WALES - A HISTORICAL COMPANION 6 November 2009

360pp hardback illustrated Amberley

Amazon Book Description ‘A new and uniquely accessible history of Wales. This comprehensive and authoritative companion to Wales, its people and its millennia of history can be enjoyed by armchair travellers and tourists alike. The respected historian Terry Breverton presents the characters, events, buildings and institutions that have shaped Wales over the ages, from its earliest origins to the present day. The nation has the oldest national flag in the world, one of the oldest languages in existence, the longest unbroken Christian heritage in history, and has somehow retained a fierce sense of independence and nationality despite its proximity to England. The book takes us from the earliest recorded human burial in the world (at Paviland Cave) through the battles against the invading Romans, Vikings, Picts, Saxons, Normans and the Anglo-French kings to the present-day status of the country. Its people have changed the history of Britain and the United States, with the Tudor Dynasty giving Britain its European identity and Thomas Jefferson and others founding the breakaway union of American states. The book comes in an accessible, comprehensive, illustrated dictionary format, from an author who has written more than twenty entertaining and informative books upon the Welsh and their achievements.’

Gwales description:

‘This comprehensive and authoritative companion to Wales, its people and its millennia of history can be enjoyed by armchair travellers and tourists alike. The respected historian Terry Breverton presents the characters, events, buildings and institutions that have shaped Wales over the ages, from its earliest origins to the present day.
  The nation has the oldest national flag in the world, one of the oldest languages in existence, the longest unbroken Christian heritage in history, and has somehow retained a fierce sense of independence and nationality despite its proximity to England. The book takes us from the earliest recorded human burial in the world (at Paviland Cave) through the battles against the invading Romans, Vikings, Picts, Saxons, Normans and the Anglo-French kings to the present-day status of the country. Its people have changed the history of Britain and the United States, with the Tudor Dynasty giving Britain its European identity and Thomas Jefferson and others founding the breakaway union of American states. The book comes in an accessible, comprehensive, illustrated dictionary format, from an author who has written more than twenty entertaining and informative books upon the Welsh and their achievements.’

WALES ONLINE WESTERN MAIL and PLANET MAGAZINE July 2010:

‘Readable dictionary of the history of Wales - J. Graham Jones

The enterprising, prolific Terry Breverton, author of no fewer than twenty substantial volumes, has placed us further in his debt by devoting his prodigious energies to the compilation of this fascinating, most readable work of reference.  This book is an attractive, paperback guide to Wales, its inhabitants and its long history, arranged in a most accessible dictionary style format.  Among the author’s other volumes are 100 Great Welshmen (2001) and The Welsh Almanac (2002).  All these works are characterized by wide and informed reading and mature reflection.

The author’s knowledge of the course of Welsh history has enabled him to achieve a sound balance between famous individuals, themes and places in Wales.  There is also a good division between various historical periods, while the author’s especial interest in the prehistoric and mediaeval periods is very much apparent.  All is recorded in an appealing, highly readable writing style, certain to win the respect of a wide, disparate reading public.

We read particularly full entries on figures from the Middle Ages like Prince Madoc, the two Prince Llywelyns, Owain Lawgoch and, above all, Owain Glyndŵr to whom the author devotes five full and informative, highly readable pages.  There is a lengthy entry on the Welsh national flag which, we are told, is the oldest national flag in the world.

The entry on Lord (Neil) Kinnock (who, we are informed, may or may not have graduated from University College, Cardiff) far exceeds in length that on David Lloyd George, Liberal Prime Minister from 1916 until 1922.  There is a lengthy entry on the eccentric Dr William Price of Llantrisant, creator of cremation, but a much briefer one on Howell Harris, the founding father of Welsh Methodism.  The tragic Aberfan disaster of October 1966 and its aftermath are well covered in a substantial entry which is, however, highly critical of George Thomas, the then Secretary of State for Wales.  For his allegedly shameful attitude and conduct then, Thomas receives no entry in the book.  There are no entries for the National Library or the National Museum of Wales, but the National Assembly is given a brief entry in just six lines.

Many fascinating facts emerge from Breverton’s researches.  Five of the first six Presidents of the USA were, it seems, of Welsh descent.  We read much of the Welsh role at the centre of the Industrial Revolution.  The long campaign to achieve the disestablishment of the Welsh church coined one of the longest ever words in the English language – antidisestablishmentarianism.  There is some fascinating material on the unique history of the ancient Welsh language and the evolution of the Welsh legal system from medieval times.  Our Christian heritage from the dark ages is also discussed with authority and insight…

The volume contains many beautiful and evocative pictures, especially those of many of the mediaeval castles in Wales and the prehistoric burial chambers.  Lovely views of Nant Gwrtheyrn and Port Meirion also feature prominently in this section.  They add a great deal to an attractive and useful volume which is certain to be appreciated by avid travellers and readers who are largely confined to their armchairs.  It will bring great delight and profit to the discriminating reader and can be dipped into at rare moments of leisure by busy readers.

