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The Story of Wales
The Story of Wales is a vibrant portrait of 30,000 years of power, identity and politics. Revisiting major turning points in Welsh history, from its earliest settlements to the present day, Jon Gower re-examines the myths and misconceptions about this glorious country, revealing a people who have reacted with energy and invention to changing times and opportunities. It's a story of political and industrial power, economic and cultural renewal- and a nation of seemingly limitless potential.The Story of Wales is an epic account of Welsh history for a new generation.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2012
57 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Jon Gower
44 books10 followersJon Gower grew up in Llanelli. A former BBC Wales arts and media correspondent, he was educated at Girton College, Cambridge, where he read English. He is a documentary maker for television and radio with a third of a century's credits to his name. Recent documentaries cover subjects such as the secret life as a poet of Hollywood actor Robert Mitchum (based on the book 'Oh Dad!' by Lloyd Robson) and the Summer of Love in San Francisco.
Jon has eleven books to his name, in both Welsh and English. They include 'An Island Called Smith,' about a disappearing island in Chesapeake Bay, which gained him the John Morgan travel writing prize, and 'Uncharted', a novel described by Jan Morris as 'unflagging and unfailingly inventive.' In 2009 he was awarded a major Creative Wales award to explore the Welsh settlement in Patagonia.
Along with novelist Tiffany Murray, Jon is currently a Hay Festival International Fellow, and his next books will be a novel called 'Y Storiwr', due out in July 2011 and 'The Story of Wales' which will accompany a landmark BBC series, due to be broadcast early in 2012. His second volume of short stories 'Too Cold for Snow' will appear in May 2012 as will a joint publication about the Welsh coastline where his text complements beautiful photography by Jeremy Moore.
In what little spare time he has Jon develops and performs theatre pieces with actor Gerald Tyler and trumpeter Tomos Williams, and reads, both to his children and occasionally by himself!
Jon lives in Cardiff with his wife Sarah and two book-loving daughters Elena and Onwy.
Jon has eleven books to his name, in both Welsh and English. They include 'An Island Called Smith,' about a disappearing island in Chesapeake Bay, which gained him the John Morgan travel writing prize, and 'Uncharted', a novel described by Jan Morris as 'unflagging and unfailingly inventive.' In 2009 he was awarded a major Creative Wales award to explore the Welsh settlement in Patagonia.
Along with novelist Tiffany Murray, Jon is currently a Hay Festival International Fellow, and his next books will be a novel called 'Y Storiwr', due out in July 2011 and 'The Story of Wales' which will accompany a landmark BBC series, due to be broadcast early in 2012. His second volume of short stories 'Too Cold for Snow' will appear in May 2012 as will a joint publication about the Welsh coastline where his text complements beautiful photography by Jeremy Moore.
In what little spare time he has Jon develops and performs theatre pieces with actor Gerald Tyler and trumpeter Tomos Williams, and reads, both to his children and occasionally by himself!
Jon lives in Cardiff with his wife Sarah and two book-loving daughters Elena and Onwy.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 2, 2020
The perception of Wales has changed over the past two millennia not only within its own borders, but also how others look at it. The Story of Wales by Jon Gower follows the 30,000-year history of the land that would one day become Wales that’s story is still being told today.
Beginning with a prehistoric burial during a warm period of the Ice Age era, Gower takes the reader through the human occupation of the 8,023 square miles that would become Wales. Until after the Roman occupation, the people within Wales were apart of the larger Briton culture, it was only after the Anglo-Saxons came that Wales came into being and the Welsh identity began to be formed. While both the evolving English and the evolving Welsh had many petty kingdoms eventually the English unite while the Welsh didn’t not, resulting in the larger kingdom slowly beginning to influence its smaller neighbors. After the Norman conquest, the Welsh were almost always on the cultural defensive until they finally were overthrown by Edward I. As a conquered people the Welsh attempted to keep themselves united but the things changed with the Welsh-descended Tudors making their leaders important but also saw them annexed by England resulting in English laws and language being more and more forced upon them for the next 400 years. Gower goes into the effects of the Reformation and later Nonconformity upon the Welsh as well as how the land, or more importantly what’s under the surface, lead to the nation becoming the first to be industrialized not England. Yet even with all the work, the Welsh were still oppressed as outside—English—money and ownership dominated them resulting the rise of labor unions resulting in first Welsh liberalism then later Labour beliefs in the 20th Century. Gower ends the book about how modern Welsh identity has been centered around saving the Welsh language and how it’s unique cultural traits are being revived and saved along with how the successes of Welsh Rugby have united the nation over the past century ultimately resulting the political devolution.
