The Country Life Picture Book of Wales

Fülszöveg

Comparatively small as a country, Wales has a distinctive natural beauty and identity, a diversity, character and historical significance, all of which are quite inversely proportionate to its geographical size. In demonstrating the truth of this claim Roger Thomas undermines those simpUstic, cliche-ridden images of'Welshness' which inevitably involve male-voice choirs and rugby. While not ignoring the latter nor denying the 'Land of Song' allusion, he introduces the myriad strands of Welshness which, only when viewed together, give an accurate portrait of an enigmatic, distinctive part of Britain.
There is the Wales of lonely hill sheep farms, windy uplands, ancient country towns; the Wales of gregarious 'valley' communities born of industrial hardship and toil; the Wales of cosmopolitan cities, popular holiday resorts and fishing centres. It is a country which accommodates the farmer, the fisherman, the businessman, the factory worker - each of whom will have his own definition... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Comparatively small as a country, Wales has a distinctive natural beauty and identity, a diversity, character and historical significance, all of which are quite inversely proportionate to its geographical size. In demonstrating the truth of this claim Roger Thomas undermines those simpUstic, cliche-ridden images of'Welshness' which inevitably involve male-voice choirs and rugby. While not ignoring the latter nor denying the 'Land of Song' allusion, he introduces the myriad strands of Welshness which, only when viewed together, give an accurate portrait of an enigmatic, distinctive part of Britain.
There is the Wales of lonely hill sheep farms, windy uplands, ancient country towns; the Wales of gregarious 'valley' communities born of industrial hardship and toil; the Wales of cosmopolitan cities, popular holiday resorts and fishing centres. It is a country which accommodates the farmer, the fisherman, the businessman, the factory worker - each of whom will have his own definition of what it means to be Welsh. Wales is a country with a complex history and strong cultural traditions which nowadays find their expression in many and diverse ways through both the English and Welsh languages.
One thing remains beyond dispute: contemporary Wales is still an area of almost uninterrupted natural beauty, from the rocky screes of Snowdonia to the spectacular Pembrokeshire coast, fi-om the unexplored lakelands and forests of Plynlimon to the pastoral borderlands. And it is also a country which is far more complicated than those tired old 'Taffy' images suggest. 'We can be both outgoing and insular, warm and suspicious', says Roger Thomas. 'On one thing, though, we can all agree: Wales, in its many shades and shapes, is something very special.' Vissza