Politics & Economics

Living in the age of advertising, we seem to have no choice but to be constantly enveloped by images, products and services, despite the voices of anti-consumerism calling out for us to rethink the intricate influences of capitalism and consumerism. The Phantom of Consumerism examines this relationship through documentary photography of our intertwined lives.

This is the Chinese edition of Men in White, the inside story of one of the world's most successful political parties, the People's Action Party (PAP). Based on more than 300 interviews and 200 oral history interviews conducted in Singapore and the region, the story is woven together by three Straits Times writers. The result is a dramatic account of PAP - warts, blemishes and all - and of the pivotal moments in its history which changed Singapore forever. Narrated in three parts, the story is told in a journalistic mode and enlivened with anecdotes, quotes and stories of human interest. Part One tells how Lee Kuan Yew, a Cambridge-educated lawyer, and his anglicised associates collaborated with radical Chinese-speaking trade unionists to drive out the British colonialists and how they fought each other. It also chronicles the party's clash with the ruling UMNO which led eventually to separation from Malaysia. Part Two captures the agonies of leadership renewal and charts the ascent of Goh Chok Tong, who succeeded Lee Kuan Yew as Singapore's second Prime Minister. It ends with Lee Hsien Loong taking over from Goh in 2004. Part Three wraps up the PAP story by delving into the key principles that characterise Singapore governance and concludes with the intriguing poser: will PAP outlive Lee Kuan Yew?

Not For Turning is the first volume of Charles Moore's authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher. Charles Moore's biography of Margaret Thatcher, published after her death on 8 April 2013, immediately supersedes all earlier books written about her. At the moment when she becomes a historical figure, this book also makes her into a three dimensional one for the first time. It gives unparalleled insight into her early life and formation. This volume ends with the Falklands Dinner in Downing Street in November 1982.

From Greece scrambling to meet Eurozone austerity measures to America's sluggish job growth, there is every indication that the world has not recovered from the economic implosion of 2008. Economic historian Larry Allen offers an insightful and nonpartisan chronology of events and their consequences. Illuminating the interlocked economic processes that lay beneath the crisis, he analyzes the changing nature of the global financial system, central bank policies, housing bubbles, deregulation, sovereign debt crises, and more.

In this riveting anatomy of authoritarianism, acclaimed journalist William Dobson takes us inside the battle between dictators and those who would challenge their rule. Today's authoritarians are not like the frozen-in-time, ready-to-crack regimes of Burma and North Korea. They are ever-morphing, technologically savvy, and internationally connected, and have replaced more brutal forms of intimidation with subtle coercion. The Dictator's Learning Curve explains this historic moment and provides crucial insight into the fight for democracy.

Ever wondered why the gap between rich and poor nations is so great, or why it's so difficult to get a foot on the property ladder, or where the banks went wrong? This book offers the hidden story behind these and other forces that shape our day-to-day lives, often without our knowing it.

Facsimile softback of the 1980 second volume of Alex Josey's almost blow-by-blow account of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's crucial and eventful political and public career 1971-78. Black-and-white photographs and verbatim quotations highlight many of the crucial issues of the time, and make clear the steadfast, even implacable faith Lee Kuan Yew had for Singapore's independent future. Index.

Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) is now widely known outside China. An innovative artist and rights activist hie exhibited at the Tate Modern in October 2010 and was arrested and detained in Beijing under grim circumstances for 81 days in April 2011. This long interview with an experienced correspondent took place in Beijing just after his (supervised) return home. It gives unique information or ignored events in and views of contemporary China. Weiwei offers a stubbornly persistnet dissident voice in a society where conformity continues to be a deeply entrenched norm. With photographs of Weiwei and his art works.

From film stars to politicians, tycoons to writers, dissidents to lifestyle gurus, Lunch with the FT is a selection of classic interviews conducted in the unforgiving proximity of a restaurant table. The list of people who have had Lunch with the FT since 1994 reads like an international Who's Who of our times. Meet the rich and famous, the weird and the brilliant, the brave and the virtuous, brought to you by the Financial Times' global network of columnists and correspondents. The operative word is lunch: this book brings you right to the table to decide what you think of Angela Merkel or Martin Amis, George Soros or Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Angelina Jolie or Jimmy Carter. Meet not just oligarchs and royals, but the tycoon who will pay African presidents to quit, and one of the Arab world's most notorious sons.

Feeding Frenzy traces the history of the global food system and reveals the underlying causes of recent turmoil in food markets.. Can we feed a population that will grow to nine billion by 2050? Are we running out of land and water? Can we rely on free markets to provide? This book reveals trends that could lead to more hunger and conflict. But Paul McMahon also outlines actions that can be taken to shape a sustainable and just food system.

