YK Book Reviews

Diplomacy of a Tiny State by Lee Khoon Choy

2009-04-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Author is the first elected politician since Singapore's independence to be sent overseas as an ambassador halfway through his elected term. In his book he narrates his experience as the ambassador of Egypt, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Korea and Japan.

Lee Khoon Choy is frank in the sharing of his experience. It was not an easy task for a diplomat of a young country. It was not as glamorous a job as what Ministry of Foreign Affairs is right now.

This book is a good read for anyone who wants to understand how it's like to be an ambassador and the many little details that could affect diplomatic ties positively or negatively.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Beyond the Age of Innocence by Kishore Mahbubani

2009-04-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Beyond the Age of Innocence is a book that explains how America benefits the World and has harmed it concurrently. The Author, Kishore Mahbubani, is a Singapore's former Ambassador to United Nations.

By exploring into the topics of America and Islam, America and China, the nature of American Power and Managing American Power, Kishore Mahbubani writes about the unintended consequences of American policy actions.

He then wraps up by suggesting the direction for the way ahead.

The book is simple to read and good for Political Science dummies.

Overall Rating: 9/10

March 8 The Day Malaysia Woke Up

2009-04-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Kee Thuan Chye is a noted dramatist, poet and journalist. His high level of enthusiasm in the March 8 event is evident in his compilation of writings and interviews in this book.

So what happened on March 8?

For the first time since 1969, the rakyat (citizens) denied the ruling coalition (Barisan Nasional) the two-third majority in Parliament. With the absence of a two-third majority, the ruling coalition would not be able to amend the Constitution at will.

March 8 The Day Malaysia Woke Up is highly biased against the Barisan Nasional. With articles contributed from Malaysians, most of them were filled with emotions. Some even had expletives.

Even the interview questions were posed in a way to put BN at a negative light.

This could be a good reading material for people who share the same grievances towards BN. Otherwise, time could be better spent understanding Malaysian politics from other books.

Overall Rating: 3/10

Across the Causeway: A Multi-dimensional Study of Malaysia-Singapore Relations

2009-04-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

Across the Causeway is a compilation of essays by Singaporean and Malaysian academia, edited by a Japanese, Takashi Shiraishi.

This is an ideal book for anyone who wants to learn more about the history between Singapore and Malaysia and how history had played a dominant role in present bilateral relations between both states.

Not to fret if you do not have prior political knowledge as the book starts with the history of both states, focusing mainly on the merger and separation. It then proceeds on to essays pertaining to more current bilateral boons and banes.

It is a good read, and I personally can't put it down once I read it.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

Make it Right for Singapore by Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam

2008-11-25T04:48:00.000-08:00

Make it Right for Singapore is a compilation of Parliament speeches made by Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam (or more affectionately called JBJ) when he was a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament. JBJ was the first opposition leader to break the dominant one party system when he won the Anson by-election against a PAP candidate.

He was disqualified from being an MP when he insulted the judiciary and was charged in court. In the 1997 General Elections, he was the best loser in the Cheng San GRC ward and thus was appointed as NCMP.

After reading this book, I feel that he had made many repetitive speeches regarding political freedom in Singapore. The speeches were very rhetorical in nature and lacked focus on the bread-and-butter issues concerning most Singaporeans.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Mao Zedong by Delia Davin

2008-11-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

There has been many books written about the great revolutionary figure, Mao Zedong. This book focuses on the family aspect of Mao Zedong.

With about 150 pages, it is impossible for the book to completely cover the nitty-gritty details of Mao's life. Hence this book makes a good starter for people to understand this revolutionary leader and take a look a little in depth into his marriages and love life.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism - Asian Values, Free Market Illusions and Political Dependency by Christopher Lingle

2008-11-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

Author Christopher Lingle was previously a lecturer in National University of Singapore. After he wrote an article, in which alleging that the judiciary of Singapore is not independent, he was interviewed by the police. He later fled Singapore in fear that he would be heavily penalised by the government.

In Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism - Asian Values, Free Market Illusions and Political Dependency, Christopher Lingle sought to expose the fallacy of Asian Values and how the region is vulnerable in the near future.

The book is severely biased against Singapore's government and the reader would easily detect how the author routinely attempts to defend himself by condemning Asia Pacific states.