Boiling down millennia of history is not easy, but Gower does a remarkable good job at juggling the political, the cultural, and everything in between. However, how accurate some of the details are is a little questionable especially in relation to other nations as Gower has several mistakes especially relating to English history—Henry Tudor is mentioned as both a Lancastrian and Yorkist claimant within a few paragraphs—thus making it not a perfect book. Yet it feels that Gower, a Welshman himself, knows his Welsh history and facts thus making this a very reliable read.
The Story of Wales is fascinating read of a small nation that has survived its uniqueness throughout almost two millennia of facing a large political and cultural entity on its doorstep. Jon Gower knows Wales and its history thus making this a very good read for anyone of Welsh descent—like me—interested about where their ancestors came from.
Beginning with a prehistoric burial during a warm period of the Ice Age era, Gower takes the reader through the human occupation of the 8,023 square miles that would become Wales. Until after the Roman occupation, the people within Wales were apart of the larger Briton culture, it was only after the Anglo-Saxons came that Wales came into being and the Welsh identity began to be formed. While both the evolving English and the evolving Welsh had many petty kingdoms eventually the English unite while the Welsh didn’t not, resulting in the larger kingdom slowly beginning to influence its smaller neighbors. After the Norman conquest, the Welsh were almost always on the cultural defensive until they finally were overthrown by Edward I. As a conquered people the Welsh attempted to keep themselves united but the things changed with the Welsh-descended Tudors making their leaders important but also saw them annexed by England resulting in English laws and language being more and more forced upon them for the next 400 years. Gower goes into the effects of the Reformation and later Nonconformity upon the Welsh as well as how the land, or more importantly what’s under the surface, lead to the nation becoming the first to be industrialized not England. Yet even with all the work, the Welsh were still oppressed as outside—English—money and ownership dominated them resulting the rise of labor unions resulting in first Welsh liberalism then later Labour beliefs in the 20th Century. Gower ends the book about how modern Welsh identity has been centered around saving the Welsh language and how it’s unique cultural traits are being revived and saved along with how the successes of Welsh Rugby have united the nation over the past century ultimately resulting the political devolution.
Boiling down millennia of history is not easy, but Gower does a remarkable good job at juggling the political, the cultural, and everything in between. However, how accurate some of the details are is a little questionable especially in relation to other nations as Gower has several mistakes especially relating to English history—Henry Tudor is mentioned as both a Lancastrian and Yorkist claimant within a few paragraphs—thus making it not a perfect book. Yet it feels that Gower, a Welshman himself, knows his Welsh history and facts thus making this a very reliable read.
The Story of Wales is fascinating read of a small nation that has survived its uniqueness throughout almost two millennia of facing a large political and cultural entity on its doorstep. Jon Gower knows Wales and its history thus making this a very good read for anyone of Welsh descent—like me—interested about where their ancestors came from.
March 27, 2017
This is probably one of the most accessible history books I've ever read. Definitely more a book for the average human rather than historians or experts on Welsh history. Anyone who found John Davies' A History of Wales too hard going will appreciated this book.
February 25, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kETdr...