Exile is not a choice, but a response to lawless oppression. The narratives in this collection might awaken readers from their complacency and make them question the relevance of the Internal Security Act, a law that makes a mockery of democracy. The six authors - Ang Swee Chai, Francis Khoo Kah Siang, Tan Wah Piow, Tsui Hon Kwong, Tang Fong Har and Ho Juan Thai - speak of their narrow escapes in the 1970s and 1980s, and their lives then and now with frankness, humour and sadness, but always with optimism and hope for Singapore and the world. In Chinese.

No-nonsense writer Kee Thuan Chye is back exposing more bullshit in the Malaysian political realm. His pen is as sharp as ever as he slices the lies to bits. Najib Razak, Hishammuddin Hussein, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Mahathir Mohamad, Perkasa, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Election Commission, PTPTN, Chua Soi Lek, Utusan Malaysia, Pakatan Rakyat, even the police - hardly anyone is spared.

Covering 25 years, Burmese Shadows is an unprecedented body of work which highlights, with stunning photographs, the reality of living and fighting for survival for ordinary people in Burma. These harsh realities, however, are juxtaposed against the vibrant and rich traditions and cultures which combine to make the enigmatic country that is Burma. Highlights include his photographs of Aung Sang Su Kyi, the ethnic armies and tribal warlords, interviews with the legendary opium baron Khun Sa and his unparalleled access to the Free Burma Rangers, a force of humanitarian commandos living in the Black Zones, where the Burmese army operate a shoot-on-sight policy. The author has spent one month with the Rangers every year since 1999. No other journalist has had such access.

Touted as one of the main engineers of Singapore's economic growth, Dr Goh's collection of writings and speeches seek to shed light on the various challenges that China faced in the early 90s. His arguments and analyses were presented clearly and concisely while being firmly established upon economic principles. Covering a broad range of topics from the growth of industries and enterprises to financial reforms and the difficulties of doing business in China, this collection provides a comprehensive view of problems the Chinese government faced while providing possible solutions. Despite being written two decades ago, the issues raised in these papers and speeches are uncannily relevant to the issues that the current Chinese government faces today.

This is the first in-depth, authoritative discussion of the role of the press in China and the way the Chinese government uses the media to shape public opinion. It takes readers beyond China's economic miracle to show how the nation's massive state-run media complex not only influences public opinion but creates it. It explores an array of issues, from Tibet and Taiwan to the environment and US trade relations, as seen through the lens of the Xinhua News Agency, and tells the story of the official Xinhua News Agency along with its history and reporting over the years, as the foundation for telling the story.

Anyone wanting a primer on the secret of China's economic success need look no further than China Development Bank, which has displaced the World Bank as the world's biggest development bank, lending billions to countries around the globe to further Chinese policy goals. In China's Superbank, Bloomberg authors Michael Forsythe and Henry Sanderson outline how the bank is at the center of China's domestic economic growth and how it is helping to expand China's influence in strategically important overseas markets.

Anderson, a specialist in finance and Chinese political economics, uses the auto industry to examine how China's industrial planning works, and explores whether state involvement in the economy really is a winning formula for sustainable growth. Bringing to light the strengths and weaknesses that define the Chinese economy, Anderson finds that in some ways the government has become its own worst enemy, unable to choose between industrial competitiveness and social stability. Designated Drivers offers a unique insight into the Chinese economy through the lens of the auto industry, explores how successful the central government has been in spurring economic growth and the long-terms costs of intervention, and uses case studies to illustrate China's explosive growth over the last three decades.

International rhetoric in recent years has from time to time proclaimed China has a deliberate policy of "buying up the world". In this clear and cogent study the Professor of Chinese Development at Cambridge, a global economist with extensive experience of China, looks at the ongoing pattern of international activity in China and of Chinese enterprise outside China. The analysis shows how the present balance of economic activity does not at all indicate that China is set on a world-domination economic trajectory. Referenced.

The global competition for scarce natural resources that pits the West against the super-hot economies of China and India, plus a clutch of other contenders including Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia, has become one of the biggest issues facing the world today. Going beyond "big power" politics to explore resource ownership and the use of innovative technology to get the most out of them, the book takes a forward-looking approach to this pressing issue. It presents resource- and region-specific chapters to help readers view the pertinent issues from multiple angles.

The End of Cheap China is a fun, riveting, must-read book not only for people doing business in China but for anyone interested in understanding the forces that are changing the world. Rein puts China's continuing transformation from producer to large-scale consumer - a process that is farther along than most economists think - under the microscope, examining eight megatrends that are catalyzing change in China and posing threats to Americans' consumption-driven way of life. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of China's transformation, from fast-improving Chinese companies to confident, optimistic Chinese women to the role of China's government, and at the end breaks down key lessons for readers to take away.