Customer Reviews

A History of Wales

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Even in the great 'Celtic revival' of the past generation, where the cultures of the Celtic fringes of Britain and continental Europe have re-exerted themselves in various political and non-political ways, the Welsh revival has been late in coming, and a little less forceful in affect and event.

Perhaps history is to blame here -- the Welsh have been only marginally protected by geography; the mountainous area was difficult terrain to conquer, but the supply lines to those mountains were relatively easy to maintain and sustain, unlike the trek to the northern reaches of Scotland or crossing the sea into Ireland, areas that (however much English history might want to contradict this statement) never were completely conquered and subdued, remaining under the hegemony but outside the total control of Londinium/London from Roman times to the recent past. Wales was never so fortunate. Indeed, it is a miracle that the Welsh survive. The Scots lost land, language and independence, but retained administrative and legal systems separations that preserved many aspects of nationhood. The Irish never completely lost independence. The Welsh, however, lost everything of nationhood, and barely sustained an independent culture. Thus, when the 'nations' of the British Isles began to re-exert their independent interpretations of history, the Welsh were among the last.

However, sometimes the last shall be first. In terms of quality of writing and interpretation, the volume by John Davies, `A History of Wales', is indeed in a class of its own in terms of Welsh history. Dafydd Elis Thomas read into the `Hansard' (the British Parliamentary equivalent of the `Congressional Record') that this is 'the greatest of book of Welsh history ever written'.

It was, in fact, originally published in Welsh, under the title of `Haynes Cymru' in 1990. From the Ice Age to the 1980s miners strikes and efforts to reassert a national identity, Davies traces in some detail a history of Wales from a Welsh perspective, inextricably tangled with English and continental history, but nonetheless deserving of its own perspective as one of the last major surviving Celtic groups.

`A number of factors, the increasing prominence of the European dimension in particular, have caused the devolution issue to return to the political agenda.... From 1911 to 1981 the number of Welsh speakers declined census by census. In 1991, however, those claiming a knowledge of the language were marginally more numerous than had been the case in 1981, and the increase among the younger age groups was especially remarkable.'

Davies confesses that he contemplated writing a different book in English, as this was meant to be a Welsh book, and he would have envisioned a different book had his first thought been in English. However, given the demand of non-Welsh readers to read the same history treatment as those who do read Welsh, Davies consented to a translation rather than a re-write.

The time frames are not the same as those of standard British histories, which tend to follow the broad sweep of royal affairs. While there is some parallel of necessity, the time factors and dates here have far more interest to the direct concerns of Wales than to the rest of Britain.

The reader should also be prepared for an array of names, of both persons and places, that are very confusing to the average reader of English -- Gwydir, Llangeitho, Aberffraw, Catraeth, Llantwit, Penmynydd and Llyn Cerrig Bach. However, it is worth the effort to learn these names and places. Particularly in America, where so many people have Welsh ancestry (the Jones now outnumber the Smiths in America as the greatest number of people by last name, and Jones is a Welsh name by and large), this is part of the collective history of America, too.

Well written, well researched (Davies was educated in Wales and at Cambridge, taught Welsh history at University College in Wales), this is perhaps the currently-accepted definitive history of Wales available today.

Over the years, several English kings and numerous politicans had a disliking for the Welsh and refused to allow any representation of Wales on the British "Union Flag". Instead of disappearing, Wales has survived and is now fighting for recognition, both as the first nation of Britain and as a modern European region.

To understand Welsh history takes time and nobody acts a better personal guide than John Davies. This insightful book goes a long way to explain the curious juxtapostion of Welsh sympathy and antipathy to its domineering neighbours in England and the reasons for the demise of its language and culture, particularly during the last century. Although his writing is factual and unsentimental the book enables the reader to get a real flavour for Wales.

'A History of Wales' addresses the failure over many centuries to allow Wales its rightful place within British history. The text is thorough and comprehensive, yet never difficult to digest.

As Wales revives its national identity and political future, it's culture will gain increasing recognition worldwide over the next ten years, much as Ireland did in the eighties and nineties. Those who wish to know more about this fascinating nation should read this book.

John Davies book does an excellent job tracing the path of Welch civilization from the dawn of time to the Thatcherisim of the late 1980's. The book coveres with an exceptional clarity the issues, consequences and decisions of the Major Historical eras of Welch history. By focusing not only on Welch power, but on the people in their darkest hours, Davies provides a balanced, well thought out work that is indepth enough to be a survey text, yet researched extensivly to be a companion to the research of Wales' history. I strongly recommend this work to any who wish to see the legend of King Arthor's homeland in a balanced, explained historical light.

The back of this book's cover has quotes from several authorities who praise the book and its author, and I found no reason to take issue with their evaluations. This book seems to be a definitive work on the history of Wales and has clear value to people who are interested in understanding their heritage, although it was written for the serious historian (which I am not) as well. Perhaps in keeping with this audience, the book is not an easy read -- it is packed with facts, interpretations, and ideas that really need careful study to appreciate and understand fully. It has many maps, but I found myself wanting better ones, and sometimes thinking that the author assumed the reader would be more familiar with Britain's geography and history than myself. The author writes well and the book is often engaging, reflecting Davies's concern with his own cultural affiliations. Roughly 700 pages in a typical Penguin paperback make for a considerable time investment.

