What happens when complex cities meet curious minds? Starting with this simple question, Curiocities explores the work of 10 personalities whose careers have taken them places and introduced them to diverse peoples and practices.

Whether through their work in fields like diplomacy, research and media or through their creative projects as novelists, travel writers and photographers, they show compellingly how sparks fly when complex cities meet curious minds.

For all 10 individuals, it is their sense of curiosity and their willingness to embrace the complexities of peoples, places and practices that have helped them not only survive but thrive. All 10 have the added edge of recording their experiences in writing as, to quote renowned travel writer Pico Iyer, ‘a way to wake oneself up and keep as alive as when one has just fallen in love’.

Contents:

• To All the Cities I Love (Jason Pomeroy)


• When Love Beckons (Kishore Mahbubani)


• Think Global, Stay Global (Koh Buck Song)


• Inherent Diversity (Debarshi Dasgupta)


• Diverse Experiences (Maria Siow)


• Inquisitive & Versatile (Walter Sim)


• Citizen of the World (Balli Kaur Jaswal)


• Inner Voice (Edwin Koo)


• Drive & Curiosity (Shannon Teoh)


• Draw of Cities (Clara Chow)


• Hearing Stories, Making Friends (Warran Kalasegaran)

Readership: General readers interested in learning more about the lives and careers of diverse individuals such as Kishore Mahbubani, Edwin Koo, Balli Kaur Jaswal and others.

Key Features:

• Through creative non-fiction, the book achieves a clear pedagogical goal — promote the trait of curiosity, which is best caught, not taught


• It offers a good range of personalities representing diverse fields and backgrounds. Those featured include veteran diplomat Kishore Mahbubani, brand consultant Koh Buck Song, India correspondent Debarshi Dasgupta, East Asia specialist Maria Siow and Japan correspondent Walter Sim. Others featured are novelist Balli Kaur Jaswal, documentary photographer Edwin Koo, Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh, travel writer Clara Chow and diplomat Warran Kalasegaran