This is an engaging and vivid account of S.R. Nathan's rise from humble origins to become Singapore's longest serving President. This engrossing and engaging book tells the story of Singapore's President S.R. Nathan in his own words. It takes readers on a journey from Nathan's modest beginnings and his life as a runaway in Singapore and Malaya, through his experiences of the Japanese occupation, the birth of Singapore's modern trade union movement, and his time as Permanent Secretary, Executive Chairman of the "Straits Times" newspaper for a number of years, Singapore's High Commissioner in Malaysia, and as Ambassador to the United States, to the Presidential elections in 1999 and his tenure as Singapore's longest-serving President.