Overall Rating: 4/10

Representative Bureaucracy - Classic Readings and Continuing Controversies

2008-10-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Edited by Julie Dolan and David H. Rosenbloom.

Should the Bureaucracy be a representation of the population or the dominant forces of the population? Does the minority group compete with females to being represented in the Administration? This book has it all.

Representative Bureaucracy - Classic Readings and Continuing Controversies focuses on the United States of America as a context.

There are hypotheses and statistics to explain all about Representative Bureaucracy. Each chapter starts with a brief overview of the various views on a certain issue.

Overall Rating : 5/10

When Presdients Lie by Eric Alterman

2008-10-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Eric Alterman digs into the history of official deception and its consequences in his book, When Presidents Lie. He recognises the necessity of Presidents to lie under certain circumstances but dread the lies that result in war and subsequently the cause of unnecessary deaths. Yet those lies were created by American Presidents for self politically motivated purposes.

The case studies include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and the Yalta Conference; John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis; Ronald W. Reagan, Central America and the Iran-Contra Scandal; George W. Bush and the Post-Truth Presidency.

Eric Alterman draws on many sources in this heavily footnoted book to display a convincing portrayal of the Presidents. After reading When Presidents Lie, I felt disgusted and remained puzzled why someone of great power would want to wrest it this way...

Overall Rating : 10/10

The Future Role of Singapore by Dick Wilson

2008-10-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

Published in 1972, The Future Role of Singapore depicts the problematic issues of the newly independent island-state republic. As the title of the book suggests, Dick Wilson analysed the trend of developments in Singapore and expressed his views on the future role of Singapore amidst a region that is catching up with development as well.

Dick Wilson believed that Singapore would be a step further from its neighbours while ensuring that they do not lag behind in terms of development. Singapore could contribute in their development as well.

Even though the book was published more than 3 decades ago, it is still relevant. The vulnerability of a small state with the absence of natural resources and geopolitical factors are going to stay on.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

What if There Had Been No Lee Kuan Yew? by Anthony Oei

2008-09-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

From the condition of the book, you can see that this book had been read by many. The title of the books builds up our curiousity as readers. However, the title is misleading...

In What if there had been no Lee Kuan Yew? by Anthony Oei, the only mention of the question in the title lies in the last paragraph of the book.

Oei traces the life of Lee Kuan Yew from his childhood days to the formation of PAP and beyond. The last few paragraphs highlighted the main criticisms of Lee by his critics.

Oei is a former journalist who has worked for The Straits Times and Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, as well as for the Far Easter Economic Review of Hong Kong as its Singapore correspondent, and other magazines. He subsequently became the head of the EDB's Public Relations and Implementation Assistance Units.

Overall Rating: 7/10

The European Union : a guide through the EC/EU maze by Alex Roney and Stanley Budd

2008-09-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

After reading The European Union: a guide through the EC/EU maze, I found myself slightly overwhelmed by the complexity of the European Union.

This book is useful for one to derive a basic understanding of the European Union, i.e. hierarchy, institutional bodies, memberships, etc.

For me, I thought that it served better as a reference than a leisure read due to the dryness of the writings.

Overall Rating: 3/10

From Kuan Yew to Chok Tong and beyond by George Nonis

2008-09-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

From Kuan Yew to Chok Tong and beyond is one of the few books that carry political caricatures. In Singapore, cartoon drawings of political figures are seldom seen on newspapers due to the more restricted political expression within the state.

This is a comic book and carries jokes about Singapore. There is a previous comic book by George Nonis, entitled Hello Chok Tong, Goodbye Kuan Yew which caused some stir when it was released.

Meet the Cabinet Ministers aka players in the Singapore Young Lions as illustrated by George Nonis.

Bottom (from left): Abdullah Tarmugi - Mr Rock Steady, Lim Boon Heng - Mr Cupid, Lee Boon Heng - Best Trainee, Mah Bow Tan - Mr Goal 2010, Lim Hng Kiang - Young Player of the Year, Wong Kan Seng - The Singer, Lee Yock Suan - Mr Drama, Yeo Cheow Tong - Mr IT (intelligent tackles)
Top (from left): Goh Chok Tong - Mr Golden Boots, Teo Chee Hean - Mr Long Beans, George Yeo - The Thinker, Lee Hsien Loong - The Super Sub, Tony Tan - The Swinging Sub, Richard Hu - The Paymaker, S. Jayakumar - Mr Smiley, Lee Kuan Yew - Old Player of the Year

Overall Rating: 7/10

Foreign Policy and International Law by Charles G. Fenwick

2008-09-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Published in 1968, Foreign Policy and International Law is written by Charles G. Fenwick, a member of Pan American Union.