Huw Edwards presents this history of Wales, showing the country in ways it's never been seen before. From prehistoric times, to power struggles with the barons, and England, through to the industrial revolution and today this history is comprehensive and is a compulsive viewing. (—Joyce M)
St David's Day is coming soon
Huw Edwards presents this history of Wales, showing the country in ways it's never been seen before. From prehistoric times, to power struggles with the barons, and England, through to the industrial revolution and today this history is comprehensive and is a compulsive viewing. (—Joyce M)
St David's Day is coming soon
August 30, 2021
A thoroughly interesting and enjoyable history of Wales, beginning tens of thousands of years ago and ending with the story of modern Welsh devolution.
Charting the ups and downs of Welsh history, the author is most successful in explaining and analysing the formation of a distinct Welsh national identity, a process which took place over centuries.
Perhaps felt some areas were a little light on depth compared to others, but on the whole I did enjoy this summary of Welsh history.
As the author notes in his conclusion, the true story of Wales is the story of the 3 million Welsh citizens who make Wales the country it is today. 🏴
Charting the ups and downs of Welsh history, the author is most successful in explaining and analysing the formation of a distinct Welsh national identity, a process which took place over centuries.
Perhaps felt some areas were a little light on depth compared to others, but on the whole I did enjoy this summary of Welsh history.
As the author notes in his conclusion, the true story of Wales is the story of the 3 million Welsh citizens who make Wales the country it is today. 🏴
March 3, 2020
A solid overview with a particularly readable chapter about 12th and 13th century Century. I also liked some of the aspects of Tudor Wales that was covered and of course thoroughly enjoyed the way Industrial Wales was narrated. I also have to give a wink to the picture of the 2011 grouping of Wales people at the Millennium Stadium when the semi-final of the World Cup was showcased.
Because I was there!
Only downside is its limitations that are obvious in an overview like this.
Because I was there!
Only downside is its limitations that are obvious in an overview like this.
January 20, 2025
Informative but a bit dry at times for this American reader. The author assumes the reader is Welsh or at least familiar with Welsh mythology, famous heroes, language, & geography. I felt a little lost at times but I did learn a lot.
December 6, 2019
I only caught part episodes of the BBC's six part series, narrated by Huw Edwards, who has written the Introduction to this book of 'The Story of Wales' compiled by Jon Gower and published back in 2012.
I'm not really a fan of these condensed histories, where the story of any nation or people is skimmed over in just one single three hundred page edition. It seems to me that the reader is never going to attain any adequate depth of understanding of the real story. Consider the Oxford or Cambridge History series of England, with its multi-volumes, and it indicates how much Cymru has been short changed here.
I'm not really a fan of these condensed histories, where the story of any nation or people is skimmed over in just one single three hundred page edition. It seems to me that the reader is never going to attain any adequate depth of understanding of the real story. Consider the Oxford or Cambridge History series of England, with its multi-volumes, and it indicates how much Cymru has been short changed here.
June 6, 2024
Great history of Wales from the beginning until current times. This gives me an excellent prepartion for my visit there in August.
p. 10: Bryn Celli Ddu: https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-t...
p. 22: Bronze Age: 2000-1000 BC
p. 28A Concise History of Wales
p. 46: Caerleon: "a complex of monumental buildings"
p. 55: "This post-Roman age, once known as the Dark Ages, is now more usually referred as the Heroic Age or the Early Christian Age."
p. 58: Cardiff Central Library
p. 97: "The map of Wales is peppered with place names beginning with the prefix 'Llan,' meaning 'religious enclosure.'"
p. 106: The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) by unknown unknown Edition Paperback(2008)
p. 120: "The year 1282 was a bitter watershed in the story of Wales -- the country was now an English colony. The Welsh, a group of people starting to resemble a nation much more clearly, were left bereft of their prince: they were destined to become subjects and underlings once more."
p. 129: "In 1300 the population of Wales stood at over 300,000 inhabitants. A century later there were fewer than 200,000."
p. 132: "Soil exhaustion played a part too, but it could be argued that the Black Death also caused the death of serfdom in Wales."
