New Books on Singapore History

Blazing the Trail: AWWA: A Commemorative Book to Mark 55 Years of Driving Social Change

By Vandana Aggarwal
AWWA Ltd (2025), 141 pages
Call no. RSING 362.82095957 AGG

From establishing one of Singapore’s earliest Family Service Centres in 1970 to starting Singapore’s first inclusive preschool in 2016, AWWA has advocated for social change over the decades. This volume commemorates its milestones in the 55 years since its founding.

Gardens of Perpetual Summer: The Singapore Botanic Gardens, 2nd edition

By Bonnie Tinsley
National Parks Board, Singapore Botanic Gardens (2025), 272 pages
Call no. RSING 580.735957 TIN

First published in 2009, this second edition sheds more light on the collections, research and educational outreach of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It also chronicles the evolution from a pleasure garden to a leading tropical botanical institution, the first and only tropical botanical garden on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Imperial Weather: Meteorology, Science, and the Environment in Colonial Malaya

By Fiona Williamson
University of Pittsburgh Press (2025), 265 pages
Call no. RSEA 959.503 WIL

Drawing from the history of science, meteorology and the environment, Fiona Williamson presents the fraught relationship between climate, weather science and empire within the Straits Settlements in the 19th century.

In Search of Silvestr: Unravelling My Granduncle’s Fate, Bata, Czechoslovaks and World War II in Singapore

By Jan Beránek
Landmark Books (2025), 287 pages
Call no. RSING 305.8918605957 BER

Jan Beránek uncovers the fate of his missing granduncle Silvestr Neměc, a Czech who left for Singapore in 1938 to work for the Bata Shoe Company. In February 1942, Neměc participated in the battle on Pasir Panjang Ridge. He was most likely wounded and taken to Alexandra Hospital where he died during the Japanese massacre of patients and medical staff. Beránek also traces the history of the shoe company in the Far East and the Czechoslovak community in Singapore before and during World War II.

Reimagining Singapore’s History: Essays on Pre-Colonial Roots and Modern Identity

By Matthew Oey
Penguin Books (2025), 269 pages
Call no. RSING 959.5703 REI

Although Singapore’s pre-1819 history going back to the 14th-century trading post of Temasek is known among academics, it entered public consciousness only in the last decade. Essays by various historians examine the changes in scholarship, bridge the gap between academic and public knowledge, and explore the relevance of Singapore’s precolonial history.

The Grand Mosque of Singapore: Two Centuries in the History of Masjid Sultan

Edited by Hadijah Rahmat JP, et al.
Masjid Sultan (2025), 437 pages
Call no. RSING 297.355957 GRA

For over two centuries, Masjid Sultan (Sultan Mosque) in Kampong Gelam has been a spiritual and cultural landmark in Singapore. This volume covers the mosque’s history and new insights about its founding, leadership and legacy.

Wild Life: Stories of Singapore Biodiversity

Edited by Anthony D. Medrano, Eunice J. Tan and Tanisha Nagqvi
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (2025), 241 pages
Call no. RSING 333.95095957 TAN

Examining the rich and diverse ecosystems in Singapore through the lens of science, ecology, culture and history, this collection of essays spans the seas, forests and freshwaters and looks at animals like dugongs, bulbuls and catfishes to understand what it means to be a city in nature.