One month before Dr Ooi Kee Beng delivered his manuscript to the publisher, Dr Goh Keng Swee breathed his last.

Dr Goh's death triggered an interesting phenomenon in Singapore. On the one hand, a profusion of tributes to the great man, from high and low, arose from many who had worked with him or, as contemporaries, were familiar with his achievements. Yet, at the other end of the age-spectrum, say, among the under- 40s, there was bemused surprise at that outpouring of acclaim.

A sign of collective amnesia among the younger half of the citizenry? Not really. They just may not have learned of Dr Goh, for reasons that are suggested below; or their ears did not prick up when his name or accomplishments earlier came up.

One reason is that Dr Goh was out of the public eye for some 15 years or more before his death. He did his job, retired, and had a clean break with politics. During his years of active service, Dr Goh's mission, as the book demonstrates in unmistakable terms, was to throw himself wholeheartedly into the tasks at hand. Not for him the development of a personality cult. He did not obsess over what the history books might want to say about him. He knew that his actions and their results spoke for themselves. And he understood the ancient Roman maxim: Sic transit gloria mundi.

The second reason that the younger generation may not have come up to speed on Dr Goh is the palpable state of the teaching of history in schools. Maybe, steps are now being taken to improve the situation. Time will tell. Perhaps the timeliness of publication of this book, so soon after Dr Goh left this earthly world, will stimulate interest among Singaporeans not only in its subject matter, but our nation's history.