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Living the Asian Century
An Undiplomatic Memoir
Description
In this stirring memoir, a preeminent politician and diplomat traces the transformation of the Republic of Singapore from a poor colony into an Asian powerhouse.
In Living the Asian Century, Kishore Mahbubani vividly chronicles his own life going from a poor childhood in a multiethnic neighborhood to an illustrious diplomatic career that led him far from Singapore to the United States.
Along the way Mahbubani has become one of Asia’s most widely known commentators and spokespeople, with a unique perspective that straddles India, China, and the West.
In Living the Asian Century, Kishore Mahbubani vividly chronicles his own life going from a poor childhood in a multiethnic neighborhood to an illustrious diplomatic career that led him far from Singapore to the United States.
Along the way Mahbubani has become one of Asia’s most widely known commentators and spokespeople, with a unique perspective that straddles India, China, and the West.
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Praise
"The rise of Asia is the great economic and political story of our age. Nobody's life story could illuminate better than Kishore Mahbubani's . This book then is far more than the fascinating autobiography of a man who is arguably Asia's most influential thinker on today's transforming global order. The experiences and achievements of his life as student, diplomat, and commentator also provide important lessons for Westerners."
—Martin Wolf
"The arc of Kishore Mahbubani's remarkable life and career tracks the birth and rise of Singapore as an independent nation. Through insightful and amusing stories, always told with his trademark candor, this distinguished diplomat and public intellectual also provokes us to think hard about "the Asian century."
—Anne-Marie Slaughter
"To have travelled from ‘poverty to plenty’, and lived in an eventful time in history, would endow any life with rich complexity. Kishore Mahbubani’s journey through our Asian Century, from childhood deprivation to adult eminence, reflects his brave, intrepid and fearless spirit. He offers a kaleidoscopic view of the cut and thrust of world politics as he experienced them as a diplomat in the US, alongside a local and intimate bird’s eye view of Singapore’s political struggles and those of its founding fathers, especially the inimitable Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Zooming out of global crises and into poignant personal moments and difficulties, this is an absorbing memoir of unflinching honesty. It is a pleasure and an education to read it."
—Meira Chand
—Meira Chand
“This is an inspiring story, beautifully-written, that I just could not put down. A must-read.”
—Indra Nooyi
“This is a story of fierce survival and grit on borrowed optimism.”
—Chan Heng Chee
“His seductive writing skills and excellent storytelling ability make this one of the best memoirs I’ve read of a Singapore public servant.”
—Eddie Teo
“A public intellectual of coruscating intelligence and insight, who has carved a niche for himself in the world of geopolitical ideas.”
—Shashi Tharoor
“Apart from Lee Kuan Yew, no other Singaporean has achieved a wider reach through his writings and speeches.”
—George Yeo