The joint authors of this most welcome publication tell us that in ‘a larger context’ it forms ‘part of the Monastic Wales project’ (www.monasticwales.org), also enterprisingly initiated by them and launched in 2009. Unashamedly, Burton and Stöber have written a book for popular consumption, aimed at making ‘the monastic heritage of Wales more visible, and more accessible to a wider audience’. They open with a brief but insightful introduction to the post-Conquest monastic settlement of Wales, beginning with a summary of the various orders and congregations involved. We discover that the early Benedictine priories were confined to the southern March; all of them Norman foundations, and all of them dependent on English or continental mother houses. As time progressed, and as the ‘new orders’ began to appear, the geographical spread widened and the cultural divide between Norman and native Welsh regions was breached, dazzlingly by the Cistercians of course, although we should not overlook the part played by the Augustinian canons. Later still, the friars were introduced to the religious fabric of some of the country's most significant towns. Having presented us with the monastic map of Wales, the authors proceed to cover a range of overarching themes, including aspects of patronage, burial and commemoration, hospitality, the monastic economy and the role of certain communities as patrons of ‘vernacular culture’. By far the greater part of the book, however, is the gazetteer, covering fifty-eight individual religious houses identified across Wales. Each entry is headed with a set of standard information, including the order, dedication, national grid reference, present ownership and access. The account of the site is then divided into two broad sections, one on ‘history’ and the other looking at ‘buildings and monuments’. This is without doubt a sound and reliable compilation, one that includes the friaries and the smaller institutions that are so often left out of similar works. Understandably, given the backgrounds of the authors, the historical content is strong and is invariably more extensive than the coverage of buildings. That said, Burton and Stöber are clearly very familiar with recent studies on the architecture and archaeology of the sites. In all, a great deal of scholarship is effortlessly summarised and presented with a most assured touch. It is sad that the University of Wales Press could not have produced the volume in colour throughout, especially given the price of the hardback edition. Too many of the photographs appear as grey smudges. Also, the publisher's claim that the book represents ‘an indispensable guide for visitors to Wales's monastic heritage’ is rather exaggerated. For those whose interest lies in the buildings themselves they would do well to consider the Buildings of Wales series, now published by Yale University Press. As for the thirteen religious houses whose ruins are in the care of Cadw, the official guidebooks remain essential reading.