When Presdients Lie by Eric Alterman

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

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

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

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

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

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:

1. Character and Scope of Foreign Policy
2. The Community of Nations
3. Who speaks for whom in the World of Nations
4. National Security: 1776-1920
5. National Security: 1920-1942
6. The United Nations
7. The Rule of Law under the Charter, 1945-1968
8. Problems of National Self-government: Citizenship
9. Responsibility of the State for the Protection of Aliens and their Property
10. Special Obligations towards neighbouring States
11. Titles to Territory; National Boundaries
12. The High Seas
13. International Cooperation in the Enforcement and Administration of National Law
14. Treaties and Conventions
15. Diplomatic Agents; Consuls
16. Economic and Social Problems
17. The Settlement of International Disputes: Arbitration and Judicial Decision
18. 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

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