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BiblioAsia
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New Books on Singapore History (October 2023)

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Collection Highlights

10 October 2025

Check out the new books in National Library Singapore

Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel

By Cheong Yip Seng
World Scientific Publishing (2025), 321 pages
Call no. RSING 079.5957 CHE

Book cover with title "Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel" by Cheong Yip Seng, published by World Scientific.

Cheong Yip Seng, who spent two decades as the editor-in-chief of the Straits Times, recounts Singapore’s history from a newsroom perspective, sharing stories of interactions with local politicians.

Lee Ek Tieng: The Green General of Lee Kuan Yew

By Samantha Boh, Pearl Lee and Matthew Gan
The Nutgraf Books (2025), 192 pages
Call no. RSING 959.5705 BOH-[HIS]

Book cover titled "Lee Ek Tieng: The Green General of Lee Kuan Yew" showing a man in a suit on a green background.

One of the most prolific civil servants in newly independent Singapore, Lee Ek Tieng helped transform Singapore’s environment, including revamping its sewage and trash disposal systems, heading the Singapore River clean-up project, and tackling pollution and other environmental issues.

My Father is Police, Lah!

By Rowena Hawkins
Earnshaw Books (2025), 232 pages
Call no. RSING 959.57092 HAW

Book cover with colorful text "My Father is Police Lah!" over a blue checkered background; author is Rowena Hawkins.

As the daughter of an immigrant family from Ceylon and whose father was a detective chief inspector in the colonial police force, Rowena Hawkins grew up in a large bungalow and enjoyed a life of privilege. In this memoir, Rowena recounts her childhood in 1960s colonial Singapore, offering a witty and humorous view of life from a bygone time.

Tapestry and the Golden Thread: Singapore Sport Heritage (1819–1941)

By Nick Aplin
Sport Singapore (2025), 283 pages
Call no. RSING 796.0605957 APL

Red book cover with intersecting threads and the title "Tapestry and the Golden Thread: Singapore Sport Heritage (1819-1941)."

A compendium of stories and insights into the growth of sports in Singapore, Tapestry and the Golden Thread traces the development of Singapore’s sporting culture and how it has evolved over the years.

The First Fools: B-Sides of Lee Kuan Yew’s A-Team

Edited by Peh Shing Huei
The Nutgraf Books (2025), 237 pages
Call no. RSING 959.570510922 FIR [HIS]

Book cover titled "The First Fools: B-sides of Lee Kuan Yew's A-Team," edited by Peh Shing Huei.

This anthology offers a different perspective to the founding fathers of Singapore (the Old Guard): Lee Kuan Yew the lover, S. Rajaratnam the fiction writer, and more.

The Special Operations Executive in Malaya: World War II and the Path to Independence

By Rebecca Kenneison
Bloomsbury Academic (2025), 246 pages
Call no. RSING 940.548641095951 KEN-[WAR]

Book cover titled "The Special Operations Executive in Malaya," showing a vintage photo of a group of people.

During World War II, agents of the Special Operations Executive infiltrated Japanese-occupied Malaya. Rebecca Kenneison examines the agency’s operations, providing new insights into its impact on Malayan politics, the nature of Malayan communism’s challenge to colonial rule and British postwar intelligence in Malaya.

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