Foreign Policy and International Law looked into the following:

Character and Scope of Foreign Policy
The Community of Nations
Who speaks for whom in the World of Nations
National Security: 1776-1920
National Security: 1920-1942
The United Nations
The Rule of Law under the Charter, 1945-1968
Problems of National Self-government: Citizenship
Responsibility of the State for the Protection of Aliens and their Property
Special Obligations towards neighbouring States
Titles to Territory; National Boundaries
The High Seas
International Cooperation in the Enforcement and Administration of National Law
Treaties and Conventions
Diplomatic Agents; Consuls
Economic and Social Problems
The Settlement of International Disputes: Arbitration and Judicial Decision
Forcible Procedure by War

Foreign Policy and International Law is written from an American perspective and majority of it relates to the foreign policies of the United States.

Referring to case studies, Fenwick poses many questions for the reader to stipulate and think about the irrationality and abnormacy of certain acts by states.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

2008-08-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Emphasising on the power of the individual to make a change on oneself is the main theme of Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins. In the more than 500 pages, Anthony Robbins literally talks to you as a reader.

More than just a motivational book, Anthony Robbins show readers how to better manage relationships, health, concerns from how to reduce crime rates to global warming. What's marvellous is that Anthony Robbins draw all the reference from the first part of the book, in which he explained how the human mindset worked.

Awaken the Giant Within gives a clear scope of how the brain works, how emotions work and how we can take control of them instead of the other way round.

Overall Rating: 10/10

How to Talk to Anyone - 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes

2008-07-31T00:05:00.000-07:00

The 92 Tricks for Big Success in Relationships are categorised into the following 9 parts:

How to intrigue everyone without saying a word?
How to know what to say after you say "Hi"
Hot to talk like a VIP
How to be an insider in every crowd: what are they all talking about
How to sound like you are peas in a pod: "Why, we are just alike!"
How to differentiate the power of praise from the folly of flattery
How to direct dial their hearts
How to work a party like a politician work a room
How to break the most treacherous glass ceiling of all: sometimes people are tigers

Leil Lowndes, in her book, not only covered on how to talk to anyone, but it also revised and inspected some old methods and critically offered an updated alternative to them.

I really learnt a lot from her book. Every little thing count. You never know when you are going to be in a situation and you are not equipped with these tricks. Never waste your interviews or lose a prospect client ever again!

Overall Rating: 10/10

From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong by Shin Min Daily News

2008-07-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong is a compilation of news publications by Shin Min Daily News, a newspaper under the Singapore Press Holdings Corporation.

The first part of From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong provides coverage on Mr Lee Kuan Yew. From how he became the leader of Singapore, the book then interviewed the grassroots leaders and various individuals that had worked with him.

The second part of From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong then focuses on Mr Goh Chok Tong. Interviews from people who knew him before he stepped into politics shed some light into the nature and character of this great leader.

Overall Rating: 7/10

I Can Make You Rich by Paul McKenna

2008-07-14T23:29:00.001-07:00

I Can Make You Rich consists of two parts - The Psychology of Wealth & Let's Go Make Money!

In the first half of the book, The Pyschology of Wealth includes methods of revamping your financial blueprint. McKenna adapted some concepts from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich as well as Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad. The book is equipped with a free hypnosis CD to be used in conjunction with the various book exercises. Part I of the book seeks to unravel all the negative thoughts about money that one could have, so that one is ready for the next part of the book...