While Scotland and the medieval periods is my area of history, I often have need to know what is going on in England, Ireland and Wales, to fully understand what is going on in the 'big picture'. The history of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland did not happen individual vacuums, you so need to know all their histories to fully comprehend external pressures as well as the inner problems of each nation. So I have found this a wonderful work for reference on Wales.

It covers the history of the country from the dawn of time to 20th Century. So if you wish to know about Ffynnon Beuno or the Rebecca Wars, this is your book.

Excellent reference for Historical writers.

John Davies covers a lot of territory (in terms of time, if not in space) in his "A History of Wales", originally published (1990) in Welsh as "Hanes Cymru". This will probably stand as the definitive general history of this fascinating country for years to come.

Beginning with the earliest evidence for human occupation of Wales, Davies brings us up to the end of the 1980s. Each of his ten chapters covers a particular time period, and each chapter title features three place names that represent, and figure into, the theme of that chapter/period. Davies touches on nearly every aspect of Welsh history--the political, the social, and the cultural. If some themes garner less attention than others, that is to be expected in a survey of this kind. One theme, of course, dominates this volume (as it should), and that is the relationship between the Welsh and their much more populous English neighbors to the east. That the Welsh were able to resist English domination for so long is miraculous; despite eventual English hegemony, the Welsh have managed to preserve their language, while over the past century there has been a revival of Welsh culture.

The writing is clear and concise, a testament to Davies' skill as both writer and translator. Davies has included a wealth of maps and graphs to illustrate many of his themes. If I have one complaint about "A History of Wales" it is the complete absence of photographs and other illustrations that would have benefited Davies' narrative immensely. That being said, however, this is a fine introduction to a part of the British Isles that we in the US hear very little about. Four and a half stars.

To be called, by Westminster, the most complete volume on the principality of Wales is perhaps the highest honor for Davies's _A History of Wales_. The work gives insight into the workings of Welsh society, and its interaction with its English neighbor. As the nation modernized, Wales experienced difficulty in keeping its Celtic roots, and staving off the encroaching Angliciztion that had toppled the south Wales industrial area. Davies does justice to the events and people that have shaped modern Wales; and it's a good read to boot.

IF YOU WANT AN IN DEPTH HISTORY OF WALES THIS IS IT. YOU REALLY HAVE TO WADE THROUGH ALOT OF THE OLD LANGUAGE TO UNDERSTAND IT, BUT IT IS STILL A WONDERFUL BOOK. IT IS VERY THROUGH AND INTERESTING IF YOU STAY WITH IT. I RECOMMEND IT FOR THOSE TRULY
INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF WALES.........

Well written and well researched. It is an exhaustive history that will not exhaust you. I am reading it for general interest and find it hard to put down.

This is one of the worst general history books I have ever read. The writing is endlessly drudging, consistently focused on the least interesting aspects of every topic. If you would like to know the exact number of people working in the Welsh minefields in 1921 versus 1931, or how many seats the Conservatives won in the 1984 election, this is the book for you. If you would like something that instead conveys an over-arching, well-thought-out, and interesting grasp of the history of Wales, read something else.

I sought this book out because I will soon be moving to Wales, and wanted to learn about the region's history. Well, this was the wrong choice. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you are already very knowledgeable about Wales. Davies consistently makes allusions to myths, people, or events without explaining them; for instance, during the chapters on the Middle Ages, he often mentioned that a certain person was the ancestor of "the famous X". Who were these famous descendants? I have no idea, since they were never people the average American has heard of, and Davies did not bother to explain himself. I'm sure that this would not be a problem for people more familiar with Wales, but for someone seeking to learn, it was a major stumbling block. The most egregious example of this is the fact that this book has dozens of maps, showing the population in areas of Wales, different industries in Wales, distributions of religions in Wales, etc. However, there is a not a single map included with the major rivers and geographic areas labeled, so that a reader unfamiliar with the region could orient themselves.

In addition, Davies consistently focused on the most irrelevant, boring, and mind-numbing aspects of history. He almost seems to deliberately avoid interesting details. For instance, he often mentions poets famous for their lyricism. Does the book feature even one quote of that beautiful poetry? No. He mentions powerful, compelling novelists, without telling us what they wrote their novels on. He describes preachers famous for their sermons, but does not tell us what they said. He alludes to beautiful paintings, architecture, sculpture, and other arts, but does not include a single photo. The entire book instead focuses on numbers and dates. Let me quote an example for you. During an investigation of working conditions in the minefields, Davies writes that the investigator was "horrified by the inhuman attitude of some of the owners and by the arrogance of landlords such as the duke of Northumberland and Baron Tredegar, men who had profited greatly from the royalties paid upon the coal mined beneath their estates" (page 516). That sounds interesting, right? What did they say that was so horrifying and arrogant? Too bad if you wanted to know, because Davies never says. However, he does have plenty of space, in the previous paragraph, to write that "By 15 April the miners had agreed by 693,684 votes to 76,992 to accept the Sankey proposals" (page 515). Because the average reader really *needs* to know the exact number of votes cast on every issue. Don't worry, Davies will give you those exact numbers for every political election.

Like I said, Wales isn't my specialty. However, I do study pre-history, and I have to say that Davies got a few facts wrong in that chapter (he doesn't seem to understand the distinctions between Neanderthals, Homo sapiens, and Cro-Magnons, and in addition got a date wrong). Clearly prehistory isn't his focus, so he probably had fewer mistakes in the rest of the book, but it did make me wonder.