Goh Chok Tong was an improbable Prime Minister for an unlikely country. Not by the norms and logic of most developing Asian countries. He had neither the connections nor the cunning to rise to the top, and was even once famously derided by his mentor Lee Kuan Yew for being "wooden" in his communication skills. Except for an imposing height most unusual in this part of the world, he was an ordinary man. He lost his father at a young age, lived in a two-bedroom public flat with his mother and four siblings and needed a government bursary to complete university.

The Goh Chok Tong Story -- now in its entirety. This riveting duology spans the colourful years through Goh Chok Tong's humble beginnings working at a container shipping company to his political ascension through the ranks of the People's Action Party, and his indispensable tenure as the second Prime Minister of Singapore. A must-read for all interested in extraordinary stories of ordinary men, the Goh Chok Tong years, and the history of Singapore's biggest political and economic stories come to life on these pages. Volume 1: Tall Order As Singapore faces another generational political transition, the story of Goh Chok Tong is perhaps more relevant than ever. At heart of this volume is the relationship between Goh Chok Tong and Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and their private deliberations before Singapore's maiden handover. Offering a rare look into both the man and the politician, Tall Order charts the early career and ascendency of an inspiring Singaporean statesman. Volume 2: Standing Tall In the face of private doubts and public naysayers, Goh Chok Tong led Singapore through 14 years of his premiership. With shrewdness and diligence, Goh helmed the country through obstacles, including terrorism, electoral setbacks and a global recession, while championing welcomed innovations like MediFund and Edusave. Standing Tall captures the growth and evolution of a modern political leader whose strengths and values cemented the identity of a country confident in its future and ascendent on the global stage.

Panjang is the tallest kid around. He hates standing out, but little does he know, he's on his way to greater heights...Panjang tells the story of the childhood of Singapore's second prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, and how he conquered his self-consciousness to become a leader. This 'tall' tale inspires children to embrace the things that make them different.

Singapore underwent substantial changes during the 14-year tenure of the country's second Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong (1990-2004). Includes 45 essays that review a range of issues from domestic politics and foreign policy to economic development, society, culture, the arts and media, and assess the legacy of Tong's premiership.

Singapore's success story has increasingly been recognised but few have told it from the perspective of an insider. As a senior civil servant and "mandarin" from 1959 to 1999, Ngiam Tong Dow served with the founding generation of political leaders and contributed to the country's economic growth. In this book, he reflects on these experiences, sharing personal anecdotes and perceptive insights of Singapore's early decades. He also boldly questions some of the policies of government and emerging trends in the country to suggest how Singapore must change to survive and thrive in the future.

The Singapore Story is the first volume of the memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, the man who planted the island state of Singapore firmly on the map of the world. It was first published in 1999. In intimate detail, Lee recounts the battles against colonialists, communists and communalists that led to Singapore’s independence. With consummate political skill, he countered adversaries, sometimes enlisting their help, at others opposing them, in the single-minded pursuit of Singapore’s interests. We read how he led striking unionists against the colonial government, how over tea and golf he fostered ties with key players in Britain and Malaya, of secret midnight meetings in badly lit rooms, drinking warm Anchor beer with a communist underground leader, of his purposeful forging of an alliance with communists to gain the support of the Chinese-educated masses. Readers will find inspiration in his tenacity as he fought for the people’s hearts and minds against first the communists and later the communalists – in parliament, on the streets and through the media. Drawing on unpublished Cabinet papers, archives in Singapore, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, as well as personal correspondence, he gives us a vivid picture of how others viewed him: determined (“Lee will bluff, bully and blackmail up to the eleventh hour”), motivated (“Choo knew I sweated blood to master Hokkien”), ambitious (“He would think himself as legitimate as I was to be the leader of Malaya”), dangerous (“Crush Lee! Put him inside”). It is a sometimes controversial yet strangely consistent portrait of this Asian statesman. These experiences and his dealings with the political leaders were to shape his views and policies, which have had a major impact on Singapore and the region.

Singapore gained independence in 1965, a city-state in a world of nation-states. Yet its long and complex history reaches much farther back. Blending modernity and tradition, ideologies and ethnicities, a peculiar set of factors make Singapore what it is today. In this thematic study of the island nation, Michael D. Barr proposes a new approach to understand this development. From the pre-colonial period through to the modern day, he traces the idea, the politics and the geography of Singapore over five centuries of rich history. In doing so he rejects the official narrative of the so-called 'Singapore Story'. Drawing on in-depth archival work and oral histories, Singapore: A Modern History is a work both for students of the country's history and politics, but also for any reader seeking to engage with this enigmatic and vastly successful nation.