p. 146: Owain ap Gruffudd: "Not for nothing has the last native Prince of Wales been credited as 'the father of Welsh nationalism.'"
p. 169: Battle of St. Fagans, near Cardiff, in May 1648
p. 169: Ty Pwll Coch (The Red House) in Ely - permanently closed
p. 186: "The Welsh language is a vast drawback to Wales, and a manifold barrier to moral progress and commercial prosperity of its people. It is not easy to over-estimate its evil effects. It is the language of the Cymri, and anterior to that of the ancient Britons. It dissevers the people from intercourse which would help advance their civilization, and bars the access of improving knowledge to their minds. As proof of this, there is no Welsh literature worthy of the name."
p. 200: "Cyfarthfa castle, built in 1825 by the ironworks owner William Crawshay II, is a testament to the wealth generated by the iron industry in Merthyr."
p. 204: Un Nos Ola Leuad
p. 254: "Lloyd George's Welshness was often seen as weakness, a view that persisted until his death in 1945."
p. 308: Aberfan
p. 314: "When the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in Russia in April 1986 led to the fall of radioactive rain on Welsh hills, there was some vindication for such concern about the effects of the nuclear age, especially when the movement of sheep in north Wales had to be restricted for many years afterwards."
p. 316: Arthur Scargill
p. 324: Ron Davies' "moment of madness"
p. 10: Bryn Celli Ddu: https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-t...
p. 22: Bronze Age: 2000-1000 BC
p. 28A Concise History of Wales
p. 46: Caerleon: "a complex of monumental buildings"
p. 55: "This post-Roman age, once known as the Dark Ages, is now more usually referred as the Heroic Age or the Early Christian Age."
p. 58: Cardiff Central Library
p. 97: "The map of Wales is peppered with place names beginning with the prefix 'Llan,' meaning 'religious enclosure.'"
p. 106: The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) by unknown unknown Edition Paperback(2008)
p. 120: "The year 1282 was a bitter watershed in the story of Wales -- the country was now an English colony. The Welsh, a group of people starting to resemble a nation much more clearly, were left bereft of their prince: they were destined to become subjects and underlings once more."
p. 129: "In 1300 the population of Wales stood at over 300,000 inhabitants. A century later there were fewer than 200,000."
p. 132: "Soil exhaustion played a part too, but it could be argued that the Black Death also caused the death of serfdom in Wales."
p. 146: Owain ap Gruffudd: "Not for nothing has the last native Prince of Wales been credited as 'the father of Welsh nationalism.'"
p. 169: Battle of St. Fagans, near Cardiff, in May 1648
p. 169: Ty Pwll Coch (The Red House) in Ely - permanently closed
p. 186: "The Welsh language is a vast drawback to Wales, and a manifold barrier to moral progress and commercial prosperity of its people. It is not easy to over-estimate its evil effects. It is the language of the Cymri, and anterior to that of the ancient Britons. It dissevers the people from intercourse which would help advance their civilization, and bars the access of improving knowledge to their minds. As proof of this, there is no Welsh literature worthy of the name."
p. 200: "Cyfarthfa castle, built in 1825 by the ironworks owner William Crawshay II, is a testament to the wealth generated by the iron industry in Merthyr."
p. 204: Un Nos Ola Leuad
p. 254: "Lloyd George's Welshness was often seen as weakness, a view that persisted until his death in 1945."
p. 308: Aberfan
p. 314: "When the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in Russia in April 1986 led to the fall of radioactive rain on Welsh hills, there was some vindication for such concern about the effects of the nuclear age, especially when the movement of sheep in north Wales had to be restricted for many years afterwards."
p. 316: Arthur Scargill
p. 324: Ron Davies' "moment of madness"
August 24, 2020
Fascinating look at Wales history from prehistoric to modern day times and including medieval times, The rise of the Tudors as Kings of England, how the natural resources contained within Wales helped to shape the course of the country through the industrial revolution through to the skirmishes that precipitated a lot of the collieries and pits closing down mainly due to Margaret Thatcher's influence. Jon Gower also takes us through the history of devolution of Wales's powers in recent years due to the consequences that exist due to post war strategies and politics that flowed especially in the 40's and 50's with the formation of Nation positive political parties such as Plaid Cymru. Really interesting.
