I finished Chua Beng Huat's Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore on Monday. Chua attempts to unmask the ideology of the PAP, some means by which the ideology is perpetuated, and more interestingly (to me anyway, seeing as I actually paid attention during my Social Studies and National Education classes) argues that the PAP is attempting to pursue a new communitarian ideology to replace the old one that had "survival" as its theoretical linchpin.

The book is about a decade old by now, but is still an invaluable aid to non-Singaporeans (or locals even) who really want to learn about our political system. Too many observers don't bother looking beyond the "Cowboy-vs-Indians" version.

An updated version that examines developments since 1995 in light of Chua's muted suggestions and Marxist analytical framework would very tantalising indeed :)

As much lighter fare, Yeats is Dead is perfect (shout out to Amanda for the recommendation!).

The writing suffers from lack of characterisation but that's understandable given that each chapter is written by a different person. A sense of fun permeates the work(s) though -- especially in the way that the writers appear to undermine the premises of those before, and throw in little jokes about one anothers' work. Expect to be blindsided by all sorts of funny and incongruous revelations.

A small contribution is made to Amnesty International for every copy bought. I didn't know that until I took mine out of the library and glanced at the back cover, and it tickled me a bit to think that the National Library Board here might have contributed a few pounds to one of the PAP's staunchest (but not very sophisticated nor discerning) critics.