Gazeteer of Slate Quarrying in Wales by Alun John Richards

This book is an amazing achievement. I am staggered by how many locations Richards has been to, or knows enough about to describe for our delectation. The descriptions are often the deciding factor on whether we are going to explore or not.  As a keen amateur Industrial archaeologist, it is one of the most referred to and thumbed books in my library. It reviews every site, from small scratchings on a hillside, to in-depth descriptions of huge sites like Dinorwig. 
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As other reviewers have said, the maps are not very useful. The book would have benefited from a thorough proof-read, the many spelling and grammatical mistakes are often annoying. More annoying still are the very occasional errors with grid references or descriptions of quarries. But Alun Richards regularly updates from his own web-site which has a list of up-to-date addenda. Books like this from small publishers are becoming rare and we are lucky to have them. So, I would still wholeheartedly recommend this book for the sheer breadth of coverage; it proves itself useful time after time. I am now on to my third copy, having worn the first two out!

Paperback
Publisher: Llygad Gwalch Cyf (1974)
ASIN: B01HC1LIUK

​Price at 2017: £12.83