Revisiting the major turning points in Welsh history - from the fledgling Welsh state under Llywelyn the Last and the ravages of the Black Death, through to its transformation into an economic power with the Industrial Revolution and its participation in the creation of a modern British Welfare State and the economic boom of the 1940s and 50s - Jon Gower re-examines many of the myths and misconceptions about Wales and the Welsh, uncovering rich evidence of its outward-looking dynamism and its important role on the world stage.Accompanying a landmark BBC series, and with an introduction by series presenter Huw Edwards, The Story of Wales is an epic account of the history of Wales for a new generation.

    Jan Morris shows clearly the manners of thought of the Welch people, as well as theirart, their landscapes and their folklore, their ways of earning a living, their character, their meaning and their historical destiny. Half Welsh, half English herself, Morris is a historian, a travel writer, and an essayist. All three disciplines she brings to this work--a vivid tribute to acountry not just on the map or in the mind but also in the heart. All of us, Morris writes, have some small country there.A dense, poetic, richly textured account of a land and a culture, passionate and extravagant in both location and spirit, almost hymnlike.--Washington Post Book WorldRanks among her best books...the writing sparkles.--The New York TimesAbout the Author:Jan Morris is the author of such books as the Pax Britannica trilogy, Spain, Destinations, and most recently, Journeys.With this book Morris joins the immortals. The splendors of the prose are, like Homer's sea, simply everywhere. She is an absolute master of the sentence.--Christian Science Monitor

    Formed in the early Eighties, it took its name from its followers love of soul music and brought together disparate mobs from the Welsh capital city and from the surrounding valleys and industrial towns. And it has left mayhem in its wake. David Jones and Tony Rivers are former members of the Soul Crew and give a riveting insider's account of clashes with the violent crews from as far afield as London, Middlesborough, Plymouth and Glasgow. They describe the intense rivalry with the 'Jacks' of Swansea City, reveal how internal tensions have prevented the gang from having a clear leadership, tell of their obsession with the 'casual' fashion scene and explain how they have forged friendships with fellow terrace obsessives from all over Britain.Told with black humor and unflinching honesty, 'Soul Crew' is an explosive account of how the hooligan culture has prevailed despite the best efforts of police, politicians and the football authorities to stamp it out.

    Morris contends that, although tried twice, Dai Morris, the man convicted for the murders in 2006, is innocent. No forensic evidence or DNA connected him to the crime; his conviction was based on the lack of a solid alibi, the presence of his gold chain in Power’s house and the lies he initially told the police in explanation. His case is currently being reviewed and will be heard in the Court of Appeal, probably in 2018, in the light of new evidence, including DNA testing and falsification of police documents. South Wales Police was notorious in the period 1980 to 2010 for false convictions on fabricated evidence and the Morris case appears to be another instance of this. Significantly, previous suspects for the murders include former police officers, one of whom was having a lesbian affair with Mandy Power.There is every possibility that the case is a miscarriage of justice. The author has corresponded with Morris, studied all the police files and court papers, discussed the case with key witnesses and experts, and is convinced that Morris is both innocent, and the victim of a conspiracy to convict him. The brutal murder of an entire family is a horrible event but to compound that with an unsafe conviction shows a disrespect to the victims, to their relatives, to the family of Dai Morris and to the law.

    Gradually that path became a track, and the track became a road. It connected the White Cliffs of Dover to the Druid groves of the Welsh island of Anglesey, across a land that was first called Albion then Britain, Mercia and eventually England and Wales. Armies from Rome arrived and straightened this 444 kilometres of meandering track, which in the Dark Ages gained the name Watling Street. Today, this ancient road goes by many different names: the A2, the A5 and the M6 Toll. It is a palimpsest that is always being rewritten.Watling Street is a road of witches and ghosts, of queens and highwaymen, of history and myth, of Chaucer, Dickens and James Bond. Along this route Boudicca met her end, the Battle of Bosworth changed royal history, Bletchley Park code breakers cracked Nazi transmissions and Capability Brown remodelled the English landscape. The myriad people who use this road every day might think it unremarkable, but, as John Higgs shows, it hides its secrets in plain sight. Watling Street is not just the story of a route across our island, but an acutely observed, unexpected exploration of Britain and who we are today, told with wit and flair, and an unerring eye for the curious and surprising.

    Now you can follow in the footsteps of Claire and Jamie with this guide to the inspiring locations where Diana Gabaldon’s novels were set and the hit tv show were filmed. From the ancient cobbled streets, gabled palace and herb garden of Culross, which became fictional Cranesmuir, to the iconic 1960s Pathfoot Building at the University of Stirling, which Claire’s daughter Brianna visits on her first trip to Scotland, you can time-travel through centuries. In Scotland, different eras coexist and collide – just as they do in Outlander. Focusing on easy day trips from the characterful cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow – themselves jam-packed with Outlander locations – this guide will tell you about the most rewarding sights, when to visit them and how to get there. Includes famous Outlander Locations including Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Arthur’s Seat, Holyroodhouse Palace.

    Placing the Roman conquest and occupation within the context of Romano-British society, this book incorporates the latest discoveries in order to reveal how Roman society in Britain functioned.

