Thousands of prices just dropped across Thryft
Our price drop is now live! Find lowered prices on thousands of one-of-a-kind finds across Thryft
Free delivery on all orders above $30
Get 10% off all year round! Join Thryft Club
Get 10% off all year round and $10 off your next order! Join Thryft Club

Your cart

Your cart is empty

Check out these collections!

Bestselling Fiction
Bestselling Nonfiction
Bestselling Books for Children
Vintage and Rare Books
Vinyl Records
Women's Clothing
Men's Clothing

Find more of what you love

Get thoughtful picks from Thryft’s ever-changing collection of pre-loved books, vinyl and CDs—plus occasional sales and events.

By signing up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Thryft. You can unsubscribe at any time.

This item is sold out

Get an email when a matching copy is available again.

Tan Siak Kew: Going Against the Grain

Fiona Tan

Which copies would you like?
Condition and budgetAny condition · No price limit

Excludes delivery. This filters future availability alerts; it is not a price-drop alert.

We check inventory once a day. We’ll email you once when we find a matching copy. Copies aren’t reserved. This does not sign you up for marketing emails.

Tan Siak Kew: Going Against the Grain

by Fiona Tan
Tan Siak Kew: Going Against the Grain
Tan Siak Kew: Going Against the Grain

A bridge-builder who helped shape modern Singapore

This biography illuminates a quietly influential Singapore pioneer. Tan Siak Kew’s diplomacy, philanthropy, and educational vision reveal nation-building up close. Ideal for readers drawn to overlooked lives behind history.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Tan Siak Kew: Going Against the Grain

by Fiona Tan
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

Find out more about our process here.

ISBN: 9789814623605
Author: Fiona Tan
Publisher: Wspc
Date of Publication: 2014-09-09
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Biographies & Memoirs, History, Politics
Related Topics: Asia, Biography, Politics, Government, History, Society
Goodreads rating: 0.0
(rated by 0 readers)

Description

"A scholar by inclination, a businessman by necessity, a diplomat by duty" - those were the apt words chosen by a reporter in 1966 to describe Tan Siak Kew and his multi-dimensional public life. He was a fervent supporter of education, President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for multiple terms, Chairman of the Nantah University Council, Singapore's first ambassador to Thailand, nominated member of the Legislative Assembly, community leader of the Teochews, and notable philanthropist. Effectively bilingual and conscious of his responsibility to both his community and the new nation which was about to be born, Tan was able to act as the bridge between the Chinese-speaking and English-speaking communities with his tact and non-partisan position. Tan Siak Kew: Going Against the Grain is a biographical sketch of this under-appreciated pioneer, telling the story of his public life through historical records and discussions with his contemporaries.
 

A bridge-builder who helped shape modern Singapore

This biography illuminates a quietly influential Singapore pioneer. Tan Siak Kew’s diplomacy, philanthropy, and educational vision reveal nation-building up close. Ideal for readers drawn to overlooked lives behind history.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Biographies & Memoirs

Shop all
Notes on Love: Being Single and Dating in a Marriage-Obsessed Church
Lauren Windle | Spck

Notes on Love: Being Single and Dating in a Marriage-Obsessed Church

In one line

Witty solace for Christian singles navigating dating

Goodreads 4.34

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

Hark: How Women Listen
Alice Vincent | Canongate Books

Hark: How Women Listen

In one line

Rediscovering life's rhythm through mindful listening.

Goodreads 3.88

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

64% off est. retail
Toward a Better World: Memoirs of a Life in International and Development Economics
Gerald (Gerry) Helleiner | University Of Toronto Press

Toward a Better World: Memoirs of a Life in International and Development Economics

In one line

Economist’s firsthand fight against global poverty

Goodreads 0.0

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

Arsene Wenger: The Authorised Biography
Xavier Rivoire | Aurum Press

Arsene Wenger: The Authorised Biography

In one line

For fans of football visionaries and reinvention

Goodreads 3.74

Condition: Like New

$13.90

Chasing Rainbows
Choo Lian Liang | Straits Times Press

Chasing Rainbows

In one line

Four generations chasing home across turbulent Asian history

Goodreads 4.25

Condition: Like New

$13.90

Daily Rituals: Women at Work
Mason Currey | Picador

Daily Rituals: Women at Work

In one line

Insights into creative women's unique daily practices.

Goodreads 3.83

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time
Frederick Voss, Michael Reynolds | Yale University Press

Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time

In one line

Hemingway’s life revealed through vivid images

Goodreads 3.76

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

A Short History of the World in 50 Lies
Just Arrived
Natasha Tidd | Michael O'mara

A Short History of the World in 50 Lies

In one line

Fifty Lies That Reshaped History

Goodreads 3.59

Condition: Very Good

$11.90

Kingmaker
Sonia Purnell

Kingmaker

In one line

Glamour, seduction, and hidden political power

Goodreads 4.16

Condition: Like New

$13.90

50% off est. retail
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish: Advice for the Rest of Your Life - Classic Graduation Speeches
Random House | Wh Allen

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish: Advice for the Rest of Your Life - Classic Graduation Speeches

In one line

Wise, stirring send-off for life’s crossroads

Goodreads 4.22

Condition: Good

$10.90

History Books

Shop all
A Short History of the World in 50 Lies
Just Arrived
Natasha Tidd | Michael O'mara

A Short History of the World in 50 Lies

In one line

Fifty Lies That Reshaped History

Goodreads 3.59

Condition: Very Good

$11.90

Daily Rituals: Women at Work
Mason Currey | Picador

Daily Rituals: Women at Work

In one line

Insights into creative women's unique daily practices.

Goodreads 3.83

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

Rivals: How the Power Struggle Between China, India and Japan Will Shape Our Next Decade
Bill Emmott | Harcourt

Rivals: How the Power Struggle Between China, India and Japan Will Shape Our Next Decade

In one line

Sharp guide to Asia’s high-stakes power game

Goodreads 3.43

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time
Frederick Voss, Michael Reynolds | Yale University Press

Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time

In one line

Hemingway’s life revealed through vivid images

Goodreads 3.76

Condition: Very Good

$11.90 $8.90 25% off

The Works of Anne Bradstreet
Jeannine Hensley, Adrienne Rich, Anne Bradstreet | Belknap Press

The Works of Anne Bradstreet

In one line

Seventeenth-century feminism through poetry and prose.

Goodreads 3.69

Condition: Very Good

$36.90 $19.90 46% off

The Democratic Action Party in Johor
Kevin Zhang | Iseas - Yusof Ishak Institute

The Democratic Action Party in Johor

In one line

How grassroots politics reshaped Johor’s opposition landscape

Goodreads 0.0

Condition: Like New

$13.90

We Should Have Seen It Coming: From Reagan to Trump—A Front-Row Seat to a Political Revolution
Gerald F. Seib | Random House

We Should Have Seen It Coming: From Reagan to Trump—A Front-Row Seat to a Political Revolution

In one line

Clear-eyed map of conservatism’s rise and rupture

Goodreads 4.05

Condition: Very Good

$11.90

Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine
Nicola Twilley, Geoff Manaugh | Picador

Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine

In one line

Delve into quarantine's past, implications, and future.

Goodreads 3.94

Condition: Very Good

$8.90 $4.90 45% off

69% off est. retail
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Robin DiAngelo | Penguin

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

In one line

Examining white reactions to racial discomfort.

Goodreads 4.16

Condition: Well Read

$8.90 $5.90 34% off

80% off est. retail
2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
Unknown Author

2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America

In one line

Inside the comeback that reshaped American politics

Goodreads 0.0

Condition: Like New

$13.90

You might enjoy this if…

View book details