In his introduction Sarath Amunugama notes the absence of records in this country of those who have contributed much. His autobiography is a healthy corrective and provides much interesting information about a varied but always productive life. In the process he also gives us fascinating glimpses of a range of other great personalities, Prof Sarachchandra, W J Fernando, Mrs Bandaranaike, to name just three of the most memorable. These were writer and administrator and politician respectively, categories into all of which Sarath Amunugama himself fits. They contributed much in their fields, and so did he, but in all three. This record is only of the first part of his life, covering boyhood and student days and his first decade in public administration, but his literary and political understanding and contribution are also pervasive in this excitingly woven narrative. Amongst his manifold achievements, so little thought of now, are the impact of his innovations with regard to tea small holdings and, diversely, the provision of housing for the then equivalent of now all important Divisional Secretaries. The vision of service he embodied, as one of the last recruits to the Ceylon Civil Service, exemplify the authority and commitment of that wonderful breed. But though obviously exceptional, he characteristically does full justice to his older colleagues too, beginning with the legendary Shirley Amerasinghe, creating a sense of professionalism which achieved so much.