Part II, Let's Go Make Money! consists of the following chapters:

How to Make Money
Assembling your Wealth Team
A Proven Formula for Success
The Simplest Business Plan in the World
The Three Skills that Lead to Riches
The Secrets of Living Rich

I Can Make You Rich is a very simple book to read. It is centred around the psychology of the human mind and how influencing the mind could lead you to a richer (not necessarily in the money sense) and happier life.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Business The Dell Way by Rebecca Saunders

2008-07-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

Revealing the 10 Secrets of the World's Best Computer Business:

Mass Customise!
Get rid of Inventory
Love your Suppliers...
... But Love Your Employees Even More
Be Direct!
You Are Your Customers
Never Stop Improving
Think and Act Global
Stay True to Your Talents
Manage Hypergrowth

Business The Dell Way is published in year 2000 but the content itself is still much relevant to date.

Rebecca Saunders provided an informative analysis on the success of Dell by quoting articles from various business analysts. She also added a summary of the pointers of success at the end of each chapter, which makes it easy for future reference.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Comparative Politics: A Theoretical Framework by Gabriel A. Almond, G. Bingham Powell, JR. Robert J. Mundt

2008-06-21T01:51:00.000-07:00

Comparative Politics: A Theoretical Framework is a good text to study for an introduction into comparative politics.

Contents:

The Study of Comparative Politics
The Environment of the Political System
Political Socialisation and Political Culture
Political Recruitment and Political Structure
Interest Groups and Interest Articulation
Interest Aggregation and Political Parties
Government and Policymaking
Public Policy

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

The Politics of Policy-Making in Singapore by Ho Khai Leong

2008-06-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

The Author is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore. He has also taught in the Master in Public Policy programme at NUS.

The Politics of Policy-Making in Singapore offers a critical analysis of the political dynamics that shape Singapore's public policies. It suggests that policy-making in Singapore involves a complex process of interaction among political institutions, and that the distribution of power among these institutions is hierachical and precarious. Thus, the book argues that the contestation of political interests occupies a central position in these stratified interactions, and this has been largely responsible for the types of policies and their impact.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Elections in Singapore by Pugalenthi SR

2008-05-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Elections in Singapore is a narrative summary of all the elections in Singapore from the Legislative Council General Elections of 1948 right up to the Presidential Elections of 1993. It encompasses all the By-Elections as well.

The book is easy to read and filled with quotes from the various politicians standing for elections. The purpose of the respective elections, the number of seats contested, the duration of political campaigning and the parties contesting were recorded in each chapter. Pugalenthi SR also pointed out the main issues that were debated during the Elections. Of course, each chapter ended with the results of the Election.

This book is a good read for people who want to see the whole big picture of Singapore politics via elections. However, readers would need to be equipped with some knowledge of Singapore politics before they could fully appreciate the contents.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP At The Grass-roots by Chan Heng Chee

2008-05-24T02:02:00.000-07:00

At time of writing Prof Chan Heng Chee was a lecturer with the Department of Political Science, University of Singapore (now called National University of Singapore). She is currently the Singapore Ambassador at United States.

The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP At The Grass-roots is a micro-study of the politics in Singapore and focuses on 5 constituencies - Chua Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang, Telok Ayer, Kg Kembagan, Crawford. These 5 constituencies represent the rural and the urban settlements in Singapore and thus acted as good range of reference for the study.

In this book, Prof Chan first described Singapore as an "administrative state", which would be frequently used by other authors and academics when they refer to the Singapore state.

Other issues covered in the book also include an analysis of the Opposition, grassroots composition at the different constituencies, as well as the voters' concerns at the domestic level.

As The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP At The Grass-roots is authored at around 1976, many of the issues covered might not be relevant now. In general, however, there are good sources of reference if one were to research for the domestic issues affecting Singaporean voters at the period of time.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Thinking Allowed? Politics, Fear and Change in Singapore by Warren Fernandez

2008-05-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

At time of writing the book, Warren Fernandez was the Foreign Editor of The Straits Times, Singapore's leading English-language daily. Currently, he is the Deputy Editor and Foreign Editor.

Thinking Allowed? is a compilation of Warren Fernandez's articles written for The Straits Times. He had written for the column "Thinking Aloud". Arguing that there is politics in Singapore, Warren Fernandez illustrated his point with his viewpoints in various current affairs events related to local politics.

The Author expressed his moderate views and opinions in regard to government actions.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party by Diane K. Mauzy and R.S. Milne

2008-05-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

This is a comprehensive overview of politics in Singapore since its independence in 1965 to the publication of the book in 2002.

