While documentation is lacking, this short history of Wales' strength lies in the accompanying photographs, paintings, and other illustrations which help illuminate the country's story. As I read about an early 20th century miners strike, the scenes portrayed in Richard Llewellyn's How Green Was My Valley came back to me. This book's brief depiction summarized some of the novel's action. The Welsh church's Puritan-like nature played out in this volume as well as Llewellyn's novel. It's an enjoyable illustrated condensation of Welsh history for a lay mid-twentieth century audience. However, today's readers willing to recognize color photo processing was not as developed at the time of publication will appreciate it. ( )