singapore or the Asia-Pacific region in general, I would highly recommend this book. The writing is extremely clear and the chapters are arranged in a logical order, (unlike the haphazard ranting in other memoirs) which makes reading a pleasure rather than a pain. Read this book to be inspired.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: Story of a country's success in spite of all odds. Tremendous. Good book.
Rating:
Summary: What do you want, prosperity or freedom? You can't have both
Review: That seems to be the choice for many in the third world, at least that is what is implied by Lee Kuan Yew. The story of Singapore should be viewed against the backdrop of so many countries in the world still mired in poverty even after decades of structural adjustment and liberalization and being fully committed to capitalism. Or compare with recently reformed former communist countries now striving to be integrated into the world economy. The title of Lee's book is no coincidence. These countries are still third world, all in the shadow of Singapore, which by contrast has arrived - a first world nation. FROM THIRD WORLD TO FIRST is then preaching to the converted. Those who want the economic success of Singapore. It should not be surprising to learn that this book is a big seller in many countries where Singapore is regarded as a model of economic progress. Lee has a following outside his own country and away from the metropolitan countries. His autocratic style of government and economic policies are seen as an appropriate mix for many third world scenarios. The book is written with this audience in mind and Lee is quite clear in stating that the US (government and people) are not his primary concerns; he seems to be saying we can't understand him. "They [us] want to promote democracy and human rights everywhere except where it would hurt themselves as in the oil-rich Arabian peninsula." With this one sentence Lee dismisses the major criticism about Singapore - it's not a democracy. So what? Lee would argue. Wheras this book is a fairly detailed analysis of Singapore's economic history, and its development strategies as highlighted here are interesting to readers of economic development. Lee is sensitive to criticism and on a broader scale his book is aimed at US and UK audiences. Underlying the economics is an unmistakable political argument - an attempt to justify the human rights abuses, denial of rights and abolishment of freedoms most of us take for granted. Most westerners say Singapore is a lovely country...to visit. I am glad that FROM THIRD WORLD TO FIRST is simply an interesting distraction and that I was not faced with the reality of the choices - either being made by me or for me - prosperity or freedom. It's something to read about but not to be experienced.
Rating:
Summary: As Singaporean.....
Review: The world seems to split in their judgement against Mr Lee (I'm sorry, in Chinese, his surname, or last name in the USA, comes in the front). The third world nations tend to look upon him while the developed nations tend to view him as a dictator. As a Singaporean and after reading his book, I cannot stop to give my point of view. Mr Lee is a great visionary and Asian states in the 50s and 60s cannot be ruled like those states in the western world. Singapore ran into chaos with racial riots and problems with Malaysia. Indeed, we were kicked out of the Malayan Federations due to differences in point of view, deeply rooted in the differences of religion and race. That day proved to be the happening days and the greatest day in the history of Singapore. To overcome those problems, Singapore cannot be open and people cannot be given that many "rights" since everything is "wrong". Singapore has to be sensitive towards neighbouring countries, which happened to be Muslim majority, while adopting western way of economic development. THere are lots of criticisms from within Singapore about those harsh rules but without those rules, things cannot be straighten and Singapore cannot adopt new and effective policies quickly. Indeed, when one reads that book, we must appreciate that a too democratic government will do more harm to a third world country than a semi-dictatorial one. Mr Lee is not a total dictator, he is hard and tough, and that's what a developing nation needs. Singapore is unlike Hong Kong, which tend to enjoy racial and cultural homogenity. Again, harsh rules are important to make sure the minorities are taken care of. Indeed, Singapore has the fairest policy for the minorities as compared to the US and many countries in the western worlds... we cannot discredit that since Chinese remain the majority but power sharing has been deeply rooted in the Singapore culture as all races are given equivalent representation in the government. We are a small nation, though many African countries would have admire our strategic location, but sincerely, many of these countries are also strategic themselves. Indeed, it is the reason that Singapore has no resources and that the culture in Singapore is to continue upgrade itself to compete with the rest of the world, that makes Singapore what it is today. Mr Lee is the captain of the ship, Singaporeans are the crews. WIthout a good and tough captain, the ship has no direction but without good crews, the ship cannot get to sail. Again, Singapore cannot be served as an example to the rest of the world, cos we are too small and we have our own unique problem. We can just act as an inspiration to the rest. This is again what the US should be... rather than imposing on the rest of the world their style of democracy and human rights, they should allow forms of government that are suitable for each cultures to develop. I believe this is the hidden message behind this book.