Llyfrau a Chylchgronau • Books and Magazines

This is the most comprehensive history of Wales that's ever been written, and that's saying something. There have been many such histories written over the centuries, but in centuries to come, scholars will be referring to Davies's book as the calibration point. First published in Welsh and then translated, it covers everything from the Stone Age to the late twentieth century, including some periods that have been brushed over in many histories, such as the centuries following the downfall of the principality with the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

It's engaging and interesting, and does not intimidate. As an American reader, I must admit that I'm unfamiliar with a lot of concepts that Davies takes for granted will be familiar to his audience, but it doesn't cripple my understanding or the book's usefulness to me.

It's sine qua non for any cambrophile's bookshelf. The only blot on the book's career is that the Welsh version is now very hard to come by, whereas the English is easily purchased.

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I'm not an enormous fan of the Potter books although I find them light and diverting. However, this book is one of the most potent forces for language teaching known to humanity. One friend of mine is currently studying Latin and has purchased a Latin translation, and I know that there is a translation available in classical Greek. Since my initial plan was to study Cornish, I can say for a fact that I am now studying Welsh because this book was available in that language and not in Cornish.

It's an excellent first novel; it's written for a fairly young audience, and the story is familiar enough to most readers not to present too much difficulty.

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This book is invaluable, as is King's more comprehensive "Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar." As a beginner text, it's an unparalleled introduction to the structure of Welsh, its peculiarities and patterns. You will find yourself referring to it time and again.

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This is the more in-depth companion book to the one listed above, and if you continue in your studies with Welsh, you will find it invaluable. Enormous quantities of information are included here, presented in an extremely appealing and logical way that makes it a relatively easy read for such a complex book. The only downside to it is the odd way that the author has of marking mutations -- helpful at first, but after you've gone far enough into the language, it starts to get in the way.

Buy this book, sleep with it under your pillow.

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No Welsh-speaking home nor any home of a Welsh student is without this dictionary. The Welsh section is a combination Welsh and Welsh/English dictionary, with definitions given both in Welsh and their translations in English. The English-to-Welsh side is comprehensive. I've never failed to find a word. In fact, I once described this as the apotheosis of Welsh dictionaries and was delighted to discover that the word "apotheosis" was indeed included. (It's dwyfoliad, for the curious.)

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This is a high-quality, glossy magazine in English, a classier version of "Life" and a more culturally savvy version of "Time." It covers both celebrities and statesmen, history, the language, lifestyle, and many other things of interest to any cambrophile. I believe the appropriate British adjective for it would be "posh."

[ Cambria Magazine ]

Meaning "View," this is the premiere glossy Welsh language magazine for current news and cultural events, published each Thursday, as the cover states. Slightly less glossy than Cambria Magazine, it's a cheerful, varied offering with long and shorter articles, offering the learner many opportunities to slog through longer articles as well as shorter and less challenging ones. Their coverage of the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol in particular is extensive and enthusiastic.

[ Golwg ]