Lee Kuan Yew: A Life in Pictures, Sep/2013

Lee Kuan Yew: A Life In Pictures, the bilingual pictorial book was published by Mr Lee Kuan Yew turns 90 this September. To commemorate his birthday, The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao – flagship newspapers of the Singapore Press Holdings – have put together a unique collection of photographs in apictorial book capturing his public and private life. This pictorial is a carefully-curated collection of about 480 photographs, including more than 100 never-before-published pictures selected from over 35,000 photographs from a wide range of sources, including Mr Lee’s personal albums.

Published in large format on high-quality art paper, Lee Kuan Yew: A Life in Pictures brings readers on a visual journey with rare glimpses into the life of the man who helped build Singapore. Organised in six chapters, this pictorial is a snapshot of Mr Lee’s life from his early childhood to his entry into the rough and tumble of politics in the 1950s, through the battle for the hearts and mind of Singaporeans and the nation building years that transformed this country into what it is today.

In January 2013, a team began work to put the book together. The project was led by The Straits Times’ picture editor Stephanie Yeow, and included Straits Times correspondent Cassandra Chew, senior writer Leong Weng Kam, Lianhe Zaobao’s news editor Han Yong May and executive photographer Spencer Chung. The book was designed by Straits Times senior executive artist Sally Lam. English/Malay Newspapers Division’s managing editor Han Fook Kwang oversaw the project.

It took the team months to source for images from Mr Lee’s family, old friends, colleagues, grassroots leaders, government agencies and even collectors of Lee Kuan Yew paraphernalia. The result is a pictorial that not only covers the breadth of Mr Lee’s great achievements, but also reveals the intimate moments of his personal life.