The Authors present a moderate and balanced view in their depiction of the politics in Singapore under the PAP rule.

Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party covers the following topics:

What is remarkable about Singapore?
How Singapore became independent: Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP
Locations of power: the state and the government
The PAP: the structure and operation of a dominant party
Ideology of the leaders and for the populace
Economic policy for an independent Singapore
Supplying social services to the people
The dictates of ethnicity: language policy, education, and self-help
The successors: leadership trends in the PAP -- the search for top talent
Authoritarian aspects of PAP rule
Elections, electoral innovations, and the Opposition
The growth of civil society
Deterrence and diplomacy
Singapore in the future

Overall Rating: 9/10

Publish and Perish - The Censorship of Opposition Party Publications in Singapore edited by James Gomez

2008-05-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

Publish and Perish - The Censorship of Opposition Party Publications in Singapore is a compilation of the Party Newspapers (SOLIDARITY, and then later renamed to NSP News) of the National Solidarity Party.

The book is edited by James Gomez, Founder of Think Centre and a Workers' Party Candidate for Aljunied GRC at the 2006 General Elections.

NSP is a relatively young political party in Singapore. It came into the limelight when its then Secretary-General Steve Chia managed to attain an Non-Constituency MP position for his performance in the Bukit Gombak Constituency. Publish and Perish - The Censorship of Opposition Party Publications in Singapore allows an insight of readers into the political views of the NSP and dispels the myth that there is no qualified opposition in Singapore.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

The Secret by Rhonda Brynes

2008-05-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Secret, according to the author Rhonda Brynes, lies in the Law of Attraction. Originally casted as a film in 2006, the Secret brought together various academics and motivational speakers to bring insights to the darkest Secret. Rhonda Brynes also supported the Law of Attraction with quotes from Great people from history.

According to the Law of Attraction, "People's feelings and thoughts attract real events in the world into their lives; from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional, and professional affairs."

While there are many fans behind The Secret, it also attracted much controversies over the acclamations made. I, for one, felt that The Secret makes a good read for people facing adversities. It gives one a reason to think positive and stay optimistic. However, for the general reader, The Secret seems to be over-exaggerated and simplified reality. The Author attempts to draw on quotes to strategically add credence to the Law of Attraction.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Singapore My Home Too by Chee Soon Juan

2008-05-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

Another book by Secretary General of Singapore Democratic Party, Dr. Chee Soon Juan. "Singapore My Home Too" was written right after his book "Dare to Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore".

A short glance at the table of contents shed some light into his area of discussion:

The Terrible Curse of Fear
Keeping Stomachs Full and Heads Empty
Intellectually Speaking
No Democracy Please, We're Asians
Meritocratic Humbug
Robin Hood
Looking Ahead

I particularly like this book as Dr. Chee patiently dispels all the urban legend and myth that the ruling party had entrenched in Singapore society. As always, the book is easy to read and self-explanatory even if you are a newbie in Singapore politics. If you have read his previous book, you might find some similar arguments in "Singapore My Home Too".

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

For reference, you might want to visit http://www.yoursdp.org

Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter and Holger Rathegeber

2008-02-16T23:57:00.000-08:00

Learn some fundamental principles of leadership by reading this humorous fable story.

Through narrating how a group of penguins went ahead to convince the entire herd to react to the melting iceberg, the authors bring across the Eight Step Process of Successful Change.

1) Create a sense of urgency in the colony to deal with a difficult problem
2) put a carefully selected group in charge of guiding the change
3) found the sensible vision of a better future
4) communicated that vision so others would understand and accept it
5) removed as many obstacles to action as was practical
6) created some sort of success quickly
7) never let up until the new way of life was firmly established
8) ensured that the changes would not be overcomed by stubborn, hard-to-die traditions

Rating: 9.5/10

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

2008-02-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

Learn the path to riches by reading the stories of Babylon. Over a mere hundred pages of wisdom generated from the realms of the wealthy city.

"The Richest Man in Babylon" educates one with the most fundamental financial notions.

Rating: 8.5/10

This is your Life, not a Dress Rehearsal by Jim Donovan

2008-01-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

I borrowed this meaningful book from Andrew and completed in one day.

