Lee Kuan Yew's book offers no-holds-barred view of the world

Declining fertility is the biggest threat to Singapore's survival.

China will not become a democracy in the Western tradition.

And Japan strolled into mediocrity.

These are just some of the candid and no-holds-barred views of the world, as seen through the eyes of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who became prime minister at the age of 35.

In under a generation, he put Singapore on the world map with its domestic and international success, year after year.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said, that Singapore has to take the world as it is, it is too small to change it, but we can try to maximise the space we have to manoeuvre among the big trees in the region, and that we did.

In his 52 years in office, Mr Lee travelled extensively, representing Singapore on the global stage.

He met leaders from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping, from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama.

He is widely recognised as a global visionary, and a respected statesman whose views are sought by world leaders.

As former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said, 'Mr Lee was never wrong'.

During his 31 years as prime minister, he forged strong partnerships with China, United States and the world.

In his latest book, One Man's View of the World, the 89-year-old shares his perspective on international relations, what the future holds for Singapore and the rest of the world, and his personal views on life and death.

Some 200 guests, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Environment and Water Resources minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, were present at the book launch held at the Istana.

The 400-page book is Mr Lee's sixth, written with the help of a team from The Straits Times and Mr Shashi Jayakumar, a civil servant on secondment from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

One Man's View of the World is available at leading bookstores at $39.90.

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