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Books and Media:
Book Reviews for expats in Singapore
| Expat Book Reviews | South East Asia is a fascinating region which you should explore fully during your assignment. This section enlists a number of interesting books which may help you to extend your knowledge and entice you to travel literary beyond the ordinary - . Most of the titles you can order directly from the Singapore based Asian book specialist Select Books - our anchor partner for this section. |
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We are proud to have Jo Parfitt join our team of editors to maintain the sections dedicated to books for expatriates. Amongst the many hats this famous author is wearing, she is also an editor of the UK's Telegraph's book section for expatriates.
Jo Parfitt runs Summertime, which specialises in helping make publishing and portable career dreams come true. Since 1987 she has lived and worked abroad in five countries and loves nothing more than sharing what she knows to help others to grow. Sign up for her free newsletter, The Inspirer, at www.summertimepublishing.com or www.career-in-your-suitcase.com.
If you want to suggest any book for your fellow expatriates to read, please write us an email.
To qualify for a review, books should either be of interest to expatriates or target expat needs in the fields featured in this section..
Expatriate Lifestyle A Moveable Marriage: Relocate Your Relationship Without Breaking It
Robin Pascoe
Expatriate Press
A Moveable Marriage is the latest masterpiece from the Expatriate Press stable, and as usual, Pascoe does not mince words. A solid grounding in newspaper journalism has made the author unafraid of telling it how it is, even if at times some of her punches appear to be aimed below the belt.
Just as a relocating couple must write an inventory of all the physical possessions that will be shipped with them, so too must they inventorise their marriage. They should take stock of its flexibility, its communication strategies and perhaps most important of all, the state of each partner’s self-esteem.
‘The better a woman feels about herself, the more likely it is she will feel confident and ready to live her entire life to its fullest, including her married life,’ writes Pascoe. When a family moves abroad, the balance shifts .....
Third Culture Kids Third Culture Kids - Growing Up Among Worlds
Dave Pollock and Ruth Van Reken
Intercultural Press
This is an excellent book. It should be read by everyone who is living and working overseas, away from their home environment, especially those who have their children with them. Succinctly, with erudition, and with an easy-to-read style it examines and explains the problems experienced by a person who spends, or has spent, a significant part of his or her development years outside their parents' home culture. It contains much practical advice on how to deal with these problems. The term third culture was coined in the 1950s by Drs John and Ruth Useem, when they made a study of Americans who lived in India as foreign service officers, missionaries, technical aid workers, and business representatives. It was realised that there were expatriates from other countries who were undergoing similar experiences even though from different origins, styles and social stratification systems.
Read on >>>>
Business and Career in Asia The Asian Insider, Unconventional Wisdom for Asian Business
by Backman, Michael
Rich in figures, facts and anecdotes, this book is part management guide and part travel narrative. Amongst some of the topics covered are: Asian business practices; the near-mythic Asian family connections; politicians; commercial tribes; business personalities; business characteristics in certain Southeast Asian countries. This revised edition contains a new chapter on China and another on corporate governance in Asia. With notes, bibliography and index.
Asian Culture and History Final Notes from a Great Island: A Farewell Tour of Singapore
by Humphreys, Neil
After spending the best 10 years of his life in Singapore, British writer Neil Humphreys has decided to move to the land Down Under because he really wants to spend time living among the world's most poisonous snakes and roo poo. But he doesn't want to leave the island he fell in love with a decade ago without taking one final, kaypoh look around the place. Embarking on a valedictory tour from his Toa Payoh home, Humphreys vows to explore Singapore as he did when he first arrived - on foot and unaware - taking in his favourite places, the ulu haunts, the green spots, the clean parts and the dirty bits, and the nation's underbelly and its belly dancers. From Sentosa to Sembawang, Choa Chu Kang to Changi, St John's Island to Johor (he got a bit carried away), Humphreys treks, cycles and even hitchhikes his way across this great island, encountering murderous dogs, dead cats, wild crocodiles, made cyclists, terrifying transvestites, persistent prostitutes and half-naked ice cream vendors. Honest, insightful and funny, this book is a warm, uplifting tribute to Singapore and every Singaporean (and tourist, employment pass holder and permanent resident for that matter) should read it.
Asian Religion and Philosophy The Qur'an, A Biography
by Lawrence, Bruce
Bruce Lawrence, a scholar of Islamic Studies, has written this book to show precisely why the Qu'ran is Islam. He describes the origins of the faith in 7th-century Arabia and explains why the Qu'ran needs to be both memorized and recited by its followers. He also discusses the book's many doubters and commentators, from the English monk Robert of Ketton to the poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, and assesses its influence in societies and politics today. Above all, Lawrence emphasizes that the Qu'ran is a sacred book of signs that has no single message. It is a book that demands interpretation and can only be properly understood through its history.
