An in-depth study of the remarkable growth of Plaid Cymru as a powerful political force in Wales during the 20th century, based on detailed research and numerous interviews, with a foreword by Gwynfor Evans. 19 black-and-white photographs.

Astudiaeth drylwyr o dwf anhygoel Plaid Cymru fel grym gwleidyddol pwerus yng Nghymru yn ystod yr 20fed ganrif, wedi ei seilio ar ymchwil fanwl a chyfweliadau niferus, gyda rhagair gan Gwynfor Evans. 19 ffotograff du-a-gwyn.

The emergence and growth of an overtly political nationalism in twentieth-century Wales, crystallized above all in the formation (in 1925) and gradual development and impact of Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, later Plaid Cymru, have attracted the attention of numerous historians and political analysts. This latest offering, penned by a Liverpool academic also employed as a political analyst for the BBC at election time, is a stimulating read which enhances our understanding of a complex process.

The volume has a strong personal dimension; the author was an active member of the party from 1979 until 1992, was its vice-chair for political education between 1989 and 1992 and stood as its parliamentary candidate at Bridgend in the 1987 general election and at Ogmore in 1992. Dr McAllister does not mince her words. Her experiences as a party activist lead her to bemoan its inherent 'basic inequalities of access and opportunity' for women: 'For most of the post-war period, Plaid Cymru has been as much the party of males as the party of Wales' (p. 207).

The book has its genesis in a doctoral thesis presented to the University of Wales in 1995, but the author has more recently carried out a further impressive programme of interviews with party leaders and activists. The text falls neatly into three sections: a racy overview of the party's progress and growth since its formation and of the available literature on this theme; a compelling analysis of the movement's development in terms of its electoral progress, constitutional objectives, ideological evolution and attitudes towards women; and a very brief conclusion on its role as a political party written from the standpoint of 1999. It contains a short foreword by Dr Gwynfor Evans (party president from 1945 until 1981), a number of fascinating photographs and an outline bibliography of important secondary sources.

The author depends perhaps overmuch on the opinions of her interviewees, almost all of them party stalwarts, supplemented by an array of secondary, often party, literature. A political historian, quarrying the party's massive archive, the personal papers of its politicians and records of its branches, and interviewing individuals outside the party, would have written a different book. Dr McAllister's interesting, often highly personal, findings need to be read alongside the works of other writers such as D. Hywel Davies, Dr John Davies and Dr Alan Butt Philip for a fuller synthesis to emerge. But the definitive history of Plaid Cymru over the seventy-seven years of its existence, a formidable intellectual challenge, still remains to be tackled.

J. Graham Jones

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.