This is a very easy and simple to read book but it brings out much meanings to the ordinary man. For example, the author mentioned that all the people featured in the orbituaries thought they could live another day.

The author applied much of his concepts based on Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill but in a much direct manner and simplified basis. Over just slightly more than a hundred pages, the author managed to cast many important lessons deep into the mind.

Rating: 9/10

You and Your Money by Lois A. Vitt & Karen L. Murrell

2008-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

I received this book as a gift from Wee Keat and Hwee Peng for my birthday.

You and Your Money is a very handy book for anyone that wants to start educating themselves financially. The authors use case studies of various individuals and their predicaments to illustrate their points throughout the book.

Even if you are already well-versed in financial education, You and Your Money contains a short little test that you could take to determine your values type. With the assessment, you can better understand yourself and how to minimise conflict with your family or spouse.

The down side of the book, I would critic, is that it gets dreary sometimes with too many examples.

Rating: 6.5/10

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

2007-12-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

If you think Economics is for the boring geeks, Freakonomics will be a great book to dispel that myth. Economist Steven D. Levitt is not the typical number-crunching Economics professor (he even self-proclaims that he is poor in mathematics). He posed interesting, if not wacky questions that could be solved using an Economics sense.

There is no unifying theme in this book. Here's a sneak peek:

Introduction: The Hidden Side to Everything
What do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?
How is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?
Why do Drug Dealers still Live with their Mums?
Where have all the Criminals gone?
What makes a Perfect Parent?
Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?

Although some of Levitt's points are controversial (such as Legalisation of Abortion caused a reduction of crime in America), they have their due merits. Levitt simplifies Economics by emphasising on fundamentals of the subject (i.e. Humans respond to incentives; holding all other variables constant when comparing; causality, etc.)

Refer to the Freakonomics Blog for ongoing wacky questions and solutions.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

Secrets of Millionaire Investors by Adam Khoo & Conrad Alvin Lim

2007-12-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

If Rich Dad, Poor Dad is all about building hypes around your dreams and imagination, this book by Adam Khoo & Conrad Alvin Lim is definitely a practical book for beginners to pick up investing.

The usual investment book would just cover the basics and fundamentals of stocks, options, funds, etc. But Secrets of Millionaire Investors goes one step further by including snapshots of graphs for analysis as well as online broker sites where beginners can just log into and start investing.

Secrets of Millionaire Investors covers investment in stocks, different strategies (sometimes contradictory) in the buying and selling of stocks, and options.

I would seriously recommend anyone who is interested in investing to start off with this book as it is easy, little hype and very practical.

Ratings: 9/10

Further Readings:
Online Trading For Financial Freedom. Online Stock Trading, Daytrading And Short Term Investing Strategy For Beginning And Experienced Traders Alike.

Parties and Politics - A Study of Opposition Parties and the PAP in Singapore by Hussin Mutalib

2007-12-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

This is a holistic analysis on the 4 significant political parties in Singapore -- namely, the Barisan Socialis, Worker's Party, Singapore Democratic Party and PKMS by Associate Professor Hussin Mutalib of Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore.

The Author gives a brief description on how local politics evolved from a 2-party rule into a 1-party dominant political system. From the historical ontext of politics before 1963, the Author moves on to case study Singapore's opposition parties. He then gives his analysis on the impediments to a viable opposition in Singapore and concludes with the future prospects for these opposition parties.

Barisan Socialis was, at one time, the strongest opposition to the PAP government when it splintered off from the latter. Worker's Party is the longest opposition party to exist in Singapore. Singapore Democratic Party is a relatively new political party formed in 1980 but won a seat (by Chiam See Tong) in 1984. PKMS, a Malay-first Political Party surviving in a Chinese-dominated society.

Your Future, My Faith, Our Freedom by Chee Soon Juan

2007-12-18T07:58:00.000-08:00

This book by Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of Singapore Democratic Party, once again highlights the lack of democracy in the political system of Singapore. Dr. Chee argues that there had been many problems and more to surface in economic crisis due to the lack of democracy in Singapore.

The author covers The Political System, The Economy, Distribution of Wealth, Social Security, The Media and Censorship, Society and the People.

