Knowingo
The cover of From Third World to First

From Third World to First

Lee Kuan Yew, 2000

In Lee Kuan Yew's own words: how Singapore, expelled from Malaysia in 1965, built an army, jobs, homes and clean government, and dealt with neighbours and great powers.

Get the app Read on the web

19 parts, about 40 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Tells how a small island without a hinterland built an army, an economy and a nation after being pushed out of Malaysia
  • Shows how practical tests of what works shaped policies on housing, savings, language, talent and a clean city
  • Lee Kuan Yew writes as the leader who made the decisions, pairing domestic building with candid portraits of relations across Asia and the West

Who it is for

  • Readers curious how Singapore became rich so quickly
  • Policy makers and civil servants in developing countries
  • Students of Asian geopolitics and statecraft

What the summary covers

  1. Going It Alone1 min
  2. An Army and the British Withdrawal3 min
  3. Finding a New Hinterland3 min
  4. Unions, Homes and Savings3 min
  5. Politics, Talent and Language2 min
  6. Clean and Green2 min
  7. Living beside Malaysia2 min
  8. Indonesia under Suharto3 min
  9. Vietnam and Asean2 min
  10. The 1997 financial crisis1 min
  11. Britain, the Commonwealth and Australia2 min
  12. The Soviet Union and America2 min
  13. Friends in Washington2 min
  14. Japan: Old Wounds, New Lessons2 min
  15. Hong Kong and Taiwan2 min
  16. China: From Mao to Deng3 min
  17. Passing the Baton2 min
  18. My Family1 min
  19. Epilogue2 min

About the author

  • Lee Kuan YewWas Singapore's first prime minister, serving from 1959 to 1990
    • Born in British colonial Singapore in 1923 and earned a law degree from Cambridge University
    • Won a scholarship to Raffles College in Singapore, where he studied English literature, mathematics and economics
    • Worked at the Japanese news agency Domei during the occupation of Singapore
    • Went to Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge in 1946 after the war
    • Returned to Singapore in 1950 and ran the law firm Lee and Lee
    • Helped form the People's Action Party in 1954 and was its first secretary general until 1992
    • Became the first prime minister of Singapore as head of the majority party
    • Stepped down as prime minister in 1990 and stayed in the cabinet as senior minister

Read it alongside

  • Goes deeperChip War

    Lee shows how Singapore used foreign manufacturers; Miller explains how learning and demand across the chip chain build strategic capacity.

More books like this