Non-fiction

The Black and White house in Singapore is the most distinctive and imposing of the island's colonial architectural legacy. Surviving examples are testament to their physical and aesthetic durability - a unique tropical style with a colorful pedigree of architectural influences. Today these beautiful houses continue to serve their original purpose as gracious family homes but with others successfully adapted as restaurants, offices and artisan's studios. Written and photographed with flair and...

The story of modern Singapore can be told through its living heritage, essentially the many colourful 'ingredients' that make up this vibrant, cosmopolitan city-state. With the founding of modern Singapore by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, we review the many events, people, artefacts, legends and lifestyles pre- and post-1819 that contributed to make Singapore the unique city it is today.  This is the first book to encompass all aspects of Singaporean heritage, be it sociological, environmental...

An illustrated collection of Singapore truth and trivia, Singapore at Random is filled with anecdotes, statistics, quotes, diagrams, facts, advice, folklore and other unusual and often useful tidbits. This veritable treasure trove of information on Singapore is arranged, as the title suggests, randomly, so that readers will come to expect the unexpected on each and every page. Designed in a charmingly classic style and peppered with attractive illustrations, Singapore at Random is a quirky an...

The Singapore shophouse is an architectural gem a particular building form that is unique to the island. This book traces its development from rudimentary shophouse through various incarnations of decorative style Neoclassical, Chinese Baroque, Jubilee-style, Edwardian, Rococo, Tropical Modern all the while commenting on the various influences that fueled its evolution. Each individual feature of the shophouse is examined, as is its change from rudimentary out-of-China structure to sophistica...

Singapore: A Very Short History — From Temasek to Tomorrow is a fresh, new, and highly-readable account of Singapore’s history. It is a sweeping story of discovery, abandonment, rediscovery and development of what is today one of the world’s greatest port-cities. Brief as this account may be, it incorporates all the latest research and findings about Singapore’s past, and weaves a concise yet coherent and comprehensive account of the island over the last 700 years. Beyond familiar foundationa...

This is a book about the extended Hochstadt family in Singapore, also known as The Clan. There is just one Hochstadt family in all of Singapore and Malaysia. Its Progenitor, Philip Peter Hochstadt settled in Singapore around 1881, after travelling from Bavaria to the East. First, he landed in India, got married, headed to Sarawak to become Inspector of Police, and set up base in Singapore where he engaged in various businesses, including carriage building and rentals and dairy farming. Philip...