Customer Reviews

Imagining Singapore

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The essays are very readable, though some can be very academic (like the one on Singapore leaders). One the whole, I found the collection insightful, especially from a Singaporean's perspective.

For instance, Singapore's policy on Bilingualism in the education policy: Having gone through the Singapore education system, it's a weird but pleasant feeling reading it now and going "So that's why I had to study those subjects in school"). It was also a minor relevation of sorts when reading the essays on the Singapore population policy, the planning of recreational facilities (something I wasn't aware until I read the article), and the issue of a National Identity.

I thought it was interesting to have the article on "Religious Truth and the meaning of life" in this collection. Contrary to my expectation, it's not about politics or the workings of the government (as I thought it would, since the collection of essays are somewhat quite academic in nature). But it's really about philosophy, and increasingly as the Singapore society gets more sophisticated, more and more people would start articulating thoughts of such a nature. Now I bet our forefathers thought about the meaning of life too, but just not presented in this way.

This book would appeal to those who want a deeper insight into the workings of Singapore, and what makes Singapore and Singaporeans tick.