In each scope of writing, he gave alternatives to improve the situation by instilling greater openness and democracy.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

The Hatchet Man of Singapore by J B Jeyaretnam

2007-12-02T23:47:00.000-08:00

ISBN: 981-04-8513-1

Joshua Ben Jeyaretnam (JBJ), a veteran politican and former Secretary-General of Worker's Party of Singapore is the author of this book. He refers Lee Kuan Yew as the Hatchet Man of Singapore.

JBJ was a trained lawyer before he entered politics. After defamation suits from Cabinet Ministers such as then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, JBJ was made bankrupt and hence unable to enter parliament or stand for elections. JBJ had recently announced that he would be setting up a new political party.

This book featured details of the defamation lawsuits that were imposed upon the author, including cross-examination of then PM Goh. JBJ would describe what should be the normal procedures for handling certain issues, and what actually happened in his case which stood biased against him.

This book is easy to read and understand even if you are not familiar with legal procedures.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Dare to change : an alternative vision for Singapore -- Dr. Chee Soon Juan

2007-11-07T02:11:00.000-08:00

ISBN: 981-00-5853-5

This book is authored by the Secretary-general of Singapore Democratic Party, Dr. Chee Soon Juan.

In this book, Dr. Chee sought to dispel the existence of "Asian values" and that a more open and democratic society would be more beneficial to Singapore.

He criticised the ruling PAP government's policies and then gave alternatives to them. Some of his criticisms are in the streaming of Primary 4 students at a young age, the Internal Securities Act as irrelevant in this era, healthcare, social aspects, etc.

In my opinion, some of Dr. Chee's alternatives to government's policies are too idealistic and might not be implementable in our local context. However, in retrospect, some of his ideas were actually fulfilled by the PAP government albeit over a long period of time.

Overall Rating: 5/10

The Anthony Robbins Life Story by Michael Bolduc

2007-04-08T05:19:00.000-07:00

Michael Bolduc was the Vice-President of Anthony Robbins & Associates, before becoming the CEO of Guaranteed Success Strategies. He was living in poverty, but with the help of Anthony Robbins, he moved from poverty to financial independence.

Anthony Robins, affectionately called "Tony", is currently rated top ten speakers in the world by Toastmasters. The sales of his recordings exceeds those of Michael Jackson's. He charges millions for individual coaching.

The book traces from Tony's childhood to present. When he was young, he already had in mind what he wanted in life. He was popular among girls as he always provided solutions for them. While his peers were into alcohols and drugs, he abstained from them.

He was greatly inspired by Jim Rohn at one point. He joined Jim Rohn's company as a salesman to sell his tickets so as to get other people to benefit from his speech. Soon, he was the best salesmen and then given a position as Area Sales Director.

He later started up giving speech himself. He went through numerous sets of ups-and-downs, getting into loans or being cheated. But he rose again and become this powerful speaker.

Sneak peek: Summary of Secrets to Success

Secret #1 : Ask good questions
Secret #2 : Intelligently ask for what you want
Secret #3: If you want to become a success, care deeply about what you want -- enough to do whatever it takes
Secret #4: Never be interested in achieving success. Instead, find compelling reasons that motivate you
Secret #5: Develop passion in your life
Secret #6: Learn from other people
Secret #7: Create value for people
Secret #8: Believe in the impossible and it will happen
Secret #9: Associate yourself with successful people
Secret #10: Take responsiblity and make things happen
Secret #11: Always look for ways to make things work
Secret #12: Master the secrets
Secret #13: Make the habit of making decisions more often

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Why We Want You To Be Rich -- Donald Trump with Robert Kiyosaki

2007-04-05T11:24:00.001-07:00

This is a book written by a billionaire and a millionaire. It seeks to explain the reason why this both individuals are actively writing books and creating games to get people to be rich.

The book started off with how Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki got together to pen the book. In each chapter, both of them use different font types to indicate the author for that portion of words.

From this book, you can actually understand their background and how they became rich. They state the problems that the US and most of the world are facing. Why We Want You To Be Rich also gives pointers as to what you should start doing or embarking on.

To me, this book also sought to promote their own products and trainings. It also acted as a platform for them to retaliate their critics. But all in all, it was informative enough for someone who hadn't finished the Rich Dad series. There are snippets from each of the Rich Dad books.

Overall, I would rate this book 7/10