Welsh Journals

If some of the questions which have been asked do not strictly arise from this book, it is because the treatment of the author has encouraged us to ask them. He richly deserves the thanks of his fellow-countrymen as well as of his denomination for what he has given us. E. T. DAVIES Llangibby Rectory, Usk THE STORY OF SWANSEA'S DISTRICTS AND VILLAGES (Parts 1 to 3). Pp. 375. 23s. 6d. THE STORY OF SWANSEA'S MARKETS. Pp. 70. 12s. 6d. By Norman Lewis Thomas. Guardian Press, Neath, 1965. These two books are interesting additions to the published material available on the history of Swansea. The first is not, nor was it intended to be, a history of Swansea as such. The author has taken his reader on a conducted tour of the borough and has described the villages and districts which were absorbed into, or grew up with, the expanding Swansea of the last hundred and fifty years. His approach has many virtues, not the least of which is the success with which he has distilled some of the individuality of each district as a social unit, without losing sight of the contribution made by it to the growth of the larger Swansea. Mr. Thomas has compressed a considerable body of information into his book, and has added substantially to its value by his introduction of interesting detail, well chosen excerpts from source materials, and good illustrations. Inevitably, the approach has its drawbacks. There is a certain lack of cohesion, a blurring of edges and some measure of imbalance. The language too is rather involved at times, and sub-titles not infrequently misleading. But the story itself is interesting, and is made all the more so by a writer whose sympathy for his subject is such that he gains an insight which might be denied one who approached his task with a colder objectivity. The second book describes the growth of marketing facilities at Swansea. The major part of the book is, as one would expect, concerned with the markets of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There is, however, a short, but quite informative, survey of developments from the twelfth century. The book is interesting, informative, and well illustrated. Mr. Thomas has shown clearly his intimate knowledge of his chosen area of study and a real sympathy for its people. He has done much to persuade one reader at least of the truth contained in the sentence which he quotes at the opening of his first book, that 'History is made by the human heart'. J. D. H. THOMAS College of Education, Swansea