December 6, 2020
A interesting and informative history of Wales, spanning from pre historic times to the modern day. It was great to learn more about the history of Wales, as I am more familiar with the histories of England and Scotland. I especially enjoyed the earlier chapters as this was a period I knew little about.
February 25, 2021
I suppose writing a history of Wales in one volume is always going to leave many readers dissatisfied, but I felt this TV cash-in book was very poor and ‘bitty’. The fact that 20th century Welsh rugby and football gets as much space as the Bronze Age about sums this book up. Congratulations to the author on being the fist to my knowledge to write of Sitka Pine trees...
Avoid!
Avoid!
August 26, 2022
A brief but patchy history of Wales. It is better in the chapters on the medieval period where it seems more robust in its opinions and analysis. The section on industrialisation is also enlightening. The chapters on modern Wales are skimpy, especially as regards the resurgence of Welsh as a spoken language and the phenomenon of Cool Cymru. There is also very little about specifically Welsh art, literature and music, which is disappointing.
It's still worth reading though.
It's still worth reading though.
March 28, 2024
Of course, coming from Wales this is a good read. There were a surprises - but few: the main one for me was the flooding to ensure Liverpool had adequate water resources. The account on Aberfan was lacking in that as until today the NCB has not paid out a penny to those effected or caused irreplaceable loss.
April 17, 2024
A really interesting overview of Welsh history. Most people would already know bits and pieces but seeing how everything fit together was fascinating. Would have liked to see more about the earlier wars and especially about the pre-Christian culture, but I guess there's only so much you can fit in.
February 4, 2018
Rollercoaster ride through the history of Wales - excellent overview and lively read.
August 27, 2019
Great read, really interesting stories told lovingly.
August 31, 2020
Clear, sharp history in context of a very interesting part of the UK. Perfect companion for our week in Wales.
July 7, 2023
Much too little on middle ages. Very disappointing
June 6, 2025
Such an easy read. Highly recommend.
April 22, 2022
DNF 30%
I tried to like this book. It's conceptually very interesting, but the author struggles to make it engaging. I had to actively force myself to keep reading. Section 2 felt so bland and dull that I just couldn't keep reading.
The introduction by Huw Edwards was very well written, it made me interested in the book and the idea of what it means to be Welsh.
"So many permutations, so many potential divisions, so many differences for such a small nation and yet all of us who claim a Welsh identity share one certain truth: each of us, regardless of our language or our region of origin, is part of the great story of Wales." (p. IX)
This book seems to almost celebrate the Roman Empire in chapter 4. It does mention the horrors of it, but then calls the people defending their home "savage fighters". It just does not sit right with me.
I tried to like this book. It's conceptually very interesting, but the author struggles to make it engaging. I had to actively force myself to keep reading. Section 2 felt so bland and dull that I just couldn't keep reading.
The introduction by Huw Edwards was very well written, it made me interested in the book and the idea of what it means to be Welsh.
"So many permutations, so many potential divisions, so many differences for such a small nation and yet all of us who claim a Welsh identity share one certain truth: each of us, regardless of our language or our region of origin, is part of the great story of Wales." (p. IX)
This book seems to almost celebrate the Roman Empire in chapter 4. It does mention the horrors of it, but then calls the people defending their home "savage fighters". It just does not sit right with me.
November 24, 2012
Interesting. Very interesting.
February 24, 2014
A really nice book to read and a great introduction to such a fascinating and diverse country. It gives a good overview of the history of Wales without drowning the reader in boring details.
March 3, 2015
A clear, concise history of Wales that illuminates the significant events in Welsh history.
August 22, 2016
Easy to read history of Wales, perfect as an introduction to the country before my flight to Cardiff.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews