From Third World to First: The Singapore Story

1965-2000

Ranked #32 in Development Economics

Few gave tiny Singapore much chance of survival when it was granted independence in 1965. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial trading post is a thriving Asian metropolis with not only the world's number one airline, best airport, and busiest port of trade, but also the world's fourth–highest per capita real income?

The story of that transformation is told here by Singapore's charismatic, controversial founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Rising from a legacy of divisive colonialism, the devastation of the Second World War, and general poverty and disorder following...
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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of From Third World to First: The Singapore Story from the world's leading experts.

Herman Mashaba At long last - Just finished reading this great & profound book by Lee Kuan Yew. This is a MUST read book https://t.co/apwQTxev4A (Source)

Patrick Collison @jaimani I love that book... (Source)

Xi-Wei Yeo Non-fiction, I’d definitely credit From Third World to First: The Singapore Story by Lee Kuan Yew as one of my key inspirations. Lee Kuan Yew was one of the greatest leaders and thinkers of the 20th Century, and as a Singaporean, understanding his struggles and candidness behind his “hard” decisions was revelatory. (Source)

Will Shu It’s incredible how he almost single-handedly took a third world country and built it into a first-world country in one generation. (Source)


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