I WOULD PARTICULARLY LIKE to thank President S. R. Nathan of Singapore for planting the seeds of this book in my mind, and for his continuous support and interest during its writing and his reading of the manuscript.
The research for this book was long and varied and I wish to acknowledge my appreciation of the many people who helped me along the way, sharing their memories, lending or directing me to a book, searching out papers and documents for me. I am particularly grateful to Chew Gek Khim for the generous loan of books from the library of her grandfather, Tan Chin Tuan. I am also much indebted to the staff and research assistants of the National Library and the Oral History Department of the National Archives, especially Lily Tan, for their unstinting assistance in my research.
I would also like to thank Professor Edwin Thumboo for reading the manuscript and making some important suggestions.
My thanks go also to Gretchen Liu. Her unfailing encouragement throughout the writing of the book, her patient and repeated reading of a long and complicated manuscript, and her critical comments, have all been invaluable.
I would like to express my gratitude to James Gurbutt who first championed this book at Harvill Secker, and to David Parrish at Random House who has stood by it. My thanks also go to Georgina Capel at Capel and Land for never giving up. And lastly, my deep appreciation to Rebecca Carter at Harvill Secker.