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: There are two parts to this book. First part is about development of Singapore - social, economic and political. The second part deals with foreign relations. As an Indian, I truly admire Singapore. From what it was in 1965 to what it is today, is an educating experience. Awesome to most third world nations - fighting poverty, population growth and other social maladies. Lee Kwan Yew had a clear vision, set himself clear goals. Above all, what led to his success is his execution skills. Rule of law certainly helped. What I adore is the team he surrounded with to create such laws and ensure its implementation regardless of obstacles. Singapore is a wealthy society today. Secure economically and politically. In my observation, he had 3 primary principles towards building a nation
a) Rule of Law
b) creating a fair society (not welfare society)
c) Expenses less than income (as simple as that) All his domestic policies were based on above principles. I like the way he treated hawkers in Singapore's streetwalks. While ensuring cleanliness of Singapore, he provided alternative solutions so that hawkers continued their business for livelihood in a better environment. Contrast this to Maharashtra government's (Indian state) efforts in cleaning and sprucing up Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus area. Vendors keep coming back. Singaporeans enjoy high savings rate, because of CPF. A guaranteed security for its citizens when they retire. Contrast this to America's 401k. When Enron collapsed, savings of many employees evaporated even as executives pocketed millions in bonus pays! Although Singapore is a free market economy, its philosophy concerning workers and employees are caring and genuine, unlike in the United States. Singapore is an epitome of benign dictator ship, democracy, capitalism and socialism co-existing for the general welfare of the nation. Lee's book is a revelation for all countries of the world. The three primary principles can act as a catalyst is resolving problems.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: There are two parts to this book. First part is about development of Singapore - social, economic and political. The second part deals with foreign relations. As an Indian, I truly admire Singapore. From what it was in 1965 to what it is today, is an educating experience. Awesome to most third world nations - fighting poverty, population growth and other social maladies. Lee Kwan Yew had a clear vision, set himself clear goals. Above all, what led to his success is his execution skills. Rule of law certainly helped. What I adore is the team he surrounded with to create such laws and ensure its implementation regardless of obstacles. Singapore is a wealthy society today. Secure economically and politically. In my observation, he had 3 primary principles towards building a nation
a) Rule of Law
b) creating a fair society (not welfare society)
c) Expenses less than income (as simple as that) All his domestic policies were based on above principles. I like the way he treated hawkers in Singapore's streetwalks. While ensuring cleanliness of Singapore, he provided alternative solutions so that hawkers continued their business for livelihood in a better environment. Contrast this to Maharashtra government's (Indian state) efforts in cleaning and sprucing up Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus area. Vendors keep coming back. Singaporeans enjoy high savings rate, because of CPF. A guaranteed security for its citizens when they retire. Contrast this to America's 401k. When Enron collapsed, savings of many employees evaporated even as executives pocketed millions in bonus pays! Although Singapore is a free market economy, its philosophy concerning workers and employees are caring and genuine, unlike in the United States. Singapore is an epitome of benign dictator ship, democracy, capitalism and socialism co-existing for the general welfare of the nation. Lee's book is a revelation for all countries of the world. The three primary principles can act as a catalyst is resolving problems.
Rating:
Summary: A must read if you want to know Singapore
Review: This book is a must read for people who wants to find out more about Singapore. One would be able to better understand the intimate details of the problems that Singapore faced during the period of nation building from 1965 onwards and the considerations, principles and the people involved in solving them. In his book, difficult issues like going against his friend Dr. Toh and the suicide of a minister were discussed in a very frank manner. The book also showed that Mr. Lee is a sharp observer of people, his account of his meetings with leaders like Suharto, Reagan and many more gives you insight only available if you have up close and personal contact with them. Another plus point for the book is that it is written in simple english and yet was able to bring complex ideas across to the readers. Good read!
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