SOUTH WALES ECHO, WALES ONLINE 22 April 2010

Terry Breverton’s Wales – A Historical Companion is a wonderful work of reference and there are many references to Cardiff and its inhabitants among the thousands of entries. Here’s the one on Tiger Bay. Cardiff’s Bute Street and James Street used to be famous worldwide for pubs such as the Bucket of Blood, the House of Blazes, prostitutes and jazz. Many of the great pubs of Tiger Bay, known all over the world amongst seamen, have disappeared, for instance the Glendower, the Thatched House, the German Harp, the London Porter House, the Antelope, the Custom House, the Glastonbury Arms, the Cape Horn, the Quebec (which was brilliant for jazz), the Fishguard, the Salutation and the Friendship Ale House. The Grade II ‘Big Windsor’ down Cardiff Docks just survived and has been renovated as an Indian restaurant. It offered superb French food after the war, but also had a bar known as the ‘Snakepit.’ Towards the City from Tiger Bay, the Golden Cross has wonderful ornamental tiles, and is probably the most attractive pub in Cardiff internally. The late Ronnie Bird used to keep it. He was a Cardiff ‘institution as a footballer, playing for many years on the wing (‘Bird on the wing’) for Cardiff City.

And the one on Cardiff Bay.  Europe’s largest urban regeneration scheme impounded the outfalls from the Taff and Ely rivers to create a 500-acre freshwater lake with eight miles of shoreline. This is fronting a half-mile long ‘Arc of Entertainment’ with clubs, restaurants and bars. The Cardiff Barrage, built to link Cardiff and Penarth and keep the 14-metre tides out, was completed in 1998. The new Inner Harbour easily surpassed its target of two million visitors a year by 2000, and the Atlantic Wharf leisure complex cost £30 million. The whole project took over a sixth of the area of the capital, costing more than £2.4 billion. Baltimore USA was used as the model for this fabulous concept, but Cardiff’s regeneration is far bigger. The new Bute Avenue links up the city with its waterside at last. The avante-garde visitors’ centre, the elliptical silver ‘Tube’ was unfortunately designed to be temporary. However, it has been so popular that it is still in situ. The new Millennium Centre has been unofficially christened ‘the Armadillo’ and is an exciting new theatre and the new home of the Welsh National Opera. The new Senedd Building for the National Assembly is another excellent new building.

Shirley Bassey and Tessie O’Shea, two of Cardiff’s greatest entertainers also get an entry. O’Shea, Tessie (1914-1995). From Cardiff’s Riverside, she first appeared on stage at the age of six and was in Variety for the rest of her life. One of the survivors of music hall, some will remember her versions of Hold Your Hand Out, You Naughty Boy and Nobody Loves A Fairy When She’s Forty. In the latter song, ‘Two-Ton’ Tessie used the prefix fat before fairy. She topped the bill at the London Palladium in 1940 with Max Miller, and aged 51 she won a Tony for acting on Broadway. Bassey, Shirley (1937-). Born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, she has transformed into an international diva, with many hits over the years. A powerful singer, in 1977 she received the Britannia Award as the best female singer in the last fifty years. She is the only artiste to have performed three James Bon film themes, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker and Goldfinger. This book comes in an accessible, comprehensive, illustrated dictionary format and one can open it on any page and find an interesting item… this is a book you should have near to hand.

YR ENFYS – JOURNAL OF WALES INTERNATIONAL [CYLCHGRWAN UNDEB CYMRU A’R BYD] Summer 2011

‘TERRY DOES IT AGAIN WITH A GREAT BOOK ON WALES

‘It would be impossible to overstate or praise too highly Terry Breverton’s contribution as an author of Welsh reference books. The author of the shelf-full of books on a variety of Welsh subjects, his is an astounding and valuable achievement.

His latest contribution, Wales – A Historical Companion, takes its place alongside such volumes as 100 Great Welshmen, 100 Great Welsh Women, The Book of Welsh Saints, The Welsh Almanac, Welsh Pirates and Buccaneers, The A-Z of Wales and the Welsh – all of them substantial volumes. No surprise therefore that he is the most frequently named author included in the Welsh Books Council’s Book of the Month Award, and Wales – A Historical Companion is a welcome addition to his 30 published books.

A management consultant by profession, Terry Breverton, who lives in Cowbridge, South Wales, is a knowledgeable Welsh historian ardently conscious of Wales’ place in the world. His latest book lists alphabetically people, events, buildings and institutions that, as he says, ‘have shaped Wales over the ages, from its earliest origins to the present day.’ There are also a number of full colour photos.

From the book we learn that Wales has the oldest national flag in the world, one of the oldest languages in existence, the longest unbroken Christian heritage in history, and has somehow retained a fierce sense of independence despite its proximity to England. There is also room in the book for Welsh men and women who have made their mark outside Wales in other countries, ‘Its people have changed the history of Britain and the United States, with the Tudor dynasty giving Britain its European identity and Thomas Jefferson and others founding the breakaway union of American states’, says Mr. Breverton. ‘It is hoped that this book will stimulate the reader to learn more about a country that has a history largely unknown to, and unacknowledged by, the rest of the world, he says, adding that he has intentionally ‘skewed’ the book towards personalities rather than the usual dates and places type of history.

‘The history of Wales is largely an oral history. It consists of people not dry facts, and has been overlooked in the canon of the history of the British Islea, which generally began with the Saxons and is told from an Anglo-centric point of view’, he says. His people are from all walks of life, poets, industrialists, politicians… and it seems that the Welsh have plenty to crow about with a range of national heroes from six American presidents and ‘the most successful pirate of all time.’ Starting with Abbeys and Religious Houses and ending with the Zulu Wars, this historical compendium embraces all this richness and excitement in one volume.’