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: #112299 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-30
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.16 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 736 pages

From Booklist
Davies, a teacher in Cardiff, has not only taken cognizance of, and fluidly applied, the new tools history avails itself of--such as economics and archaeology--he first wrote his history in Welsh. His tremendous exertion was something new that the readers of Wales recognized, and they made it a best-seller there. Davies unearths the evidence of prehistoric hill forts and Roman ruins; he delineates the feudal wars, the 1536 union with England and the ensuing Reformation; and he explains the transformations of the Industrial Revolution. Accurate in all details, using meaningful modern maps, balanced where doubts exist, this impressive history could be criticized as a labor of patriotic love, if not for the visibly high professional standard to which Davies adheres. Nothing even remotely as accomplished has been written about Wales since 1950. And, for a few future decades, don't expect a vessel this sturdy to pass by. Gilbert Taylor

From Kirkus Reviews
From the Ice Age until 1992: the story of Wales, expertly chronicled by renowned Welsh scholar Davies (Welsh History/University College of Wales). The Welsh can claim to be the original Britons. They preserved a language and culture--and, for many centuries, a legal code-- that, along with their topographical isolation, kept them distinct from the Angles (``English''), Saxons, and later Norman invaders. The subjugation of Welsh land by the English occurred in stages: the vanquishing of Llywelyn's revolution in 1282; the Act of Union in 1532; and the effects of the new commercial world that opened up after the Revolution of 1689 and led to the mixed blessings of the Industrial Revolution. Here, Davies relates the history of his people with proper pride. Avoiding sentimental generalizations and the temptation of portraying the Welsh as victims, he offers a closely written monument of scholarship lightened by flashes of dry humor. Davies sees radicalism as an important Welsh trait, exemplified in the Welsh role in the Chartist movement and, more recently, in the politics of the Liberal and Labor parties. He questions the common view that Methodism and Revivalism were authentic expressions of Welsh culture, and he points out that many Welsh migrated to America, especially to Pennsylvania, and that one-third of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence were their descendants. In the late 18th century, he adds, rumors abounded that America had been ``discovered'' in 1170 by a Welshman, one Madog, and that a tribe of Welsh-speaking Indians, the Madogwys, still dwelt deep within the continent. Davies devotes the last third of his book to the recent political scene in Wales, including the growth of the nationalist party, Plaid Cymru. He concludes that tenacity and adaptation to changed circumstances are the hallmarks of this nation, whose fullness is yet to be. Not for the casual reader--but a must for all who love to trace the story of an ancient people. (Thirty-three maps and diagrams) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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.