Product Description

Stretching from the Ice Ages to the present day, this masterful account traces the political, social and cultural history of the land that has come to be called Wales. Spanning prehistoric hill forts and Roman ruins to the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution and the series of strikes by Welsh miners in the late twentieth century, this is the definitive history of an enduring people: a unique and compelling exploration of the origins of the Welsh nation, its development and its role in the modern world. This new edition brings this remarkable history into the new era of the Welsh Assembly.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #202204 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 736 pages

About the Author
John Davies is a native of the Rhondda. He was educated in schools in Treorci, Bwlchllan and Tregaron and at University College, Cardiff, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He taught at the University Colleges of Swansea and Aberystwyth and was for eighteen years the Warden of Neuadd Pantycelyn, Aberystwyth. His other publications include Cardiff and the Marquesses of Bute, Hanes Cymru, Broadcasting and the BBC in Wales, The Making of Wales, The Celts and Cardiff: a Pocket Guide. He is the consultant editor of The Encyclopaedia of Wales. His wife comes from Blaenau Gwent and they have two daughters and two sons.

Customer Reviews

The definitive book on Wales
Dr Davies modestly titled his book 'A History of Wales". A wise decision as history can be difficult to define when so much is based on subjective information and story telling passed down over many centuries.

Yet this is a masterful book, probably the best book on Welsh history to date. It is clear, factual but never tedious. Above all, it places Welsh history where it belongs; alongside English and Scottish history, the latter two dominating British text books for many years.

It is very tempting to become overly romantic about Wales, in a way that distorts historical facts. The relationship between Wales and England is a good exmaple. John Davies deals with these conflicts of interest in an honest and illuminating way, remaining objective whilst never failing to under-portray Wales.

A highly recommended book for those genuinely interested in the first nation of Britain.

Simply the best
As a librarian, I'm sometimes asked which is the best one-volume work on the history of Wales. Until the first edition of John Davies' book was published, this was something of a problem. The best books on Welsh history dealt with particular periods, while there were drawbacks to all the complete one-volume histories.

John Davies changed all that. Always objective and fair-minded, he neither parrots cliches, as so many books on Wales do, nor rides his own hobby-horses. He gives space to political history, social history, economic history and cultural history. He manages to cram a remarkable quantity of information into 700-odd pages, while still keeping it very easy to read.

The second edition has a new chapter taking us up to the Welsh Assembly era. Sufficient to say that it is of the same high standard as the remainder of the book. If you only buy one book on Welsh history, make it this one.

great reading
ok, ok, i'm not completely finished reading this book, but i can tell you that what i'vew read so far has been astonishingly interesting and just so easy to read! it even gave me a crisis of conscience concerning my choice of university course, and i feel that a book that moves you in any way is a book that you should own. the writing is both interesting and informative, captivating and convincing. i honestly am glad that i own this book, and now i want the Welsh version, because the English one was so so good!