    BOOK 1 in the series. DI Alan Williams is called to the recovery of two bodies from the sea at Trearddur Bay, during a storm. The lifeboat crew suspect they're fishermen, washed away by a wave but they’re wrong. Alan and his detective sergeant, Kim Davies, realise the men were beaten and tied together before they entered the water. Two miles along the headland at Porth Dafarch, a third victim is found but there are no obvious links. As the number of victims increases, a major investigation team battles to unravel a deadly puzzle which, appears to have links to a series of historic murders from the 90’s. In 1995, Peter Moore owned and operated the cinema in Holyhead. It is thought he assaulted over 40 men and he was arrested and charged with four murders, which he’d committed in as many months. He was jailed for life in 1996 and is still the only recorded Welsh serial killer. Fast forward to today and Detective Inspector Alan Williams is investigating a series of murders with uncanny similarities to the Peter Moore attacks. Is there a copycat on the loose or are the murders connected to the local underworld, which controls the supply of narcotics across North Wales and the North West? Finding a motive, is the challenge he might not win. ALL THE TIME THEY’RE TRACKING THE KILLER, THE KILLER IS STALKING THEM… WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CONRAD JONES "If you’re looking for something to open your eyes, break your heart, and look to take action to promote change, start with The Journey." Tiffany Hall - Beyond The Stars "I have never read a book before where I have had to stop reading because I couldn’t cope with the emotions the book engendered in me but the author writes so powerfully that I HAD to finish it." Joanna Lanum - Guest Reviewer "Such an intense, chilling and eye-opening novel which is guaranteed to leave you utterly speechless." Kaisha Holloway - The Writing Garnet "The plot line is superb and the characters are brilliant and really help carry the story forward." Donna Maguire - Donnas Book Blog "It had me captivated until the end. An easy, fast-paced read!" Gemma Myers - Between The Pages Book Club

    In Home, the Time Team expert explores the first nine thousand years of life in Britain, from the retreat of the glaciers to the Romans' departure. Tracing the settlement of domestic communities, he shows how archaeology enables us to reconstruct the evolution of habits, traditions and customs. But this, too, is Francis Pryor's own story: of his passion for unearthing our past, from Yorkshire to the west country, Lincolnshire to Wales, digging in freezing winters, arid summers, mud and hurricanes, through frustrated journeys and euphoric discoveries. Evocative and intimate, Home shows how, in going about their daily existence, our prehistoric ancestors created the institution that remains at the heart of the way we live now: the family.'Under his gaze, the land starts to fill with tribes and clans wandering this way and that, leaving traces that can still be seen today . . . Pryor feels the land rather than simply knowing it' - Guardian Former president of the Council for British Archaeology, Dr Francis Pryor has spent over thirty years studying our prehistory. He has excavated sites as diverse as Bronze Age farms, field systems and entire Iron Age villages. He appears frequently on TV's Time Team and is the author of The Making of the British Landscape, Seahenge, as well as Britain BC and Britain AD, both of which he adapted and presented as Channel 4 series.Show More Show Less

    Today, ideas of our prehistoric origins are more likely based on ocean core samples, radio-carbon dating, and archeological artifacts. But as Barry Cunliffe reminds us in Britain Begins, an archaeologist writing of the past must be constantly aware that the past is, in truth, unknowable. Like the myth-making Celts, we too create stories about our origins, based on what we know today.Cunliffe here offers readers a vision of both worlds, looking at new myths and old, as he tells the fascinating story of the origins of the British and the Irish, from around 10,000 BC to the eve of the Norman Conquest. Using the most up-to-date archaeological evidence together with new work on DNA and other scientific techniques which help us to trace the origins and movements of these early settlers, Cunliffe offers a rich narrative account of the first islanders--who they were, where they came from, and how they interacted with one another. Underlying this narrative is the story of the sea, and Cunliffe paints a fascinating picture of early ships and sails and of the surprising sophistication of early navigation. The story told by the archaeological evidence is enhanced by historical texts, such as Julius Caesar's well-known if rather murky vision of Britain. Equally interesting, Cunliffe looks at the ideas of Britain's origins formed by our long-ago ancestors themselves, when they used what scraps there were, gleaned from Biblical and classical texts, to create a largely mythological origin for the British.

    

    He asked voters then what kind of country they hoped for, what they feared, and what they expected—questions that animate his book as well.In his search for a nation, Acherson explores many themes: the slow, hybrid formation of the Scottish people over centuries of successive immigrations; the way their most renowned intellectuals and writers came to hate the national church; the peculiar nature of their diaspora; the coexistence of their search for an "authentic" Scotland with the myths others create; and the Scots' proud sense of true independence. Stone Voices enlightens us about Scotland, about Europe, and about the conditions for freedom that we must all seek today.

    It is an enthralling story which has now been turned into both play and musical and is regarded as the finest of this popular author’s many novels.

    As Matthew and Harry struggle with their memories of personal and social change, a beautiful and moving portrait of the love between a father and son emerges.

    Once upon a time 'Fey' meant both the spirits of the natural world and the nature of those humans that were in touch with that magic in themselves; the seers, the spirit workers, the ones who walked between. This is your guide to finding that Fey magic which sings in your heart. Through this book you will meet your guide, visit faeryland, learn about the beings of the faery worlds and develop your own faery craft to work in harmony with the power and cycles of the earth by unlocking the nature of your Fey spirit. Time for you to become the Fey you truly are.